The Enigma of the Eight-tailed Eagle! opus 181
| 28 August 2023 1545 Hours | | Numismatics, History, Ornithology |
1878 was the inauguration of the Morgan Silver Dollar.
The Philadelphia Mint started it off with an Eight-tailed reverse eagle.
HORROR! (At least for ornithologists)--
Raptors have only an odd number of tail feathers.
Eight is even! Raptors have one central tail feather,
Thus resulting in the consequential odd number.
So contemplate the Mint's rebuttal action.
Eight was minted, then as Seven, with an interesting caveat--
Leftover Eights were 'recapped' with a new Seven.
The result was four 'Eight tips' protruding out from under the Seven new feathers.
Thus, then, the unintentional creation of yet a new Morgan Error Coin!
1878 P Morgans now and forever shall always have 8, 7/8, and 7 tail feathers.
All these changes, by recognizing ornithologist's credence in their knowledge,
And that although communication was slow,
The world, even with its seeming lethargy, could reach out in detail,
Confusing us all with basic, hardcore, intriguing trivia!