1890 Dollar Coin Error List with Pictures

The famous Tailbar is extra raised metal, not a scratch cut into the dollar. That difference starts the search for 1890 Morgan dollar errors.

An especially well-preserved Carson City Tailbar brought $27,025 in July 2022. Estimated values across the features below range from $100–$30,000, with mint and condition accounting for much of the spread.

Compare the actual shape, then follow the relevant checks for the date, surface, or edge.

1. 1890 Morgan Dollar Repunched Date

A date punch could enter the steel stamping tool more than once at slightly different positions. Parts of the earlier impression could remain beside the final digits.

The Philadelphia dollar illustrated by Mad Die Clashes has repeated detail at 1, 9, and 0. The page also documents clash marks on that same coin.

These two features have different causes. The date traces came from preparing the tool, while the clash resulted from contact between the front and back tools.

A thick numeral or an unrelated line near the date does not establish a repeated punch impression.

Estimated Value

Estimate $100–$1,000 for an identified Philadelphia repunched-date example in worn through ordinary unworn condition. The visibility of the repeated strokes and the coin’s preservation help determine collector interest.

Small traces can add only a modest amount to an ordinary dollar. Original surfaces make those traces easier to examine and compare.

The illustrated coin also has clash marks, but both features belong to one dollar. Compare its complete appearance rather than adding a full repunched-date price to a full clash-error price.

How to Identify

Photograph 1890 as a complete date, then inspect 1, 9, and 0 separately with a magnifier. Keep enough surrounding metal visible to distinguish extra numeral strokes from random marks.

Compare the shapes with the Philadelphia specimen on Mad Die Clashes. Its repeated digits should not be replaced with an assumed pattern from another mint.

Look for strokes that fit the curves or straight portions of the affected numerals. Scratches that cross them at unrelated angles do not make another punch position.

The same dollar’s clash marks provide additional context, not proof of repunching by themselves. Check the date on its own before matching the whole coin’s other features.

 

2. 1890 Morgan Dollar Clash Traces and Extra Border-Tooth Impressions

Without a blank between them, the front and back stamping tools can collide. Their contact can leave traces of the opposite design on coins struck afterward.

A specialist’s Philadelphia example documents this kind of clash. A separate seller report describes extra tooth-like impressions beneath the eagle’s tail.

Those small teeth resemble the shapes normally found around the inner border. Their location away from the border is part of the comparison.

The Philadelphia clash example also has a repunched date. A coin can carry both features without either one being the cause of the other.

Estimated Value

For a matched Philadelphia clash, estimate $100–$1,200 across circulated and ordinary unworn conditions. Transferred details can attract more attention than a faint line visible only at one lighting angle.

Extra tooth-like marks beneath the eagle need their own convincing match. An unexplained group of bumps should not receive a named-variety premium automatically.

Condition and surface originality matter, even when several clash traces survive. Count the whole coin once when it also carries a repunched date or another small tool feature.

How to Identify

Begin with a full photograph of the face carrying the unexpected mark. Locate the normal design around it before comparing the small transferred fragment.

Use the specialist’s Philadelphia images to decide which lines belong to the documented clash. Do not build a match by selecting unrelated scratches from different coins.

For the tooth-like marks, examine their spacing and shape beneath the eagle’s tail. They should resemble a repeated border pattern rather than one isolated dent.

Inspect both faces because related traces can help explain the event. Keep the repunched date as a separate check: matching 1, 9, and 0 cannot by itself prove that a line elsewhere came from tool contact.

 

3. 1890 Morgan Dollar Reported Doubled Designs

A stamping tool can contain repeated outlines before it ever strikes a blank. Dollars made with that tool can then repeat the same doubled details.

The 1890 year guide reports doubling on lettering and eagle feathers, with eye details also mentioned. It does not establish one exact pattern or mint for every report.

Each candidate therefore needs comparison with its own documented example. The general description should not become a claim that Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City all share one variety.

Repunched date digits and a coin receiving two whole strikes are different mechanisms.

Estimated Value

For an authenticated doubled-design example in ordinary collector grades, estimate $100–$1,500. Strong separation, a recognizable pattern, and original surfaces can improve its appeal.

