1874-CC Gold Eagle CC Coin of the Week Oct 24, 2010

After the political posturing and intrigue that resulted in the revaluation of silver in 1873 and the resignation of H. F. Rice as Superintendent of the Mint in Carson City and replacement of the Coiner and Assayer, the new Superintendent Frank Hetrick settled into his job and so began the next era of coinage at the Mint.

The year 1874 saw increased production in all denominations of gold. In general, gold production increased 513%. Eagles increased 369 percent from 4,543 to 16,767. In fact, Eagle production in 1874 nearly equaled production in the three prior years.

As such, survival rates for 1874 Eagles is more plentiful than any other year in the 1870’s. Rusty Goe estimates 260 to 300 in all grades. The closest is 1871 with estimated survival rates of 120 to 150. Survival rates in uncirculated, however, mirror that of the rest of the decade. Only 2 to 4 are known in uncirculated. Far and away the finest known, the Henry S. Lang specimen resides in a PCGS MS65 holder. PCGS Coinfacts reports that this coin was catalogued as an NGC MS64 specimen, ex-Bob Lecce, that sold in Heritage’s Wayne Miller Collection in October, 1995, lot 6374. How often has anyone seen a coin cross from NGC to PCGS and get upgraded?

The Eliasberg/ Bass specimen, second finest known, garnered a grade of MS63 from the same service. This coin was included in Eliasberg’s 1942 purchase of the Clapp Collection. Harry Bass purchased this coin from the 1982 sale of the Eliasberg gold collection, lot 746.

The 1874-CC eagle features the Type IV eagle on the reverse. This version, beginning in 1866, included the Motto imprinted on a scroll above the eagle. The mint mark is placed left of center, with the first centered over the left serif of N in TEN and the second directly beneath the arrow feathers in the eagle’s claw.

Here is an example, graded PCGS AU-53, from the Southgate Coins website.

Hi Garryn

Congrats on a great article here of yet another rare and desirable "CC" gold issue (1874-CC $10).

I wonder if you know if the Lang family still has that finest known PCGS MS-65 specimen? Does this super coin now reside in the battleborn collection?

It's a very difficult thing to accurately judge a coin from a photo, but I must say that your example looks superb! Nice find Gary....

Michael the drummer

Just to clarify, the Henry S. Lang Collection was dispersed in Bowers and Merena's The Rarities Sale, July 31, 2002. The 1874-CC eagle was Lot #630 and sold for $103,500. Thanks Mike !

Garry,

You provided some interesting facts about the year in which the Carson City Mint released the 1874 eagles and about the rarity of the date itself. Good job.

The Henry S. Lang specimen is an extraordinary coin. Technically it probably only deserves an MS-64 condition rating. It has a pretty big hit on Ms. Liberty's jaw and some people might not like the copper-orange stains visible around the obverse periphery and in certain spots on the reverse. But the piece is soooo original and its overall eye appeal mesmerizes everybody who views it——the graders at PCGS did it justice it by upgrading it to MS-65.

To answer Michael P.s question, Unless Henry Lang started collecting "CC" gold coins once again, the Lang family no longer owns the 1874-CC eagle, or any of the other "CC" gold coins from the near-complete 55-piece set (missing the 92-CC half eagle and eagle) sold in 2002.

The Battle Born collector owns the Eliasberg 1874-CC eagle graded MS-63 by PCGS (as I reported in the spring 2010 issue of Curry's Chronicle).

Both the Lang and Eliasberg specimens of the 1874-CC eagle are exquisite beauties.

GarryN's COTW posting served as a great catalyst to get the discussion rolling.

Thanks for this info Garyn

Thank you Carsonite for the updated info.

It is a dream of mine just to be able to hold coins of this stature in my own hands.... and actually examine them live and in person!

I feel a bit of sadness for the Langs. To have something in their family so special and rare like a complete set of "C" gold coins in hi-grades would be beyond a wonderful thing, and then to part with that set would cause a life-everlasting empty hole in the heart and soul....at least for me anyway.

Ok..Ok...if I don't get this coin, I settle for the ELIASBERG 1874-CC eagle graded PCGS MS-63 hahaha

Carsonite, forgive me but I did forget that you had indeed reported this coin in the spring 2010 issue of Curry's Chronicle.
Caught me napping here!

the drummer