In 1879, the US Mint struck Morgan dollars with two distinct reverses, one with a flatter breast and flat feather atop the arrows (Reverse of 1878 or Second Reverse) and another with a rounder breast and a slanted feather atop the arrows (Reverse of 1879 or Third Reverse). The 1879-S Reverse of 1879 is an extremely common coin in all circulated grades and well into the Gem range, with even MS67s showing up with regular frequency. Amazingly, this piece is available in MS68 and even higher grades though is considerably rare at that level. PLs and DMPLs are reasonably common through MS66 and MS65, respectively, and then becomes much more challenging in grades above that range.
| Country | United States of America |
| Year | 1879 |
| Serie | Morgan Dollars |
| Denomination | $1 (One Dollar) |
| Mint | San Francisco |
| coinage-type | Morgan silver dollar |
| desg | MS |
| designer | George T. Morgan |
| diameter | 38.1 |
| edge | Reeded |
| fineness | 0.9 |
| material | 90% silver; 10% copper |
| mint-mark | S |
| mintage | 9,110,000 |
| ngc-id | 253X |
| obverse-description | Portrait of Liberty centered. On the left are found 7 stars with the words E*PLURIBUS*UNUM followed by 6 stars on the right. The date is positioned at the bottom. |
| pcgs-link | 7092 |
| pcgs-number | 7092 |
| reverse-description | The heraldic eagle is centered holding a bunch of arrows and branch surrounded by and olive leaves. The words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA * ONE DOLLAR frame the periphery. Mint mark, if any, appears above the letters DO of DOLLAR. |
| weight-grams | 26.73 |
| weight-ounces | 0.943 |
| year-display | 1878-1921 |