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1878 8 Tail Feathers Morgan dollar value guide -- the first-year design variety, mintage, and price estimates.
Condition drives the price — full breakdown below.
Note: a full grade-by-grade breakdown for this coin is still being compiled.
749,500 struck — against the other key dates in the Morgan Silver Dollar series.
Bars are scaled to keep the smallest mintages visible; the exact figure is printed on every row. Mintage is coins struck, not coins surviving — melting and circulation wear thin those numbers further.
The first Morgan dollar design of 1878 -- the eagle's tail shows 8 feathers, changed mid-year to 7 feathers after a design tweak.
First-year type coin, popular as an affordable way to own the very first Morgan dollar struck.
Live listings matching the 1878 8 Tail Feathers Morgan Silver Dollar
Other dates and varieties in this series
What to check before you pay, specific to this date and its 749,500-coin mintage.
The same date runs from about $141 worn to $2,538 at the top of the scale — a 18× spread. Nearly all of that gap is condition, not the date on the coin, so work out where an example sits on the table above before deciding whether its asking price is fair.
A PCGS or NGC holder settles authenticity and grade in one go, which is most of what you're actually paying for at this level. The premium it adds is small next to the cost of being wrong about either.
Every Morgan Silver Dollar listed here is priced by an individual seller, so the same coin in the same grade can differ by a wide margin on any given day. Sort by price, check Metal Points and order history for a sense of the seller's record, and message them if the photos don't show enough to grade confidently.
About the 1878 8 Tail Feathers Morgan Silver Dollar
A typical circulated example brings around $141, with uncirculated examples ranging from $439 to $2,538.
The first Morgan dollar design of 1878 -- the eagle's tail shows 8 feathers, changed mid-year to 7 feathers after a design tweak.
For anything you believe is a key date or an error, professional grading protects both buyer and seller by settling condition and authenticity before money changes hands.
The rest of the series, with what each is worth at the top of the grade scale.
List it free on PeerMetals — flat 2.75% seller fee, zero listing fees, 1–3 day payouts.