1878-CC $10 Carson City Coin of the Week 3/6/2011

Place: Nevada State Museum Auditorium, Carson City, Nevada

Event: Guest Lecturer - Professional numismatist and regional
historian speaks about the 1878-CC Gold Eagle, the important
monetary events of 1878 affecting Carson City citizens and
some of the powerful people making headlines.

Who: Local High School history class field trip.

Good morning and thanks for attending this session of the Nevada State Museum's "The Coins and History of Carson City" lecture series. This morning's lecture is actually taken from a chapter in a book I am writing. I'll be reading some of this material from the draft manuscript, so please raise your hand or speak up to get my attention if I am going fast or if you would like further explanation
on a topic.

Hopefully, you've all had the chance to look at the coins and their blown-up photographs in the display cabinet up front. I'll be referring to these coins, and others, throughout today's lecture.



Over the period of a full calendar year, 3,244 ten dollar gold coins were produced at the U.S. branch mint in the bustling, western town of Carson, Nevada. Bearing the numerals "1878", below an ever stoic Ms. Liberty, each coin displayed the venerable CC mint mark on the coin's reverse, assuring the numismatic future of a uniquely collectible numismatic treasure.

Gold coin production was on the rise at this time at both the San Francisco and Philadelphia mints. However, Carson City's gold eagle output had been going the other direction for several years because of the ever diminishing supply of gold bearing ore taken from the Comstock ledges. Peaking in 1874 at 16,767 coins, gold eagle production dropped to 7,715 in 1875, 4,696 in 1876, 3,332 in 1877,3,244 in 1878 and would fall to a pathetic 1,762 in 1879.

To facilitate the country's growing economic momentum, the US government began importing foreign gold in 1880. Due to increased commercial demand for smaller gold coin denominations, the Treasury Department ordered all the mints to increase production of gold coins with an emphasis on denominations below the double eagle. This mandate caused gold eagle production at Carson City to soar in 1880 to 11,190 and more than double to 24,015 in 1881.

In the closing years of the Carson City mint's first decade of business, the economic boon of 1880 and 1881 was, as yet, unknown. The mint's anemic eagle production in the five years before the spike of 1880, assured that these dates were destined to become some of the rarest of the Carson City gold eagle series. With the second to lowest mintage total during these years, the 1878-CC Eagle would ultimately become the third or fourth rarest of these special Carson
City gold issues.

But the respect and admiration for this coin would come much later, for throughout the year of 1878, the paltry gold eagle mintage was hardly an event that garnered any attention at all among Carson City's citizenry. The local news paper, The Appeal didn't carry any announcements about the shiny new coin's birth, nor was there much talk over dinner at the Ormsby House about that year's production of gold Eagles at the little mint on Carson Street.

In fact, had the Carson City mint pumped out five or ten times as many 1878-CC Eagles, their production wouldn't have caused many heads to turn. The reality was that nothing could much compete with the prospects of prosperity conjured up in the minds of Carsonites by the hugely impactful Bland Allison Act. Now, that was seriously news worthy stuff!

Yo teach! We thought you wuz gonna talk more bout that purdee gold coin ya brought? Wuzup with diz BlanAlsin stuff?

Think of it this way, the big political and monetary events that came out of Washington, D.C. and in the other big east coast cities 130 years ago, were like a continual stage show to the hardworking people of Carson City. To the average person living in Carson City, Nevada back then, these events must have seemed far fetched and a little unreal...kind of like the larger than life action you see when
you go to the movies. Today, the very best actors and movies win recognition at the Academy Awards don't they. Well, just imagine that it was no different back then...

"Winning the Oscar for Best Performance by a by Silverite"
...the duo of Senator William Boyd Allison and Rep. Richard Bland for their role in requiring the US Treasury to purchase $24,000,000 to $48,000,000 of silver bullion every year, to be made into silver dollars. Despite an overridden attempt by the President of the Gold Banker's Guild, Rutherford B. Hayes, to roll up the red carpet, this
controversial law was signed into law on February 28, 1878.