The year guide suggests roughly $400–$1,200 for its reported doubled-design category. Those are guide estimates, not individual auction results or a guaranteed minimum for any thick-looking letter.

The mint and condition must be established before selecting a comparable coin. A rare high-grade dollar can be valuable even when its small doubled details add little extra interest.

How to Identify

Find out which mint made the candidate before looking for a price match. No letter identifies Philadelphia; O, S, and CC identify the other three mints.

Enlarge the reported doubled letter, feather, or eye feature together with neighboring normal detail. The repeated outline should follow the design rather than turn into random roughness.

Low flat shelves beside letters can come from movement during striking and should be compared carefully with raised copied contours. Do not identify an entire variety from a single blurry image.

Ask for a specific same-mint comparison showing the same positions and shapes. The broad year-guide description is a starting point for examining the coin, not a substitute for that actual match.

 

4. 1890 Morgan Dollar Raised Cracks or Breaks from Damaged Tools

A narrow crack or missing piece in a stamping tool can fill with metal when the coin is struck. That produces a raised line or lump rather than a cut into the silver.

Year sources describe extra rim metal on a New Orleans example and a wreath-area break on a San Francisco coin. Their exact outlines and positions need the corresponding photographs.

The New Orleans description does not establish a large missing tool section at the edge. A small crack, chip, and major rim break should not be treated as identical appearances.

Later impact damage can push up metal too.

Estimated Value

Estimate $100–$2,000 for authenticated cracked- or broken-tool examples in ordinary worn through unworn condition. A larger raised break can attract more attention than a common fine crack.

The New Orleans and San Francisco reports require separate comparisons because their locations and appearances differ. The word break alone does not determine rarity or value.

Check whether the surrounding coin retains detail and surfaces. A genuine raised feature can coexist with cleaning, scratches, or rim damage that lowers the whole coin’s appeal.

How to Identify

Follow the boundary between the extra metal and the original design. Determine whether it forms a thin raised line, a small lump, or a larger area reaching the rim.

For a wreath-area example, keep the adjacent leaves in the close-up so the feature has a clear location. For a rim example, add a side view showing whether metal was pushed over by a later blow.

A matching repeated shape on another coin can support a damaged-tool explanation. General roughness or a flattened rim does not establish it.

Do not scrape the raised area to test its height. Move a small light instead and compare the shadows with the undamaged surface around it.

 

5. 1890 Morgan Dollar Partial Collar with a Stepped Edge

A blank can enter the collar ring only partway before it is struck. Some edge metal is contained and receives grooves, while the unsupported section spreads outward.

A Philadelphia listing describes this effect around the full edge of an 1890 dollar. Its railway-track nickname refers to the stepped appearance, not an added metal band.

The report concerns a circulated example and does not supply professional certification. The actual ledge must be checked before accepting the description.

This differs from a broadstrike, where the blank lacks proper collar support more completely. A filed or squeezed edge can also look unusual.

Estimated Value

For an authenticated Philadelphia partial collar, estimate $150–$2,500 across circulated and ordinary unworn conditions. A visible step around much of the edge can make the striking mistake easier to understand.

A listing’s nickname does not establish a sale price. The amount of expansion, surviving grooves, and preservation are more useful comparison points.

A worn coin with an original step may still be collectible. Filing or later edge damage should not be assigned the same premium as a mint-made collar effect.

How to Identify

Examine the edge before the faces. Look for a ledge dividing the grooved portion from metal that spread beyond the collar.

Follow the ledge around a loose coin while keeping your fingers off the flat surfaces. Take overlapping side photographs to show whether the step continues or changes.

A smooth patch from filing usually shows removed metal and may retain parallel tool lines. It does not establish the two levels formed by partly supported metal during striking.

Now inspect both faces for the border’s relationship to the edge. If the coin is in a holder, leave it there and use existing edge images rather than trying to free it for a better view.

 

6. 1890 Morgan Dollar Clipped or Incomplete Blank

A missing piece of blank can remain visible after the dollar receives its design. A curved gap can form when the cutter overlaps an earlier hole in the metal strip.

