1879-S Reverse of 1878

The 1879-S Reverse of 1878 is a die-marriage variety of the second-year San Francisco Morgan Dollar, struck from leftover Reverse of 1878 dies that had been shipped to San Francisco before Philadelphia adopted the modified Reverse of 1879 hub mid-1878. While the bulk of the 1879-S production used the newer Reverse of 1879 hub, a meaningful share of the year's output carried the older parallel-breast eagle reverse that had been retired at Philadelphia and Carson City by the start of 1879. The variety is catalogued by the Van Allen-Mallis attribution system as one of several VAM listings and appears on the Top 100 Morgan VAM register.

Authentication of the Reverse of 1878 on an 1879-S turns on the eagle's breast and tail feathers. Under five to ten power magnification, the Reverse of 1878 shows flat parallel breast feathers and slightly different feather geometry than the rounded concave-feathered Reverse of 1879 that became the series standard. The tail feather count remains seven on both reverses (the eight-feather variant was a 1878-only design). PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC attribute the variety in their slabs, and certified slabs are the standard purchase route at the premium price levels the variety commands.

The 1879-S Reverse of 1878 is a popular series Variety pickup that trades at a meaningful multiple of the standard 1879-S across all Mint State grades, with the gap widest at MS65 and above where the variety's strike quality and surface preservation produce a real condition rarity beyond the variety premium itself. Most certified examples grade MS62 to MS64; MS65 and above is genuinely scarce. The 1879-S Reverse of 1878 pairs naturally with the 1880-CC Reverse of 1878 in collections that target the early-Morgan hub transitions. Certified slabs from PCGS or NGC with the VAM attribution noted on the holder are the standard purchase route at any meaningful price level, since variety counterfeits and misattributions both circulate in the raw market. The Van Allen-Mallis attribution system catalogues every documented Morgan die marriage, and the Top 100 Morgan VAM register identifies the most-collected varieties for specialist collectors. For the broader 1878-1879 hub-modification story, see the Morgan Dollar series history.