1875-CC Eagle Coin of the Week 08/28/2011

1875-CC $10 Eagle Coin of The Week 08-28-2011

Mintage: 7,715


One of the rarest Carson City eagles from the standpoint of pieces known, the 1875-CC is also the most poorly struck coin within the Carson City Eagle series.
The obverse of the 1875-CC eagle is very weakly struck on the hair around the face of Miss Liberty, while the stars tend to lack definition on the radial lines making the overall appearance look flat. In addition, the rim has a peculiar, slightly beveled appearance. The reverse will appear sharper but is nearly poorly defined on the eagle’s neck feathers, the left leg and the olive branch. Luster is below average with a soft, satiny texture. Surfaces are often baggy with many pieces cleaned, some harshly. The 1875-CC eagles color is most often a medium green gold. Because of the issues associated with this date it is very hard to properly grade this date. I have seen examples in hand at the bigger coin shows where you can barely see the precious “CC” mint mark. More often than not this will result in split grades where an obverse may show a very fine 20 grade while the reverse could sport an extremely fine 40. Carefully note the amount of luster and details on the wing which is visible when assigning a grade to the 1875-CC eagle.
Two varieties are known for this issue. The first has a mint mark that is similar in shape and size as is found on the previous year 1874-CC eagle although it does not share the same reverse hub. The first variety (1-A.), the first C is higher than the second C, and the first C is more weakly impressed than the second. The second variety (1-B.) though not confirmed, reported by Breen has a mint mark which is placed lower in the field and which is sharper. Variety (1-B.) if it does exist is considerably rarer per Doug Winter in his book “Gold Coins of the Old West, The Carson City Mint 1870-1893” by Doug Winter and Laurence E. Cutler, MD.
Rarity: total known are 95-115 coins
By grade: XF-AU 55-65
Mint State 2-4
Total certified in all grades (PCGS & NGC) 86 as of April 2003 TMOCS.
Conditions of notable collections:
The Eliasberg specimen was XF-40
The Biltz Collection / Nevada State Museum Collection XF-40
The Battle Born Collection PCGS AU-58.
For reasons unknown, there were fewer $10 eagles produced at the nation’s mints in 1875 than in any year after the Civil War. The San Francisco Mint for the first time since it opened did not strike any gold eagles, and the mother mint in Philadelphia struck a miniscule 120 pieces of which 20 were proofs, leaving the bulk of the workload of 7,175 eagles struck at the Mint on Carson Street.
Gold coin exports exceeded production and nearly $60 million worth of US gold was shipped abroad. With San Francisco Mint’s focus on production of double eagles, the new 20 cent pieces and trade dollars (finally got one for my type set) the Carson City Mint was entrusted as the auxiliary supplier on $10 eagles for the western states. According to Rusty Goe’s “The Mint on Carson Street” it is possible that 90% or more of the mintage of the 1875-CC eagle left Nevada for commerce and export.
This elusive date is ranked in the top half of the Carson City eagle series and is extremely rare in uncirculated condition. Most collectors are happy with a low end AU or and XF. Problem free coins are much deserving of a substantial premium when offered for sale so basically we can throw out the price guides on this issue.
With the number of coins produced at the Carson City Mint in 1875 increasing fivefold from the previous years total due to the Specie Payment Act passed into law on January 1875. In order to redeem fractional paper money that was introduced at the beginning of the Civil War the mints churned out larger quantities of silver dimes, quarters and half dollars. This Act was supposed to be the perfect solution to guarantee mining companies a steady outlet for their silver and prevent future coin shortages. Most of these issues sat in the vaults continuing to accumulate in quantities far in excess of the country’s need and unlike our 1875-CC eagle that was pressed into commerce and to settle foreign debts.
If you find one of these gems and your bank account allows you may not want to think twice about snapping this date up, providing of course if it meets your criteria as it may be a long time before another passes your way again.
I myself have yet to acquire an eagle from our favorite mint and most likely end up with a date from the 1890’s when I get one, have enjoyed researching the 1875-CC eagle and as most of us know any eagle for the 1870’s is a tough coin to locate, I hope that I have given a little bit of insight to this issue and if you are working on an eagle set good hunting!!!!
thanks to "The Mint on Carson Street"by Rusty Goe and "Gold Coins of the Old West" by Doug Minter and Laurence Cutler, MD.
From a tropical storm ravaged New Hampshire,
Loosechange

Hi Loosechange

Here I am in my little room at the Virginia City Motel writing this reply to your great COW post of the 1875-CC gold eagle.

This is an extremely tough date to locate specimens with good eye appeal. When they are found, a premium will have to be paid!
As you pointed out, great specimens are not seen frequently and if a real nice one comes your way, and your bank account will allow it, snap it up quick before it's gone.

You presented all your facts well in an easy to read format.

I had loads of fun in Virginia City today completely exploring the town and area. My wife Jo Ann and I were joined by Belay who had his very first experience visiting Virginia City. He loved it! We had a great time.

Thanks for a great post!

the drummer

Loosechange,

Far and away your best researched article to date. Your knowledge and particularly your insight to Carson City coins has increased tremendously since your first Coin of the Week posting.

You hit the nail on the head when you stated that one can simply throw out the coin pricing reference books when it comes to premium examples of the 1875-CC Eagle. For that matter, the same is true for ANY quality example of a CC minted coin.

Great job Mark!

Belay Off

[img size=240] i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy166/BelayO...EagleOb-holder-1.jpg [/img size]

Loosechange,

You put your information together in an orderly manner, and in doing so, you provided a nice profile of this rare-date "CC" eagle.

You wrote:

Problem free coins are much deserving of a substantial premium when offered for sale

which everyone who has ever searched for rare "CC" gold coins knows very well.

Good job, and way to go in remembering to cite your sources.

Rusty

Nice article, Mark, as usual. I agree with the consensus that pricing guides are irrelevant for coins in general these days.

Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragement. I learned a lot about this date and finding specimens that well struck are really rare. The info obtained from Doug Winters books and of course the bible on Carson City coinage"The Mint on Carson Street" by Rusty Goe were extremely helpful in writing the article. I look forward to my next article which will be on another coin in the eagle series.


Loosechange