Interesting Facts about 1878-1879 Morgan Silver Dollars:
-- George T. Morgan's first silver dollar prototype displayed seven tailfeathers on the eagle, but the Mint Director suggested a fuller look and Morgan obliged with an added feather.
-- The first Morgan silver dollars, released exclusively by the Philadelphia Mint in March of 1878, showed EIGHT tailfeathers on the eagle reverse.
-- Morgan's new U.S. silver dollar was generally greeted by praise but an ornithologist protested that bald eagles have an odd number of feathers, and that eight would be inaccurate. The Mint Director countermanded his previous order and had the presses stopped.
-- Since the mintage was halted so soon, merely 750,000 of the Type I "8 tailfeather" Morgan dollar were struck. It would prove to be one of the lowest mintages in the entire series.
-- Morgan now prepared master dies with SEVEN tailfeathers, corresponding to his original conception. Every later Morgan silver dollar's eagle also displayed seven tailfeathers.
-- The first "7 tailfeather" Morgan issue was actually a short-lived type, because its "flat breast" eagle was soon changed to a "convex breast" eagle, which became the standard in the series.
-- The 1878 change from eight to seven tailfeathers created some of the most popular varieties in all of American numismatics.