1875-CC Seated Quarter CC Coin of the Week Nov 28, 2010

1875 was a busy year for the Carson City Mint. Dimes, Trade dollars and half dollars all broke the 1,000,000 mintage mark, with dimes far and away the most productive. James Crawford had taken over the duties of Superintendent the year before. 1875 had seen a seven fold increase in coinage, from 1.5 million in 1874 to 7.6 million in 1875. This carried over through 1878. This did not affect quarter production, however. Only 140,000 quarters were struck in 1875, only 6,710 more that year than the short-lived twenty cent piece.

There are only 300-500 estimated to exist in all grades, with 45-70 estimated in uncirculated condition and 50-75 in EF thru AU. Still, this survival rate is more than the prior 5 years combined. This may be why the 1875 does not receive the attention it would if it were not so closely aligned to the previous miniscule mintages.

In fact, Rusty Goe reports in "The Mint on Carson Street" that except for the 1886 Annual Report of the Director of the Carson City Mint, no quarters are reported to be produced in 1874. That report indicated 8,962 were minted in that year. None have ever surfaced.

This reminds me of the age old report that 12,000 business strike 1895 silver dollars were minted. In fact, the mintage is widely believed to be a misstatement based on fiscal year mintage figures. In other words, the last quarter of calendar year 1894 was the first quarter of the 1895 fiscal year. It is possible that the same misstatement occurred with 1874-CC quarters. 16,462 1873-CC quarters would support a misstatement of 8,962 1874-CC quarters in the final quarter of 1873. Note that both numbers end in 62. I wonder if the 1886 report said anything about 1873-CC quarter mintage?

Despite the fact that it is over shadowed by its five big brothers, 1870, '71, 72 and the fraternal twins, 1873, ownership of an 1875-CC quarter is quite an achievement. It is something for every member of the C4OA to srive for.

Garry,

Your COTW posting does justice to this elusive date in the "CC" quarter series. You make a good comparison between the mintage totals of the 1875-CC quarters and the 1875-CC twenty-cent pieces.

The following paragraph puts a nice finishing touch on your posting:

Despite the fact that it is over shadowed by its five big brothers, 1870, '71, 72 and the fraternal twins, 1873, ownership of an 1875-CC quarter is quite an achievement. It is something for every member of the C4OA to srive for.

Most collectors don't realize how scarce 1875-CC quarters are until they start searching for one.

Rusty

Thanks Rusty, I added a couple sentences to the fourth paragraph that may be worth pondering.

Looking back at it, I think I wrote more about the 1874-CC quarter, that does not exist, than I wrote about the 1875-CC quarter. :laugh:

Garryn,

Nice article about yet another illusive CC coin. I was fortunate to acquire the below XF-40 example of this tough date back in early 2008. The photo is too dark but is the only image I have of my 1875-CC quarter.



Regarding your thoughts about the 1874-CC quarter, I would remind everyone that the Carson City mint vault saw many a full mintage stacked on its shelves only to eventually return to the melting pot.

I would be thrilled, but not completely surprised, if one or two (pilferred?) pieces turned up sometime. After all, if someone could toss an 1876-CC 20c piece into a old pickle jar and let it sit for over 130 years, whose to say that nothing else is floating around out there?

Belay Off

Thats a real nice quarter Belay. What is the toning pattern on that one?

Great article Garry and nice coin Belay!!! I saw one on ebay last night the was up to $500 with 4 hours left, not certified, so with all the fakes I was very leery to pull the trigger and passed on it. Definitely not as nice as Mr. Off's coin. Again very informative.

Loosechange