By Pinnacle-Rarities

The gold coinage from 1870 is among the rarest and most famous issues from the Carson City mint. It has a number of factors that make it very appealing to collectors: low original mintage figures, very small surviving populations, low average grade and numismatic significance as the very first gold issues from this historic mint.

Gold and silver were discovered in Northern Nevada in the late 1850’s and the area was experiencing a full-blown gold rush by the early 1860’s. In 1863, a mint was authorized in the Territory of Nevada. After experiencing some construction delays, a new branch mint opened in the booming town of Carson City in 1870. It actively produced coins until it was closed in 1893.

In 1870, the Carson City mint struck silver dimes, quarters, half dollars and dollars. Three gold denominations were produced as well: half eagles, eagles and double eagles. All three are interesting and worthy of a closer inspection.

I. 1870-CC Half Eagle

A total of 7,675 1870-CC half eagles were produced. It has been estimated that 50-60 pieces are known today and this number can be broken down as follows:

Uncirculated: 4
About Uncirculated: 7-9
Extremely Fine: 13-15
Very Fine: 26-32

The half eagle is the most available of the three gold denominations produced at the Carson City mint in 1870. It is likely that a few were saved as souvenirs by local residents. Still, this is a rare coin in all grades. The typical piece is likely to show extreme wear, deep marks on the surfaces and poor luster as a result of mishandling. Any 1870-CC half eagle that grades Extremely Fine-45 or better is quite rare and properly graded About Uncirculated pieces are very rare.

Very high-grade 1870-CC half eagles (in this case AU-55 and above) are extremely rare and very desirable. These are the only 1870-CC dated gold issues that are known in this level of preservation (the eagle and the double eagle are essentially unknown above AU-50) which means that a number of condition-oriented collectors are actively seeking to locate a choice 1870-CC half eagle. (more…)

By Doug Winter – RareGoldCoins.com

One of the many interesting facts about the rare coin business at this point in time is that the focus in the gold market is clearly on generics and semi-numismatic items and, at least for the time being, off many rare coins. How has this shift of focus affected the Liberty Head double eagle market and, more specifically, the market for common date Carson City issues?

I look at common CC double eagles as a sort of bellwether for the dated gold market. The most common Carson City issues (such as the 1875-CC, 1876-CC, 1883-CC, 1884-CC, 1890-CC and 1892-CC) are affordable, exist in enough quantity that they are subject to occasional promotional activities and have a good enough background story that they are easy to sell to beginning collectors.

Traditionally, the price ratio for Extremely Fine and About Uncirculated Carson City double eagles versus generic common dates of this design was around two to one for XF coins and around three to one for AU coins.

A year ago, well before the current soaring gold market, a common 1904 double eagle in Extremely Fine was worth in the area of $700-800 and not an easy issue to sell. The same coin in About Uncirculated was worth just a bit more; say $750-850. At the same point in time, an 1890-CC double eagle was worth around $1,400-1,600 in EF and $2,000-2,250 in AU. This meant that the price ratio for the two issues was approximately 2x in EF and 3x in AU. (more…)