For many months after the passage of the Bland Allison Act, nearly the only topic of conversation in Carson City involved the impending mass production of the new silver dollar. With the coin's working dies due to arrive before summer, the town could literally taste the economic boon. Even Superintendent Crawford was not immune as he frequently published information about the mint's ever increasing supply of bullion and blank silver dollar planchets. And why not? The Carson City mint produced the town's largest payroll, by a wide margin.

Yeah, OK we heer ya. But really man, gold's where it's at! Are you sayin that this new silver dolla wuz a bigger deal than the gold coins they wuz makin ? I mean really dude, a gold $10 coin is worth ten times as much as that ole silver dolla!

That's right it is worth a lot more in face value, but the record shows they were right to be excited. The spectacular Morgan Silver Dollar, that the U.S. government was about to mint by the truck loads, ultimately became the most widely recognized and collected coin in the world. Most importantly,nearly 14,000,000 of these Morgan Silver Dollars were made right here, in this very building. Of course, back then this was the U.S. Branch Mint at Carson City, not the Nevada State Museum. That was big business for this small Nevada town and it was destined to play a much larger role in the lives of Carson City's citizens than the meager production of 3,244 gold eagles had in 1878.


Yeah, yeah, yeah, Morgan-Schmorgan, can we talk 'bout the '78-CC Eagle now?

Nope, not yet, the big show back east was not easily overshadowed, not by a long shot. There were more big prizes to be handed out on the national stage and the competition was strong for the honors.

Winning the Oscar for Worst Poker Face While Lining One's Pocketsis Treasury Secretary John Sherman. He will be forever revered for his outstanding impersonation of a public servant while purchasing foreign silver at inflated prices while Comstock bullion supplies were still deflating in price.




The alleged growth of Mr. Sherman's retirement fund wasn't the only thing making headway back east at that time. The Specie Resumption Act, passed a few years earlier, had gathered enough momentum over the ensuing years that by 1878, paper money had gained near parity with gold in the east. Despite fierce resistance by the Greenback Party, the government had accumulated enough gold to enable the
redemption of hundreds of millions of legal tender, paper dollars issued a quarter century earlier, during the Civil War. The unexpected effect of this support was the eastern seaboard public's gradual acceptance of paper money, and the U.S. government never looked back!


C'mon man, enough with the pol - tics stuff OK? Let's heer bout that Gold Bald Eagle, man.

PSST, Heh, Robbie..it's called an Eagle dude, not a Bald Eagle ya stooge.

Ahhh, yeah, the golden Eagle coin thing over there in the case, that's wut I meant.

You've all been real patient. There are just a few more events to tell you about which were, in hind sight, more historically important than the 1878-CC $10 Eagle. But the good news is that these topics are all about coins, not politics.

Coin collectors today recognize the year 1878 for its many impactful, monetary policies which ultimately were responsible for creating some of our most cherished numismatic rarities. For instance, 1878 saw the production of the very last Seated Liberty dimes, quarters and half dollars at the Carson City mint. Just think, there are only nine different dates of dimes, quarters and half dollars minted at the famous Carson City mint. Even with a few varieties thrown in, there are very few years that these beautiful Seated Liberty coins were made at Carson City. This is one of the reasons why coins with the CC mint mark are some of the most cherished of all collectable rare coins. Conversely, there are literally hundreds of coin dates to collect from the Philadelphia and San Francisco mints.



But the Treasury Department was not yet done with its production halting edicts. Treasury Secretary Sherman issued orders to Superintendant Crawford that resulted in 1878 becoming the last year of production for the beleaguered Trade Dollar stamped with the august "CC".

Dude, ya mean they stamped the month on the coin next to the mint mark?

Ah, no, son. "august" is an adjective in this case meaning dignified or revered.

Now it's time to talk about this beautiful gold coin, the 1878-CC Eagle, minted right here in this historic building 133 years ago. You may recall from my introduction, how few of these coins were actually made. Of the nineteen years that the Carson City mint produced gold Eagles, only the 1879-CC Eagle, with just 1,762 pieces, was produced in fewer numbers than the 1878-CC Eagle.