A GreatCollections collection listing identifies an 1890-O rim clip graded ANACS MS61. MS61 describes an unworn coin with noticeable marks.

Year guides also report Philadelphia and Carson City clips, without the same specific specimen details. Their size and location should not be borrowed from the New Orleans example.

An edge cut or filing after minting can remove a similar-looking piece, so the outline alone is only the beginning.

Estimated Value

Use estimated ranges of $150–$1,500 for ordinary Philadelphia or New Orleans clips and $300–$3,000 for comparable Carson City examples. These include the underlying dollar’s value.

A 1921 Philadelphia curved-clip dollar with slight wear sold for $84 in March 2024, providing a different-year comparison for a modest gap. It is not a sale of the 1890-O collection coin.

Larger original gaps and better preservation can increase interest. Very high-grade or scarce-mint coins need closer condition comparisons beyond a generic clip estimate.

How to Identify

A missing piece should reduce a loose dollar’s weight from the normal 26.73 grams. Weigh it without assuming that low weight proves a mint error, since later cutting also removes metal.

Inspect the exposed gap from the side for saw grooves or filing marks. Then follow the raised rim into each end of the gap and examine the design beside it.

Check the opposite rim for weakness as supporting evidence.

Do not assign a clock position or gap size to the New Orleans example from a different coin’s photograph. Keep the readable date and mint mark visible in the same set of pictures so a Philadelphia or Carson City report remains a separate comparison.

 

7. 1890 Morgan Dollar Lamination and Peeling Alloy

A weak layer inside the alloy can lift or separate, leaving a flap or an irregular shallow gap. This is called a lamination.

A Philadelphia front example appears in an ANACS VF25 holder, indicating a circulated coin with moderate wear. Carson City back examples are separately pictured or reported, including a PCGS XF45 coin.

The mint and affected face belong to each individual example. They should not be combined into a fictional dollar with both reported defects.

Morgan dollars use a solid silver-copper alloy, so this peeling is different from a missing outer layer on a modern clad coin.

Estimated Value

Estimate $100–$800 for ordinary Philadelphia laminations and $300–$3,000 for comparable Carson City examples. Much of the difference can come from the mint and preservation of the underlying dollar.

For context, a different-year 1921 dollar with peeling on both faces brought $104 in March 2024. That whole-coin sale does not establish a price for the 1890-CC back example.

A larger intact flap can attract interest, while cleaning or later removal of metal can lower appeal. Compare actual size and condition together.

How to Identify

Leave any raised flap undisturbed and photograph it as found. The thin metal may break if lifted, taking useful evidence with it.

Inspect the exposed boundary and any design that continues onto the peeling sheet. A shallow scrape may instead show cutting lines or metal pushed along its sides.

Turn to the other face to establish the mint before choosing an example for comparison. The Philadelphia report concerns the front; the Carson City reports concern the back.

For a missing flake, an examiner needs the gap’s texture and the surrounding struck details. A stain or a patch of dull color without physical separation does not by itself identify a lamination.

 

8. 1890 Morgan Dollar Design Interrupted by Foreign Material

Material between a blank and a stamping tool can prevent part of the design from forming. When the material falls away, its impression or the missing details can remain.

Auction catalogs list a Philadelphia front example graded NGC MS64 and a separate back example graded PCGS MS63. Both are unworn grades, with MS64 generally showing fewer distracting marks.

A collector’s gallery also reports a minor Carson City example. Its precise location is not given in the listing.

These reports do not identify one shared object or material. Cloth, grease, wood, and metal should not be guessed from the category name.

Estimated Value

Estimate $100–$1,500 for authenticated Philadelphia examples and $300–$4,000 for comparable Carson City coins. Size, clarity, surface quality, and the mint’s ordinary value affect the result.

A different-year 1898 Philadelphia dollar with a broad rectangular back impression sold for $228 in June 2023. Its shape provides context, not proof that an 1890 example met the same material.

A barely visible interruption may add little to an attractive dollar. Larger recognizable impressions can draw more interest when their mint-made origin is convincing.

