1878-S VAM-36
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Description
1878-S VAM-36 "Dragon Scales" Engraved Wing Feather, Acid Treated Feathers Discovered by David DeRuiter, November 1979. Coin courtesy of Jim Hart. Revised 2012. This coin is a Top 30 1878-S Variety and a WOW! Morgan VAM. '''36 ('''revised''') II 1 • B2x (Engraved Wing Feather, Acid Treated Feathers) (184) ''' '''Obverse II 1 -''' Two raised dots inside ear. Fourth right star broken. Slight doubling of lower serif of B in PLURIBUS and front of Liberty band. '''Reverse B2x -''' Feather engraved between eagle's right wing and leg. Portions of feathers acid treated with raised areas in center of both wings, next to body on eagle's left wing and on upper tail feathers. R in TRUST broken. Most extensive touch-up engraving of any Morgan Dollar working die. '''DPIS''' – In 1878 dates were part of the master die so there is no variation in position. ;Emission Sequence :Obverse: :Reverse: '''LVA Comments: # LVA thinks that this reverse was first used to strike the VAM 113. Making it the first use of the B2x Reverse Die. VAM 118 was thought to be the first use before the VAM 113 was discovered. His note: "I suspect this is really a trial Obv & this die combo must be very rare. '78-S varieties have been extensively studied and this Obv die had not been reported. Rev die is earlier die state than with VAM-36 [<s>Die 1</s>] Obv. Likely this die combo was first one used with B2x Rev since both are very EDS with PL surfaces. Will be interesting to see if other examples of this die combo can be found." --- LVA '''Comments: # Other former various die designations now VAMs 117 and 118 # The [[1878-S VAM-36B is the Late Die State with an obverse radial die break. # The Progression can be seen here [[78 S V36 series Progression # This exact reverse can be found on VAM 113, too. # Formerly VAM 36.1