Frankly, we're lucky these 1878-CC Eagles exist at all. The Carson City mint had a lot of delays and problems that year. Had these issues not been resolved in time, it's possible that the coin's production might have been delayed until 1879! For instance, the Number One coin press had a big crack in its upper framework and
was out of commission for a large part of the year. Fortunately, there were other coin presses at the mint by 1878 which carried the load. Even so, the big Number One coin press was important and needed to be repaired, regardless.

Instead of shipping the heavy machine all the way across the country for repairs, spending a small fortune on transportation costs, Superintendant Crawford asked the local machine shop of the V&T Railroad if they could do the work. On your way out of the Museum today, stop by and take a look at the old Number One Coin Press. See if you can find the plaque, installed in 1878 by the machinists themselves, proudly announcing their V&T Railroad shop had made these important repairs.

That same year saw the demolition and rebuilding of the boiler room . Once Superintendent Crawford had successfully requisitioned the funds from Congress, workmen began tearing down the building housing the old boiler and ripping up the old, inadequate foundation. They replaced both with strengthened works better able
to handle the mint's new, higher capacity boilers. Completed in ten frustrating weeks, the work actually took two and a half times as long as initially planned. In the end, thanks to the organizational and management abilities of Superintendent Crawford, collectors today can own a $10 gold coin minted in 1878 at the Carson City mint.

Out of the original 3,244 1878-CC gold Eagles minted, experts tell us that only around 75 examples of the coin are known to exist today. That makes the 1878-CC Eagle one of the three or four rarest of the nineteen different dates of Carson City gold eagles. Even a low grade example of this coin, say an VF-20 will cost $4,000 or $5,000. To acquire a worthy example of this date in Almost uncirculated condition, a person would have to pay $20,000 to $40,000, depending the specific coin's eye appeal and quality. Interestingly, 1878 is one of the few dates of Carson City eagles that boast a remaining example in Uncirculated condition. NGC has graded a single 1878-CC Eagle a whopping MS-63! I suspect that coin would sell for at least double or more than the finest Almost Uncirculated example.

Hold da phone dude. I seen lotsa gold coins sellin' on-line for waaayyy less change than you talkin' bout man. All I gotta do's get on E-Bay, flash some cash, an buy me one at a diz' count. Heh, heh...Then I'll sell it to you for 40 large...juz like you sayd.

Sorry, but that's not likely to happen any time soon. Let me ask you. Do you like cars?

Word Holmes! My dad's gotta real flash 56' Chevy in da garage...but he won't let me drive it, mumble, mumble.

OK, then. Think about collectable coins just like your dad thinks about cars. Would he have bought a vintage 1956 Chevy on line for $60,000 just by looking at pictures and reading what the seller wants him to hear? Or would he have wanted to pop the hood and check the hoses and belts for cracks, the engine housing for rust, the
heads for gasket leaks, or perhaps minute cracks in the engine block? Would he just accept the custom paint job as flawless and high quality, or would he have checked it out for himself in the bright sunlight to see if the paint is covering up hidden damage with well placed Bondo?

The point is son, when you're talking about high end, expensive collectables of any kind,"the Devil is in the Details". This is especially true for serious coin collecting.

Yeah well, I jus wanna drive it man, not look at it.

Let's move on. Earlier, I explained that only about 75 of these coins remain in all the world. The two big grading companies, NGC and PCGS, say that 45 of these remaining 1878-CC Eagles, or 60%, are in Almost Uncirculated condition. But thanks to the diligent, hands-on investigations of a few Carson City coin specialists, we know the 60% figure is not a reliable estimate. Many Carson City minted Eagles, regardless of their date, have been over graded in the past. This puts even more pressure on the average collector to make sure he or she is getting good value for their dollar when acquiring one of these expensive coins.

In fact, one well known expert, Mr. Douglas Winter, states that an unusually large percentage of Carson City Eagles graded AU are actually no better than XF. Winter emphasized how important it is to recognize the characteristics of a quality CC gold eagle, as well as those of an average or below average example. His article talked about how such quality characteristics affect pricing, especially when seeking premium, choice condition coins. The following are two direct quotes from Mr. Winter's article about Carson City Gold Eagles.

