Help identifying a possible 1877 US Dollar with missing last digit

Hello,

I would like to ask for your help in identifying a US dollar that I recently acquired. The coin seems to be dated 1877, but the last digit of the date is not visible, possibly due to a filled die (die clog) or another minting defect.

• Weight: 27.01 g
• Metal: silver
•  
• 
   

Could this be a genuine 1877 issue with a mint error, or does it point to something else (alteration, worn die, counterfeit)?

Any insights, references, or comparisons would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your expertise!

1873-79 San Fransisco Mint Trade Dollar

This is an 1874-S on PCGS Value View.

There are a lot of die varieties, Major and Minor in most all the 1873-79 years!

Thank you for your reply.

Looking at the coin carefully under magnification, I can clearly see a 7 as the last digit – so the date is definitely 1877.

I haven’t been able to find any identical examples of a filled die (clogged date) on 1877 Trade Dollars. Do you perhaps know of any documented cases or references for such a variety?

Your expertise would be much appreciated.

geza

Thank you for your reply.

Looking at the coin carefully under magnification, I can clearly see a 7 as the last digit – so the date is definitely 1877.

I haven’t been able to find any identical examples of a filled die (clogged date) on 1877 Trade Dollars. Do you perhaps know of any documented cases or references for such a variety?

Your expertise would be much appreciated.

Here are known Varieties for the 1877-S which I'm thinking is your coin as it looks like an S mintmark on the reverse.  apologies, I couldn’t fit everything in one screenshot, so I had to use three images. 

And below are the varieties for the 1877. as you can see, there are quite a few less than the San Francisco Mint 1877.

Your coin has a large S mintmark. There are more small S coins than large S. Plus your mintmark is farther to the left than most. You might be able to guess which year my looking at those on PCGS to match the same die. 

I'm surprised that a detail that large would fill completely and leave no part of the numeral. Maybe somebody removed it on purpose to change a lower value 1877 S into an 1873 S and gave up.

rsirian1

Your coin has a large S mintmark. There are more small S coins than large S. Plus your mintmark is farther to the left than most. You might be able to guess which year my looking at those on PCGS to match the same die. 

 

I'm surprised that a detail that large would fill completely and leave no part of the numeral. Maybe somebody removed it on purpose to change a lower value 1877 S into an 1873 S and gave up.

Very possible scenario!

Here are some new photos.

After looking through all the pictures on PCGS the only year that has the S mint mark on some coins in the same location and the same size, shape and orientation is 1877.

I think the 7 on your coin was “erased” on purpose.

rsirian1

After looking through all the pictures on PCGS the only year that has the S mint mark on some coins in the same location and the same size, shape and orientation is 1877.

I think the 7 on your coin was “erased” on purpose.

I agree, and it’s the only conclusion I can come to.