How to Identify

Locate the impression on the actual coin before choosing a material name. Photograph its boundary against the unaffected design and note which letters or portrait details stop there.

A local obstruction can interrupt an otherwise strong design. General wear should be compared across exposed high points instead of being judged only in the weak patch.

Look under angled light for scrape marks, displaced metal, or a peeling edge. These can point toward later damage or separation within the alloy.

For the Philadelphia examples, match the correct affected face and grade record. The Carson City gallery’s minor-error label does not tell you where to look, so its complete images are needed rather than another year’s close-up.

 

9. 1890 Morgan Dollar Off-Center Strike

A misplaced blank receives only the portion of the design that lands on its metal. An unstruck crescent remains opposite the missing portion of the design.

A New Orleans example struck seven percent off center has a blank front arc from about three to seven o’clock. Its corresponding back arc runs from about ten-thirty to three o’clock.

Another New Orleans example is cataloged at ten percent off center. A year guide also reports San Francisco examples without establishing the same directions or percentages.

A shifted design on just one face can instead result from a misaligned stamping tool.

Estimated Value

The New Orleans seven-percent example, graded PCGS VF30, sold for $2,880 in March 2024. A separate ten-percent XF45 brought $6,405 in January 2026 at Heritage.

Estimate $1,500–$12,000 for authenticated examples across circulated and ordinary unworn conditions. VF30 and XF45 both describe wear, with more detail normally remaining at XF45.

The stronger price is not a fixed reward for three extra percentage points. Condition, mint, visible design, and the appeal of the complete error all affect the comparison.

How to Identify

Compare the blank arcs on the two faces as parts of one object. On the documented seven-percent New Orleans dollar, the front and back arcs occupy different clock positions when each face is upright.

Do not demand identical clock labels on separately upright photographs. Instead, trace the same physical blank area through both views.

Check the date and the O mint mark along with the missing design. A San Francisco candidate needs its own S identification and photographs, not the New Orleans coin’s percentage.

Inspect for later edge removal and check a loose coin’s weight. Striking off center does not itself cut away metal, so a low weight or a sharp cut boundary needs a separate explanation.

 

10. 1890 Morgan Dollar Tailbar and Other Raised Tool Gouges

A deep scratch in the stamping tool can leave a raised bar on the coin. Metal flows into that hollow in the steel during striking.

The Carson City Tailbar runs from the arrow-feather area toward the wreath leaves beneath the eagle. Its familiar name does not mean a bar was attached to the finished dollar.

A historical dealer catalog also reports two tool-gouge lines near the date on a New Orleans coin. Those are a separate pattern, not the Carson City Tailbar in another location.

Both types need raised original metal rather than a trench scratched into the silver surface.

Estimated Value

A Carson City Tailbar graded MS65+ sold for $27,025 in July 2022 at Legend, recorded by PCGS. That grade describes exceptionally well-preserved unworn surfaces.

Estimate $150–$30,000 for Tailbars from heavily worn through exceptional unworn examples. Use roughly $100–$1,000 for ordinary New Orleans tool-line examples after matching their separate pattern.

The highest prices reflect condition and Carson City demand alongside the bar. An added lump or a cut on the coin is not equivalent to this original tool feature.

How to Identify

For the Tailbar, locate the arrow feathers and the wreath leaves below them. Compare the connecting raised bar with a clear Carson City example before assigning the name.

Confirm the CC below the wreath. Then move a light across the bar and inspect its height against the surrounding surface.

A gouge in the coin itself leaves a depression, while metal added afterward can leave an unnatural boundary. Neither should be accepted just because it occupies the right general area.

The New Orleans date-area lines need a separate match to that report. Do not search for a Tailbar there or assume every fine raised line near a date has the same rarity as the Carson City variety.

 

Conclusion

Estimated values across these 1890 Morgan dollar features run from $100–$30,000. The $27,025 Tailbar and $6,405 off-center dollar show two very different combinations of error, mint, and condition.

Examine the metal itself: extra raised contours, a lifted layer, and an unstruck crescent need different explanations. Keep each mint’s examples separate when choosing a comparison.

A complete set of face and edge photographs is more useful than an impressive name attached to one blurry detail.