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 Replies: 15 / Views: 1,317 |
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
Hi all, I'm just now trying to determine if this coin that was handed down from family over the years is a reverse of 1878 or 1879! I originally thought 1878 but after looking at it closer thinking 1879. Not sure if the pic will show up. I can try to increase pixels and magnify the tail portion again if needed. So far I have found out that the coin is a 7 tail feather, minted in Philadelphia, has a broken r in trust. Reverse of 78 or 79 is evidently beyond my comprehension! Appreciate your help! Loyal  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1231 Posts |
I'm no expert in morgans, but it looks like a 1878, 7 feathers with the 2nd reverse
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
Brett is exactly correct, it is a reverse of 1878, a 1879 reverse has the top feather of the arrow sticking up (if you have any other date of a morgan except for a 1921 you will see what I mean because 1878 and 1921 is the only years that has the top feather like yours)
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Valued Member
 United States
57 Posts |
Hey thanks! What a great forum.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
543 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
543 Posts |
''What a great forum''
yes, it most certainly is!
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2373 Posts |
"Brett is exactly correct, it is a reverse of 1878, a 1879 reverse has the top feather of the arrow sticking up (if you have any other date of a morgan except for a 1921 you will see what I mean because 1878 and 1921 is the only years that has the top feather like yours."
Wait a minute, I'm totally confused now. I just looked at a few of mine and have a 1979S with the top feather parallel just like in the above pic that lperry posted. I also have a 1979S with the top feather not parallel. Can some one please explain or link me to the appropriate data. TIA nlp
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
Hi nlp. I believe the 1879S and the 1880CC, as well as the 1921 have reverse of 1878.
Edited by lperry3
05/05/2008 8:49 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
Another feature to note are the breast feathers on the eagle. On the 1878 reverse the breast feathers are concave, whereas on the 1879 reverse the breast feathers are convex. Here is a link to the VAMworld comparison pictures. http://www.vamworld.com/1878+reverses |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
As an after thought you may already know, but this coin has seven tail feathers, parallel arrow feathers with a short nock. Since it also has the broken r on th reverse, I would be checking the obverse very closely. I would look at VAM's 185, 186, 186A, and 186B. This is the link to the 1878 P VAM's http://www.vamworld.com/1878-P+VAMsIf you can post pictures of the full Obverse and Reverse, We would enjoy trying to help identify the variety. Some of the 1878 varieties can be worth a lot of money. I hope you have a good one.   |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2373 Posts |
Thanks for those links NGiles. I bought a bunch of morgans several years ago but really never studied them, just put them away for a rainy day. Boom Crash, hear the thunder? Time to get an education. nlp
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
Wow, these coins have a lot of history and one can really delve into the quirks of the morgans. Are all years like this or mainly the 1878? I looked at the front of my 1878 with a 5x magnifying glass. I noticed the initial M was incluse, however couldn't tell if the coin has the other features discussed for vam-100. I didn't see any VAM 180's. Do most morgan years have an incluse initial on the obverse? My 1889 morgan looks to be incluse also. |
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
NGiles, here a couple pics. Check out the first U in Pluribus.   Edited by lperry3
05/06/2008 9:50 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
lperry3, All Morgan dollars have the M on the neck, that is the designers initial, the incuse is referred to because on the type 1 obverse the initial is etched in or "incussed", where as on the type two obverse, the M is raised. I believe after 1878 all coins were incussed, I am not 100% positive on that, but I will let you know if I find out differently. The VAM listings are such that both the Obverse and reverse dies have to match in order to be the specific variety. Different varieties share the same Obverse or Reverse die. Both sides must be matched, so check both carefully. I will look at your pictures and see if I can find anything. Some details will require higher magnification than 5x, but I believe you should be able to see most with that, I usually check my coins with 60x, but if you have access to anything 20x or above it might be helpful. If you have a digital camera, the the link below is very helpful to get some really good closeup pictures. https://goccf.com/t/29441 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
527 Posts |
lperry3, Your pictures are great, but it's hard to see the fine details. The U and R in PLURIBUS look a litle like the VAM 111 pics, can you get a closeup of that area? It's hard to post good pics with the size restrictions on this site, but if you take a high resolution picture and crop out that are it should post OK. Also if you can take a closeup of the eye and the date it would be helpful. |
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Valued Member
United States
57 Posts |
Lol, you are just being kind. I'm going to review your link on how to take better pics and see what I can do. Thanks, Loyal
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Replies: 15 / Views: 1,317 |
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Posted 05/03/2008 02:25 am
