Coin reference › Morgan and Peace VAMs: auction-ranking worklist
Morgan and Peace VAMs: auction-ranking worklist
VAM numbers come from Van Allen and Mallis, who catalogued the Morgan and Peace dollar dies by their differences - a doubled date, a die crack in a particular place, a mint mark set at a particular angle. A VAM is an attribution of the die, which means it is settled by markers rather than by opinion.
What to look for
The listed markers, one at a time, in the places the catalogue says to look. Attribution rests on several markers agreeing, not on one that nearly matches.
| Coin | Year | Mintage | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 8TF HITLIST-40 VAM-14.7 DOT NEXT TO EAR $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF HOT-50 VAM-14.4 CONCAVE REVERSE $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF HOT-50 VAM-14.5 SPIKED "A" $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF HOT-50 VAM-8 STICK FEATHER $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF TOP-100 VAM-5 DDO "RIB" $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF TOP-100 VAM-9 FIRST DIE MARRIAGE $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF TOP-100 VAM-9A FIRST DIE MARRIAGE $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-1 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-10 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-10A LINES $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-12 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.1 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.1A $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.2 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.3 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.6 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-14.8 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-2 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-2A $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-3 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-4 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-4A OBVERSE CLASH $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-6 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1878 8TF VAM-7 $1 MS | 1878 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1921 TOP-50 PEACE VAM-3 RAY THROUGH "L" $1 MS | 1921 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 D TOP-50 VAM-3A DDR LEAVES & CRACK $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 D TOP-50 VAM-7 TDR LEAVES $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 S TOP-50 VAM-3 TDR FEATHERS $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-12A MOUSTACHE $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-1F FIELD BREAK EDS $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-2C EXTRA HAIR $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-2C2 EXTRA HAIR $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-2F HAIR PIN $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-5-1 TDR LEAVES $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-5A1 TDR & GOUGE $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-5A3 SCAR CHEEK & HAIR $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-5C TDR & ERODED FACE $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-6A DDR LEAVES & CRACK $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1922 TOP-50 VAM-7B DDR WING $1 MS | 1922 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 D TOP-50 VAM-2 DDR EAGLE $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-1A1 WHISKER JAW $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-1B EXTRA HAIR $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-1D WHISKER CHEEK EDS $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-1F CHIN BAR $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-2 DDO TIARA $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1923 TOP-50 VAM-3 DDR LEAVES $1 MS | 1923 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1924 S TOP-50 VAM-3 DDR FEATHERS $1 MS | 1924 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1924 TOP-50 VAM-1A BAR "D" $1 MS | 1924 | N/A | VAM die variety |
| 1924 TOP-50 VAM-5A BROKEN WING EDS $1 MS | 1924 | N/A | VAM die variety |
Photographing these
A silver dollar is 38.1 mm and rewards a full-coin shot for the die cracks plus close work on the date and mint mark. Raking light shows a crack that flat light hides entirely.
The difficulty
The problem with VAMs is that attribution rests on several markers agreeing, in specific places, and a hopeful eye finds the first marker on almost any coin. The catalogue is a list of things to check, and checking them properly means going back to the same spot on the coin repeatedly.
NumismaLab carries the VAM listings with each marker written out and where on the coin it sits, and the clock-position tool names any point on the coin the way attributions do - K-3, half the radius out. You work the list against your own photographs instead of trying to match somebody else's picture.
Every tool, what it measures, and a plain statement of what it will NOT do - including the ones that refuse rather than guess.
See what the bench measuresMore lists
Compiled 2026-09-15. Mintages and designations are matters of record; which coins are worth a second look is an editorial judgement, and this page says so rather than pretending otherwise.
