By
Bill Fivaz,
NLG
As we know,
both the obverse and reverse designs for the Morgan Dollar were
changed in 1921, after a 16-year minting hiatus of this series.
The obverse master die remained constant for the entire year for
all three mints (Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco), but there
was a subtle reverse design change, probably relatively early on
in the year, for the coins struck in Philadelphia.
The two varieties
for the “P” reverse are referred to as the “17-berry”
and “16-berry” reverses. All known Denver and San Francisco
coins carry the 16-berry reverse design.
Interestingly,
the 17-berry design was the first used during this year, and it
has the following characteristics:
1921-P $1 (17-berry
reverse):
* The 17th berry
appears on the inside of the right wreath, below the left stand
of the “R” and AMERICA, just above the very short leaf
* There
is no doubling on the tailfeathers
* Heavy
die polishing is evident on the top arrow point
* The
center (incused) lines in the tailfeathers are very prominent, deep,
and go almost to the bottom of each feather
* The
two “S”s in STATES are doubled inside the bottom loop
* The
star after DOLLAR is not doubled
1921-P $1 (16-berry
reverse):
* No 17th berry
as described above
* Doubling
is visible on the tailfeathers, especially on the first one on the
left and in between others
* There
are no die polishing marks on the top arrow point
* The
incused lines in the tailfeathers are shallower, less prominent,
and all do not go as far down the feathers as do those on the 17-berry
variety
* There
is slight doubling at the very bottom of the lowest wing feather
on the left, above the olive leaves
* The
top berry on the outside right of the right wreath (under the right
serif of the “E” in AMERICA) has a raised center (the
“bullseye” berry)
* The
star after DOLLAR is doubled slightly toward the rim
The fact that
the 17-berry design preceeded the 16-berry is confirmed by the doubling
under the tailfeathers on the latter. This area on the master die
evidently was not “cleaned up” after being over-hubbed
by the 16-berry reverse, and portions of the feathers from the 17-berry
design can be seen peeking through under several of those on the
second design. The doubled star is also a product of the over-hubbing.
The mint did
clean up the heavy die polishing marks on the top arrow point, as
well as the doubling on the “S”s in STATES.
Generally speaking,
the 17-berry reverse is more difficult to find (but certainly not
rare) than the 16-berry. If you want a challenge, start looking
for a branch mint (D or S) 17-beryy reverse. None have yet been
reported, but has anyone really been looking for them? One or more
of the early 17-berry reverse dies could have been sent westward
and used on a few coins, and they may be lurking out there, awaiting
discovery.
If you should
happen to find one, I’m sure there are many collectors that
would give you a handsome profit for your discovery. The search
will also give you something to do at those shows where you just
can’t find that “right” coin for your collection.
The gauntlet
has been thrown down…are you up to the task? Lest you think
this is a hopeless cause, the 1914 Buffalo 5¢ overdates were
discovered as a result of exactly the same challenge.
Bill Fivaz is
the author of Helpful
Hints for Enjoying Coin Collecting and co-author of The
Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varities.
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