1878-S Doubled Die Obverse WDDO-006

Description

Attributed by the Wexler Team as the sixth cataloged doubled die obverse for the 1878-S Morgan Dollar, WDDO-006 carries doubled elements on this San Francisco Mint issue from the inaugural year of George T. Morgan's iconic silver dollar design. The Morgan Dollar debuted in 1878 following passage of the Bland-Allison Act, which mandated the Treasury purchase millions of ounces of silver monthly for coinage. Struck in the standard 90% silver and 10% copper composition at 26.73 grams, each Morgan Dollar contains 0.7734 troy ounces of pure silver. The obverse die exhibits a broken point on the fourth star on the right as a diagnostic die marker. On the reverse, the upper right serif of the S mint mark shows a split — a secondary marker that aids attribution independent of the hub doubling. San Francisco struck over 9.7 million Morgan Dollars in 1878, the first year of a production run that would continue intermittently through 1921 and produce one of the most collected coin series in American numismatics. First-year-of-issue doubled dies carry particular appeal for specialists building comprehensive type sets of Morgan Dollar die varieties.

Die Markers

• Obverse: Broken point on fourth star on right. Reverse: Split upper right serif of S mintmark.

Attribution History

• Discovered by John A. Wexler Cross References: None known PHOTOS NEEDED
• Expert attribution by Wexler Team

External References