The counterfeiters got almost everything wrong with this 1879 Morgan Dollar...

MrEureka · January 31, 2018 4:05PM

...but I have to admit they got the toning right!

RogerB · January 31, 2018 4:08PM

grip · January 31, 2018 4:10PM

Still cool looking.:)

Regulated · January 31, 2018 5:21PM

I got hit by the same counterfeiting ring. Evil Geniuses!

AUandAG · January 31, 2018 5:23PM

I think they got the date right, 'eh?

bob

BryceM · January 31, 2018 5:45PM

Yeah. These suck. Better send them to me for safekeeping.

HighRelief · January 31, 2018 6:03PM

Cool!

Jimnight · January 31, 2018 6:11PM

CoinRaritiesOnline · January 31, 2018 6:42PM

Lovely coins, but the eagle lacks majesty.

Overdate · February 1, 2018 8:51AM

I'm in for a roll!

Seriously, I don't understand why they didn't redesign the minor silver coins when they introduced the Morgan dollar (or resume the Liberty Seated design on the dollar in 1878). Up to that point the designs on all the silver coins were somewhat uniform. Except for the dollar, this continued to be the case until 1916.

cmerlo1 · February 1, 2018 8:57AM

I always thought the eagle looked weird. It has the head and body of the one on the Morgan dollar, but strange-looking wings.

Greeniejr · February 1, 2018 9:39AM

I see a PATTERN emerging...

CaptHenway · February 1, 2018 11:19AM

@Overdate said:
I'm in for a roll!

Seriously, I don't understand why they didn't redesign the minor silver coins when they introduced the Morgan dollar (or resume the Liberty Seated design on the dollar in 1878). Up to that point the designs on all the silver coins were somewhat uniform. Except for the dollar, this continued to be the case until 1916.

The goal of the 1877 redesign project was to bring back the dollar coin, and it is likely that the minor coins would have followed suit. However, by the time that the dollar was ready to roll, so much fractional silver was flooding back into the country from Civil War-era hoards that there was little need to strike minor coinage for a while. Look at the mintage of dimes, quarters and halves from 1878 to 1891. The dime surplus got absorbed first and then the quarter surplus, but the surplus of half dollars lasted until 1891.

Only then, with production of all three designs about to return to normal, was a new design introduced for all three. It could easily have been a Morgan design, but by then Barber had consolidated his power and, ta-da!- we got the Barber silver.

TD