"I personally know of at least four or five collectors of high
quality Carson City eagles and they are all looking for
essentially the same type of coins right now: choice and
original with good eye appeal. I feel that once the last
of the inferior quality Carson City eagles mentioned above are
finally sold, the market for these coins will heat up."

AND

"Until the bulk of these (over graded, low-end coins, mostly in
the $15,000 to $35,000 range) are removed from the market,
Carson City gold in general will remain highly bifurcated and
marked by huge value differences in similarly graded issues."

Yo, hold up man. Wuz Bigurgurated mean? Yu sayin dem lousy coins makes dis guy Winter throw up or somethin?

Well, not exactly, but you're not far off. Let's just say he's just warning us that there are quite a few Carson City Gold Eagles that are inferior and not worth the money their sellers are asking. He wants us to study the subject and know what we are doing before we spend our hard earned money.

Cmon' dude, lay it on us. How much is the one you been showin us worth anyway? Is that one of dem Bigurgitated ones you toll us bout?

It just so happens that I recently bought this particular 1878-CC Eagle at an auction for a client of mine. I'm sure he wouldn't mind me telling you since its published information anyway. My client paid approximately $22,000 for this coin. I don't mind telling you that we were both surprised at that price. We were prepared to pay a lot more because this particular coin is on the "quality side" of the bifurcation described by Mr. Winter. My client and I simply had luck on our side that day. Had other discerning collectors been actively searching for a worthy 1878-CC Eagle in that particular auction, this coin would have commanded their attention and we may have had to pay well over $30,000 to acquire it.

Very few of the features impressed onto the coins of this era were left to the individual mint's coiners to affix. Among those elements that were still hand placed on the working dies back then, are the date and the mint mark. Accordingly, variances in the size, shape and placement of the date and mint mark have produced the few varieties that exist.

Only one variety is known for the 1878-CC Eagle and the coin on display here today is an example. Designated A-1, the date in this variety is placed very low in the field. The second C of the mint mark is positioned immediately below the lowest feather and midway down the field to the letter N, in TEN.

Douglas Winter states in his book, Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint , that "The A-1 variety's mint mark is shaped like none other". As you can see, even with the naked eye, the two Cs are tall and somewhat fatter than the typical CC mint mark. The first C of the A-1 variety is positioned slightly higher than the second.


Each of you has been given a written description of this lovely 1878-CC Eagle. The handout provides close up photographs of this coin and the important diagnostic features which are found in all 1878-CC Eagles. I will take the coin out of the display case so each of you can look at it through a magnifying glass. See if you can locate the details and, or characteristics described in my write-up.

Obverse: Interesting, side by side circulation dings appear as if Liberty's teeth are sticking through her cheek. A raised bar below last curl is diagnostic of all 1878-CC Eagles. The coin's central features are softly struck, especially the hair curls above Liberty's ear and neckline. These soft strike aspects are typical for this date.
There is some copper discoloration around date and star #13. Stars 3,4,5,6,7 and 8 have been re-cut, though inspection with a loop is necessary to observe these.

Tiny patches of the coin's original luster remain, though depleted, in the most heavily protected areas. Between the spaces of the date's numerals, especially between 1 and 8 and between 7 and 8, one can clearly see die polish lines. Interestingly, these same two spaces seem to be lightly hollowed out.

The few dings and abrasions found on the obverse side do not detract at all from the coin's overall eye appeal. For a Carson City gold coin, the obverse of this example is unusually free of major abrasions, scratches and dings.


Reverse: Two prominent clash marks are diagnostic of all 1878-CC Eagles. The largest clash mark is found between the left wing and eagle's beak. Another smaller clash mark is found in the top crook of the right wing, where it connects to the eagle's body. A few 1 to 2 mm raised bars can be found scattered over the reverse.


Weak strike in central portions, though neck feathers are not as flat as in some years. Three out of the six pairs of vertical lines in the shield are not fully separated. The right claw and the arrow feathers are relatively flat and the kind of lack detail found in better strikes. The left claw is somewhat better.


There is even less original luster found hiding on the reverse side. A gum-like substance can be observed adhering to portions of the three arrow tips and the last letter A. This foreign substance does not stand out nor detract.

