1890-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week 5-22-11

…from the drummer collection



“They’re Back”…the Triumphant Return of Carson City Half Eagles

After a "no half eagle production" gap of five plus years, thanks to our nation's 23rd president Benjamin Harrison and superintendent Samuel C. Wright the Carson City mint once again renewed its production of gold half eagles in 1890 with 53,800 pieces coined – an all time high mintage figure to date; aproximately 700 to 800 survive today.


During the Carson mint closure, the western US production duties of gold half eagle production were assigned to the San Francisco mint. In those years, that mint put forth some prodigious numbers of half eagles. Here are some Examples:

San Francisco Mint – half eagle production - 1886: 3,268,000 - 1887: 1,912,000 - 1888: 293,000

In 1890, San Francisco did not produce any half eagles. Those duties were given to the mints at Carson City (53,800) and Philadelphia (4,328). The “S” mint resumed production of gold half eagles in 1892 with 298,400 pieces struck.

Although the 1890-CC gold half eagle mintage figure of 53,800 was a record setter at the Carson facility it still paled in comparison with those staggering “S” mint production numbers shown above. Despite that, Carsonites in those times had to have been highly pleased with the fact that their mint was back in business . In 1890, the future for them looked very bright indeed.


Strike and Color:


Most 1890-CC $5 issues are well struck. The typically weak areas on the obverse are the hair curls around Ms. Liberty’s ear and near her eye brow. Reverse weaknesses are generally seen in the eagle’s neck and breast areas.

Many survivors of this date show original color and unlike many of the 1870's and '80's dated "CC" half eagles not all have been dipped or cleaned. However, many do show the field abrasions and “bag marks” so typical of Carson City gold coins. Those examples that exhibit minimal abrasions with little or no mint-made discolorations (copper spotting-grease stains) are of course highly prized. It’s relatively easy to locate original specimens with very good eye-appeal in affordable price ranges.
The luster seen on most 1890-CC $5 examples is among the best that can be found on any date “CC” half eagle.
Add up all these positive traits, throw in the affordability factor and you’ve got yourself a prime example of a great type set coin; perfect for a collector seeking a high end “CC” half eagle for their type set collection.


Grades:


Most examples of this date are found in the XF to AU range (350 to 400) although a high number are found in the uncirculated grades (300 to 330). It can actually be somewhat difficult to locate specimens graded VF-35 and below! The one finest known example is a whopper graded MS-66 by PCGS. There are currently three known graded MS-65 (one by PCGS; two by NGC). As many as 47 to 50 examples are graded MS-64 by PCGS and NGC. (Mintage/survival figures courtesy of The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe.)
A superb example of a PCGS graded MS-64 is shown further along in this article.


Pricing:


Note: The prices I present in this (and just about all) my COW posts are very generalized. Most figures are obtained courtesy of U.S. Coin Digest. They should be thought of as “ballpark” figures only. Here is a price guide:

VF-20: $330.00
XF-40: $460.00
AU-50: $615.00
MS-60: $1,600.00
MS-63: $8,000.00
MS-65: $55,000.00 plus


I must again mention that 1890-CC half eagles represent a great buy for today's collector. Because of their high (relative to "CC" standards) survival figures they don't command the same respect as some of the much scarcer 1870's and 1880's issues.
All things in perspective, this is still a far scarcer coin than many fabled "household" coin rarities such as the 1909 VDB Lincoln cent.

A purchase of an 1890-CC $5 gold piece offers a collector the chance to own a slice of wild west US history at a very affordable price.



My 1890-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece – PCGS XF-45 – Variety 1-A*


My coin was purchased in the early days of the 2000’s for unbelievable low sum of $375.00. I was so excited to get this coin as it was the first Carson City gold half eagle I had ever owned! Despite its lower grade, it has very good eye-appeal, plenty of luster, minimal surface abrasions and a nice strong strike.
These features can easily be seen even in my remedial photograph shown above (despite the scratches on the old well-worn holder). One casual look at this honey-gold beauty and you’d swear it was at least an AU-50. Upon close examination however, you would probably come to the conclusion that it was in fact graded correctly, although on the high end of the grade.

As all 1890-CC half eagles, my example is classified Variety 1-A (see “Varieties” below), further, my example exhibits no reverse lettering cracks therefore it appears that it is an early die state example.

This coin would be among the easiest and most affordable upgrades in my complete set of “CC” half eagles, and I may even do that someday, however, this particular coin is also very special to me as it is the first acquisition in my “CC” half eagle collection and because of that, I will always treasure it. It’s “a keeper” for me.


Here is an example of a near gem 1890-CC half eagle graded MS-64 by PCGS. This splendid peach-hued piece sold for $17,250.00 at the Heritage Signature Coin Auction - January 2008 in Orlando Florida (F.U.N. Show)




Die Varieties (Only one is currently known)


According to "CC" gold expert Douglas Winter, “it is probable that one or two other positional varieties exist and await discovery.”

