This brief letter might explain 7 over 8 tail feather Morgan dollars
RogerB
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This short letter accounts for the 7 over 8 tail feather 1878 Morgan silver dollars, including the number of varieties and its relative abundance. Have fun.
The Mint of the United States
at Philadelphia
March 25, 1878
Hon. James Pollock,
Superintendent
Sir,
I beg to say that the new hub for reverse of silver dollar was finished and hardened today (March 25th).
New dies from this hub will be ready about 2nd April; but I can enter this hub into the dies – fifty in number – made from the old hub and have these ready this week.
I am Sir,
Yours obediently
George Morgan
[RG104 E-1 Box 111 Mar 1878 from NNP]
7
Comments
Messydesk may well have documented all 50 reverse dies, and calculated the rarity of each.
Thank you for sharing, @RogerB . The old Mint correspondence is always interesting.
I guess no one likes 7/8 tail feather Morgans any more.
[However, this information might have appeared in one of Bob Julian's many excellent Numismatic Scrapbook articles that collectors are unable to access.]
As I understood it James Pollock thought the smaller tail feathers made the eagle look weak so the US Mint wanted to boost the eagles appearance to look much bolder.
Picture added for visual study of the variety.
Photography by BluCC
Interesting information, thanks for sharing !!!
I respectfully disagree with the comment about relative abundance with regard to the VAM 44 tripled die obverse. The current census is less than 100 in all grades.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
HighRelief - this far, Ive seen nothing to substantiate the Pollock comment. Nearly all of the design changes were made at the suggestion of director Linderman and A. L. Snowden. Most were Snowden's
RogerB,
I think they all had a say in what they thought was needed to create a stronger looking eagle for the reverse of the Morgan Dollar. Look a little deeper and maybe you can come up with who said what.
Were the 7/8 "strong" and 7/8 "weak" just variations in the 50 dies discussed in this letter Roger?
Asking for a friend who's pretty dumb.
That would be my presumption -- individual variation in die hardness and pressure applied in screw-type hubbing press
These file letters are always interesting. Does the mint archive email correspondence now?? If not, it is a loss for future generations exploring history. Cheers, RickO
Thank for the info Roger always an interesting read.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
I'm curious how the general populace felt about the new coins? Were there many who were upset about the loss of the old Seated coins or those who decried the changes?
All US government agencies have to comply with the federal records preservation acts. The scale is immense. Avogadro and Loschmidt would love the numbers!
I am Sir,
Yours obediently
George Morgan