As reported in VAMs and More: The View….
The so-called experts predict it is the fall before a major rebound in VAM prices.
The predictions came in articles in Coin World and on the CoinTalk websites.
Time can only confirm that look into the crystal ball, but sales at the mid-July auction by Heritage were, overall, a kick in the mouth for collectors.
A couple of coins bucked the trend and set new price highs. They were an 1880-O VAM 4 in PCGS MS63 that sold for $1,175. It was the highest price ever recorded by VAM View for the VAM and the grade. The previous high was $558 and three other coins have sold for under $400 each. The VAM View Retail Price Guide sug- gests $650 for the MS63.
The second coin, an 1890-O VAM 10 in PCGS MS65, sold for $2,585, which was the highest price re- corded for this VAM in any grade by nearly $1,000. It was only the third recorded sale of an MS65.
Other sales in the auction created new low prices, with a couple of buyers filling holes very cheaply. Probably the greatest price pick was the 1921-S VAM 1B4B in an NGC EF45 holder that sold for $188. That coin is only the third example of the VAM recorded in any grade by VAM View. Two MS63 examples sold in October 2013 for $3,850 and $3,500.
Another coin—one that usually commands a lot of attention, 1879-CC VAM 3—just didn’t get a lot of respect in the Heritage auction. A NGC MS64PL sold for $8,519. It was the first recorded sale of a VAM 3 in PL, yet it sold for a price lower than 16 of the 21 non-PL MS64 sales recorded since 2009.
Heritage recorded the first sale of an 1878-P VAM 14.2 in PCGS MS65+. The coin, which sold for $1,410, was cheaper than the two previous straight MS65 coins recorded.
A 1896-O VAM 19 in PCGS AU-53 also produced a bargain for a lucky bidder. The coin sold for $200, the second lowest price ever recorded for the coin in any grade and the lowest AU price by $172.
At the same time as the Heritage auction, eBay was busy highlighting a couple of real bargains: A 1878-P VAM 224 in an ANACS AU58 holder sold for $43 in mid-July. It was the lowest price recorded for that coin in any grade. A 1878-P VAM 5 in PCGS MS62 sold on eBay at the same time for $365. That is the lowest price ever re- corded for that grade, and AU coins normally sell for more. The top MS62 price is $650 for an eBay exchange in May 2012.
But the strongest warning to come out of the auction and, a reinforcement of trend that was reported in the last issue of The VIEW, was the sale of two examples of the 1882 O/S. A PCGS MS64 VAM 3 1882-O/S sold for $1,293, compared to four previous examples that sold for more than $2,000 each.
The Greysheet shows the wholesale price for the coin to be $1,600. A PCGS MS64+ sold for $3,525, a record low price by more than $800. Four previous examples each sold for more than $4,400. The Greysheet touts an MS65 example at $50,000.
