Love Morgans? Shop 1878-P Famous Tail Feather Varieties...

How Many Tail Feathers Does an Eagle Have Anyway?

While you’ve undoubtedly heard of Morgan Silver Dollars, are you familiar with the famed tail feather varieties? If not, you should be!

Initially, the Bald Eagle on the reverse of first year of issue 1878 Morgan Silver Dollars was depicted with 8 tail feathers. As the story goes, there was later some disagreement about how many tail feathers an Eagle actually had, leading to a design change that ultimately resulted in not one but THREE different 1878-P Morgan varieties, the 8, 7/8, and 7 tail feather Morgan Silver Dollars.

And now, you can bring all three home to your carefully curated collection!

1878-P Morgan Silver Dollar 8-Tail Feathers BU

8 TAIL FEATHERS – After experts pointed out that eagles have an odd number of tail feathers, a design change was quickly ordered, requiring new dies to be made – but not before the original 8 Tail Feathers variety was released for circulation.

1878-P Morgan Silver Dollar 7/8-Tail Feathers BU

7/8 TAIL FEATHERS – Because there wasn’t time to discard the existing dies and wait for new ones to arrive, the mint overpunched the new 7 Tail Feathers design over the older 8 Tail Feathers dies, creating the 1878 “7 Over 8” Morgan Silver Dollar – a first-year “error” that made for a beautiful Morgan.

1878-P Morgan Silver Dollar 7 Tail Feathers AU

7 TAIL FEATHERS – The third try was the charm, and the 7 Tail Feathers variety finally got it right – the last of three reverse tail feather varieties struck during the coin’s first year. Now with an anatomically correct eagle, the design would be used throughout the rest of the series’ 28-year run.

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