NEW BOOK: MORGAN DOLLAR TAIL FEATHER STORY

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V27 2024 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 27, Number 7, February 18, 2024, Article 2

Leroy C. Van Allen and Michael S. Fey have published a new book on Amazon Kindle on the story of the Morgan Dollar 8 & 7 over 8 Tail Feather varieties. -Editor

Morgan Dollar Tail Feather Story book cover

Morgan Dollar 8 & 7 over 8 Tail Feather Story
by Leroy C. Van Allen (Author), Michael S. Fey (Editor) Sooner or later every advance collector/investor of Morgan silver dollars will gravitate toward 1878 8 Tail Feathers (8TF) and 7 over 8 Tail Feathers (7/8TF) varieties. Why? These silver dollars represent the first few weeks and months of production. They are considered by advanced collectors as the caviar of silver dollars, the first ones of the new silver dollar design fresh off the press. They were struck with a higher relief than later silver dollars, and are often seen with beautiful one-sided or two-sided cameo proof-like (PL) and deep-proof-like (DMPL) strikes. They represent the some of the most appealing of the Morgan dollar series.

The striking of the new, untested design was fraught with many problems. Dies cracked under the pressure of striking, numerous die marriages exist, many different dies were hand engraved, mintages on many varieties were very small, designs were changed, and expedients were engaged to try to save costly dies and save time in order to meet a Congressionally mandated mintage of 2 million coins a month.

If you would love to own an 1893 S Morgan dollar, long considered to be the Key Date in the silver dollar series but couldn't afford the heavy price tag, then 8TF and 7/8 coins may be for you. Many of these Ultra Rare die varieties are many times rarer than the 1893 S. Just look at the NGC and PCGS population report to compare. Yet, they can still be purchased at a fraction of the price. Better yet, you can still Cherrypick these for common prices, often immediately increasing your asset value by many hundreds and thousands of dollars.

Morgan Dollar Tail Feather sample page 1

The genius of Leroy Van Allen is fully realized in this book. He does what no other numismatist did by peeling off the layers of how these silver dollars were produced 1878. This book, along with Van Allen's Comprehensive Catalog and Complete Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars (Part 2), VAMworld.com, and the Top 100 Morgan Silver Dollar Varieties: The VAM Keys, by Michael S. Fey, Ph.D. and Jeff Oxman are all you need to know to have more fun and become an expert Cherrypicker. Happy hunting!

"This book really highlights the genius of Leroy Van Allen. It describes a tumultuous time in the history of the U.S. Mint when a new silver dollar type was launched under Congressional pressure to mint 2 million coins a month. He goes into incredible detail of how these coins were produced from patterns, then hubbed and rehubbed sometimes several times to give us the varieties, and Ultra Rarities we now know. I dare say that this reference, which is supported by numerous pictures and overlays is an incredible piece of work that, in ePub form, will be available inexpensively on their phone or computer for many generations to come!"