1878 Morgan 7/8 tail feathers?

This coin has me baffled, I believe it’s a 7/8 “weak” since I can only see what appears to be 3 of the original 8 tail feathers. What I believe are extra tail feathers are between the 2nd/3rd, 3rd/4th, and 4th/5th from the left.

The coin also appears to have a knick in the first 8 of the date. There is very little luster to the coin, is this normal for a coin of this age? Also, how would you grade and value the coin? I’m unsure if it’s worth much more than it’s melt value.

Thanks for any knowledge you can share with me.

 

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Wow. 94 views and no answers. I might as well jump in with both feet. If it's determined to be MS which I think it is it could be worth around $150 retail. @Morgandude11 what do you think?

 

I think it's worth 150 or there abouts that amount too !! FURHAM will see what ,MORGANDUDE 11 says about it that will be the gospel.

 

From the pictures, it is very hard to tell. I don’t see MS luster on the coin, based on the pictures. Also, there is a lot of chatter in the obverse fields, with a reverse that is much cleaner. It is obviously a 7/8, and a nice example of that variety. I am going to call it AU 58, based on those pictures, but could just as easily be low grade MS. I’d love to see better pix, that illustrates the luster far better, and lighting that shows definitely that the obverse marks are not light wear.

 

I am working on some addition photos and will post as soon as possible.

 

Here is my attempt at better photos. I used some other coins as reference for luster. Please let me know if you need me to try again on the photos. I appreciate your help.

 

No, those helped. I say it is a lightly circulated coin. Yes it is the 7/8 variety. The obverse shows some definite light rub on the high points, particularly the cap. The eagle’s breast on the reverse shows light wear, too. Definite circulation wear in the fields, but fairly light. I am going to say is is an AU coin. A nice example, but not uncirculated, to my eye. I would say worth about $125 retail value, as a good guess. Pictures still do not show much luster, but the coin may well have been dipped.

 

It looks like it circulated for a short time before being pulled. It is a very nice example of the 7/8 tail feathers variety. A definite keeper and worth more than melt value. I place it in the $100-$125 range.

Welcome to CT.

 

I think what you have would be called "strong 7 over 8 tail feathers" because you can see three of them. With the weak ones, you can't see any of the doubled tail feathers, but other aspects of the piece, like the eagle's claws, are doubled.

Here is one that has four extra feathers showing. This was in an NGC MS-63 holder many years ago.