http://cgi.ebay.com/1878-8-Tail-Fea...46?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item255e1e785a Browsing the bay looking for some deals, and i come across this piece. Is it just me, or do the tail feathers look worked on this dollar? Looks like a putty job to me. What do you think?
They look fine to me, maybe a little weakness in the center one, but that's about it. My guess is the coin was dipped to remove either dark toning, or some type of dark substance on the reverse, and some of it is still left (most notably on the Eagle's beak, eye, some of the lettering and leaves, and the upper portion of the denticles on the reverse.)
I'm not sure that the coin has been worked on, or at least I don't see anything to be concerned with (including the tail area you note). But the black schmutz on the reverse would have me running away from it. The coin is common enough that you can wait for a better example.
The bidding has ended on this one, but it looks fine to me. Not a top-end example, but not a problem coin either.
Too bad it got so beat up and was poorly cared for, that was once a killer coin with an excellent strike.
