Choice
1874-CC Halves are Under-Appreciated
By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink - February 20,
2007
Eiberty
Seated Half Dollars were minted from 1839 to 1891. Those minted in Carson City,
Nevada (CC) in the year 1874 are very rare, especially in uncirculated
condition.
 |
| Two 1874-CC Seated Halfs Auctioned in
the same week |
These are in the news as
two were just auctioned in Southern California. Coincidentally, both 1874-CC
halves were graded MS-64 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC). One was
auctioned on Feb. 12 by the firm of Ira and Larry Goldberg at the Beverly Hills
Crowne Plaza. The other was sold by Heritage on Feb. 15, in the official
auction of the Long Beach coin, stamp and collectible expo.
All 1874,
1874-S and 1874-CC half dollars have arrows at either side of the year on the
obverse. So, there is no need to focus on the arrows in a discussion of 1874-CC
halves.
It is true that 1873 and 1874 dated halves 'with arrows'
constitute a separate type. Those who collect by design type would need only
one of six dates for their type sets. Most type collectors would not, however,
acquire an 1874-CC for a type set, as it is much rarer and much more expensive
than an 1873 or 1874 Philadelphia issue. Before 1942, Philadelphia Mint U.S.
coins never had mintmarks. .
It is very likely that these two are among
the top ten 1874-CC half dollars in existence. Both
may rank in the top six!
There are five categories of
collectors who would be interested in obtaining one of the two 1874-CC halves
that were just auctioned. First, there are those who seek to complete a set of
all Liberty Seated Half Dollars, 1839 to 1891. Second, some people collect a
subset of Liberty Seated halves such as all those 'With Motto' from 1866 to
1891.
Third, thousands of coin enthusiasts enjoy owning very attractive
coins from the 19th century. Indeed, these two 1874-CC half dollars may be of
interest to connoisseurs. Fourth, there are many collectors who like to acquire
very rare coins, even if such coins are not used to complete any kind of set.
Fifth, Carson City coins are a very popular specialty. Some seek to
acquire examples of all Carson City coins of one denomination (such as quarters
or half dollars), one series such as Morgans, or one metal (silver or gold).