"CC" half eagle expert John W. McCloskey states In his article “A Study of Carson City Half Eagles” (Curry’s Chronicle Fall-Winter 2010 Issue – pages 92-99), “There is only one known reverse for the 1890-CC, 1891-CC, 1892-CC, and 1893-CC half eagles. There are four different reverse dies for these years as indicated by the placement of the mintmarks on coins with these dates. Again, it is possible that any one of these four reverse dies was used in more than one of these years.”

Variety 1-A:*(my coin)

“The date is large and spaced evenly between the base of the neck and the denticles. The mintmark is tall, closely spaced and placed rather high. On late die states, there is a reverse crack that runs through the lettering.”
( Varieties courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter, edited by James L. Halperin)



1890 HISTORICAL EVENTS



January 7 - W B Purvis patents fountain pen

February 24 - Chicago is selected to host the Columbian Exposition


March 24 - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle begins his Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of Wisteria Lodge"

April 11 - Ellis Island (NY) designated as an immigration station

May 2 - Territory of Oklahoma created

June 10 - 24th Belmont: Pike Barnes aboard Burlington wins in 2:07.75

July 3 - Idaho admitted as 43rd US state

August 6 - Cy Young pitches & wins 1st game leading his Cleveland Spiders to victory over the Chicago Colts

September 25 - Congress establishes Yosemite National Park (California)

October 23 - Russian composer Alexander Borodin produces his Opera Prince Igor in St Petersburg

November 29 - 1st Army-Navy football game, Score: Navy 24, Army 0 at West Point

December 29 - US 7th Cavalry massacre 200 plus capture Sioux at Wounded Knee, SD



By Michael Parrott the drummer

Michael,

You started with this great hook for your article about 1890-CC $5 gold pieces:

the Triumphant Return of Carson City Half Eagles

This, and the following information about production totals at the various mints, puts things in perspective as far as where the Carson City Mint fit in.

As usual, you pulled together many historical, technical, survival-total, and pricing-information facts in your profile of this week's coin.

You topped everything off by introducing the human-interest element when you mentioned your personal connection to this coin, and for effect you did it twice.

My coin was purchased in the early days of the 2000’s for unbelievable low sum of $375.00. I was so excited to get this coin as it was the first Carson City gold half eagle I had ever owned!

and

this particular coin is also very special to me as it is the first acquisition in my “CC” half eagle collection and because of that, I will always treasure it.

I bet you never thought that this $$375 purchase would lead to the building of "The Drummer" collection of Carson City half eagles.

Your 1890-CC $5 gold piece is the foundation stone of your collection.

Way to go on presenting another heartfelt COTW post.

Rusty

Hi Carsonite

Thank you for your kind words regarding my 1890-CC $5 COW post.

I normally have plenty of time to work up my COW articles but due to a hectic schedule, this particular one was done in just a few short days..still, my goal was to make the post as interesting and broad-view as possible without making it too long. I burnt a bit of midnite oil but finally finished the post to my satisfaction...I'm very happy that you enjoyed it as well.

I love the way you put it..."Your 1890-CC $5 gold piece is the foundation stone of your collection"....that is so well said! I wish I had thought of that...

Yes Carsonite...you are 100% correct.....I never dreamed that the day I bought that 1890-CC $5 coin it would eventually lead to a complete set of "CC" half eagles. Soon after my 1890-CC $5 purchase, I got a nice example of an 1891-CC $5 (NGC MS-61) and then later still I got the 1882-CC $5 (NGC AU-55).
The rest I got from you!

I had a nice variety of "CC" coins in my collection before this half eagle set was completed, but my collection had no direction...lacked focus....since I have completed at least this one very rare and important set, all sorts of pleasantly unexpected doors have opened up for me. These wonderful opportunities have come my way because of the completion of my set, "the drummer collection." Suddenly, my collection has focus and direction...I never saw these nice opportunities coming and I'm very grateful for them. The importance of building important and historic "complete" sets cannot be overstated.

the drummer

Drummer,

What a terrific Coin of the Week article! It's crammed full of great information and loads of very useable data for us CC collectors.

You highlighted the comparison between mintage numbers at Carson City versus San Francisco, which caused me to pick up my Red Book and compare mintage volumns for all the common dates between the two US branch mints.

By doing so, I found another interesting little factoid. As you know, the only years where Carson City minted more half eagles than San Francisco were 1874, 1875 and 1876. But what caught my eye about these comparative half eagle dates is that for all three years, the Carson City half eagles are worth more, and in some cases a lot more, than the San Francisco half eagles even though the CC coins were minted in greater volumn.

Once gain, congrats on an informative and downright "fun" article. You made one of the most common Carson City dates as interesting as one of the most rare.

Your CC friend....Belay Off

Hi Belay

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed my COW post of the 1890-CC $5.

I was not aware of the price differences between "S" mint and "CC" mint coins for those years 1874-1875 & 1876. great detective work there my friend! I wish I had thought to put that in my article. Finally, a little respect for Carson City gold coins!

I look forward to your next post Belay...they're the best!

the drummer

Another great article on one of your wonderful half eacles. That one is particularly nice, great detail and great color. I always enjoy all the photos you include in your articles.

Garry