1879 Morgan dollar?

I have this 1879 Morgan dollar and I took it to a local coin shop to have it checked out. The guy weighed it and measured it and says it is the correct weight and size but it's a fake. I was surprised to hear that and asked why, he said that the lettering was not correct. So I grabbed my red book and I am confused about how it is not the right lettering.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Dunno, but the lack of detail all through the center of the eagle sure looks questionable to me. Also I do think the bases on the reverse lettering look too fat.

 

Is it possible that it's a error? When looking at the bottom pic from the red book they are very close in size.

 

I wish others more knowledgeable than me would comment, but I vote fake. The numerals in the date, the "mushy" stars, the lack of detail on the eagle's legs, all look off to me.

 

Mushy strike and stars and date looks off too. Probably not real.

 

It looked good to me until I took a second look. The numerals in the date are wrong - especially the 7 and 9.

 

That coin is ALL wrong and the dealer you spoke with has a good eye. The 1st thing i noticed was that the date digits are off, but what REALLY seals the deal is- the arrow feathers on the reverse. 1879 P is supposed to have a slanted top arrow feather(rev of 79)
Your coin has a parallel top arrow feather which was only used in 1878 on Philly mint examples.
Edit- meant to say those arrows feathers arent technically correct for 1878 either, just that, they are off enough to confirm it fake

Where did u acquire this coin?

 

I got it off of wish.com and thanks for your help.

 

I dont know what wish.com is but return it if you can.

 

Unfortunately I can't return it, I got it earlier in the year and been to long. Guess I have a great paper weight now lol. Oh well, is what it is. Thanks again.

 

Yes, unfortunately wish.com is notorious for selling fakes. Chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

Good catch. Wrong top feather for a Philadelphia 1879 Morgan.

Here's the slanted top arrow feather (Rev of '79) that appears on every genuine 1879 Philly Morgan.


A parallel top arrow feather (Rev of '78) appeared on most 1878 Morgans.


No-One-Asked Part I: Some 1878 Philly Morgans have the Rev of '79.


No-One-Asked Part II: The San Francisco Mint produced some 1879-S Morgans with the Rev of '78.


And that's about 90% of my specialized Morgan knowledge. Mostly, it just gives me a headache. But plenty of folks love that stuff: VAMWorld.

 

Sweet! Thank you for the help.

 

And what did wish.com charge you for this piece of metal?

 

I believe it was $15.00 I paid for it.

 

So about the same price as for a real dollar. Wow. These kind of people are going to hinder coin collecting and scare people off.

 

That price included s&h so that was total. Either way it is what it is.