Moderately strong doubling is evident in the last four letters of STATES, in OF and, to a lesser extent, in a few other letters.

The coiners appeared to have a lot of trouble with the reverse side denticles. At least 60% of the denticles appear to be doubled, mostly on the bottom half of the coin. Alternatively, when the planchet was being stamped, the collar could have slipped allowing the top and one side of the denticles to be pressured outward, giving the appearance of doubling.

That's a wrap for today's lecture, thank you all sincerely for your attention and interest. For those of you who would like to learn more about the incredible legacy of coins and history created right here by Carson City's forefathers, some of whom may be related to a few of the people in this very room, please see me afterward. I will be handing out applications for membership in the Carson City Coin Collectors Club of America.


Belay Off

References: Many of the facts and figures in this article were borrowed from two separate books written by Rusty Goe. The Mint on Carson Street and James Crawford, Master of the Mint at Carson City-A Short Full Life.

Information about the 1878-CC Eagle A-1 variety and other data regarding overgrading taken from Douglas Winter's, The Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint and from articles published on the internet.

Other references: D.LangeThe United States Mint and its Coinage J.and E.Dauer American History As Seen Through Currency

*All Coin images from Rian's Bequeath Carson City Coin Collection

Wow Belay!

This is beyond a mere COW posting...this belongs in a book!

you have provided a wealth of information to us: History - Politics - Rarity figures - Variety explanations ...the whole nine yards!

Your coin is an astounding example of an extremely elusive date and the revealing photos show just that. The "blow-up" photos describing variety and diagnostics are just fabulous!

You have presented all this information in a "fun" read. You obviously put much time and effort into this outstanding article...my congrats to you on a fine posting

P.S. I'll take the car too!!

the drummer

Obviously not written over a weekend. Very interesting story, Belay. Its an amazing amount of information well presented.

Like I said before, the Coin of the Week project should be published even with most of the comments. [Not this one] With a little editing and a Forward by Rusty and/ or one or two others, I think that this could be the catalyst toward making the club self sufficient.

Belay Off,

You used your narrative style, with dialogue between fictional characters (the lecturer and the yokel-like audience member), very effectively to provide a thorough glimpse into happenings in 1878 in Carson City and across the nation. Your combining of separate coins and currency issued in 1878 (or series connected to that year) to form a coherent whole tied together the collecting aspect of your thoughts nicely.

Your reference, as follows, to declining mintage figures for gold eagles at the Carson City Mint highlights how rare these coins are:

gold eagle production dropped to 7,715 in 1875, 4,696 in 1876, 3,332 in 1877, 3,244 in 1878 and would fall to a pathetic 1,762 in 1879.

As you have discovered, it is getting more difficult to find well preserved examples of any of the above-listed dates.

Your use of Doug Winter's quote that

Carson City gold in general will remain highly bifurcated and
marked by huge value differences in similarly graded issues ...

brings up a topic that will become more prominent in the future.

We could actually expand Winter's use of bifurcation (branching into two directions) to trifurcation (having three branches). Because not only is a two-tiered market developing, which distinguishes between high-end and low-end examples of coins in the same grade, there is also a mid-range. Eventually, the people who publish price guides will need to increase the number of columns in their books and magazines to reflect these different degrees of separation in grading and evaluating coins.

(If anyone on this forum wants to discuss this subject—of variances in grading and pricing—please use the section on this discussion board called "Experiences in Buying Carson City Coins" under the main category of "CC" Coins. Belay Off's article in this post, after all, is about 1878-CC eagles, not about grading standards and their influence on pricing.)

Well done Belay!

Rusty

Belay,

You have done your homework not only for yourself, but for the whole C4OA class as well! I was so impressed with the upclose images and the doubling details, etc. You have some truly remarkable coins and its more than evident how much you appreciate the stories behind each and every single one of them. Thank you for sharing! Who needs a Sunday newspaper when you have the 111-week coin project going strong?

Tom (deepsouthspike)

Drummer,

These topics are fascinating and easy to write about. It's especially enjoyable to poke fun at the politics of those times with our 130 years of hindsight

Thx...Belay Off