1875-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 01-17-2010

1875-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece


...from the drummer collection


With an original mintage of 11,828 the 1875-CC half eagle is tied with the 1877-CC half eagle for the 7th (of 19) rarest coins from this series. There are 140-160 estimated survivors in all grades (figures courtesy of The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe.)

All "CC" half eagles are: Type II, Coronet head - within a circle of stars, with the Motto "In God We Trust" on the ribbon above the eagle.
Christian Gobrecht (b.1785-d.1844) the third Chief Engraver for the U.S. Mint, was the designer.

PRICE ESTIMATES (courtesy of U.S. Coin Digest 2009)
VF-20 $1,400 XF-40 $4,500 AU-50 $11,500 MS-60 $52,000

1875: Despite a fire in Virginia City which nearly destroyed the entire town, the Comstock Lode was in its peak bonanza period. James Crawford was beginning his second year as Superintendent of the Carson mint.

The year 1875 saw the Carson City mint produce eight denominations:
(SILVER) - seated dimes (two types), twenty-cent pieces, seated quarter dollars, seated half dollars and trade dollars.
(GOLD) - half eagles, eagles and double eagles.

COIN: The 1875-CC half eagle is nearly always seen in low grades. Most survivors grade XF-40 or below. The example shown here from my collection is conservatively graded VF-35 by PCGS (old green holder). It exhibits sharp detail for a VF coin with only the typical weakness on the eagle's breast. Patches of luster peek through a light orange-gray haze on the obverse. This coin has that "dusty antique" look so desirable on Carson City gold issues and is an exceptional piece for the grade. Alas, my old green holder has a multitude of scratches making it appear that the surface of the coin has a few long unsightly scratches. This is not the case however as this coin has no scratches or gouges worthy of mention.

This date becomes very scarce in XF-45 and rare in lower AU. It's a very rare coin in high AU and extremely rare in mint state where there are only two currently known examples. NGC lists one as the finest known graded MS-63.

Two obverse and three reverse dies were used to strike 1875-CC half eagles. There are presently four die varieties known but other combinations of these might exist. My coin shown here is a VARIETY 1-B specimen. (Die varieties explained courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter - edited by James L. Halperin.)

VARIETY 1-A: "The date is centered and level. Most coins struck from this obverse show noticeable weakness on the hair of Liberty; especially on the bun. The reverse has a mintmark that is close and level. The second C is above the VE in FIVE. It was struck with a rusted die and die rust is visible around UNITED and the right side of the eagle. A large rust pit can be seen below ED in UNITED on the later die state."

NOTE: VARIETY 1-A UPDATE: An article written by C4OA member John W. McCloskey (RM-008) in the Curry's Chronicle spring 2009 issue claims that the VARIETY 1-A does not exist. He points out that reverse pictures of the 1875-CC and 1877-CC half eagles used in making these determinations were accidentally interchanged.

VARIETY 1-B: "The obverse is the same as on the previous variety. The reverse has a mintmark that is more widely spaced than on reverse A and the second letter is much lower than the first. The second C is over the left side of the E in FIVE. This reverse appears to have been struck from a doubled die with this doubling most noticeable on FIVE D. In the later die state of Variety 1-B, this doubling fades. The overall quality of strike seen on Variety 1-B is fairly sharp, especially at the centers."

VARIETY 2-B: "The date is higher than on the first variety and it is positioned off center towards the viewer's left. This variety generally shows a poorer quality of strike than Variety 1-B with weakness often seen at the center of the reverse; especially on the breast of the eagle and the horizontal lines in the shield."

VARIETY 2-C: "On this variety, the mintmark is nearly level and it is positioned very high. The reverse differs from that seen on Variety 1-A as it lacks the aforementioned die rust and the pit below ED in UNITED. In addition, the mintmark is much further to the right with the second C above the middle of the E in FIVE. It is currently the rarest variety of the year with just a single coin known to exist."


1875 HISTORICAL EVENTS:

March 3: U.S. Congress authorizes the new twenty-cent piece inspired by NV Senator John Percival Jones

March 3: Composer George Bizets' opera Carmen premieres in Paris France

May 17: The worlds' first "Run for the Roses" Kentucky Derby. The winner; Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides (time 2:37.75)

October 16: Bringam Young University is founded in Provo, Utah

October 26: Fire ravages Virginia City NV and almost destroys the entire town

December 19: The Massachusetts Rifle Association "America's oldest active gun club" is founded




By Michael Parrott (the drummer) C4OA LM-0023

Great article, Michael. I really like that rendition of the eagle. Very impressive coin.

Thanks Garryn

I love this particular 1875-CC half eagle, it has that special look that I love so much. I've owned it now for over 6 years and it's one of the faves from my whole collection.

I do feel that it is slightly undergraded but hey, it's in one of those old PCGS green holders and as you know, they graded conservatively back then. The pictures are pretty good but don't really do the coin justice. I guess this is pretty much the norm for most collectors...the pictures never seem to fully capture the true essence of the coin.

I thank you for your nice comments Garry. Happy collecting!

the drummer

You should think about picking out a few and submitting them for a regrade. Maybe you will have some success. And Happy Collecting!!

Hi Garryn

I just might take you up on the resub idea. I'm pretty sure that my 1875-CC $5 I just posted would have a fair chance.

the drummer

That is a beautiful coin. And it is quite appearant that you did a lot of wok. It's great!

J. Staples