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1877-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 01-02-2011
13 years 11 months ago - 13 years 11 months ago #1769
by coindrummer
1877-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece
1877: The end of the post-civil war reconstruction period
The year 1877 was a presidential re-election year for the USA. It began with an embroiled controversy as to the actual winner of the highest office of the land. The popular vote gave the election to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The controversy arose over a disputed 20 electoral votes. Eventually the contest was settled when Rutherford B. Hayes (R-Ohio) was declared the winner by just one electoral vote. This whole affair has been referred to as the “Compromise of 1877” where Hayes and his fellow republicans got the presidential victory on the conditional agreement that they would oversee the end of the military occupation of the South.
1877 at the Carson City mint
1877 life in Carson City got off to a cold, rainy and muddy start. Daily work at the Carson mint was anything but sluggish though. Coin production at that facility was experiencing a 2000% increase between the years 1874 and 1877. Silver coin production alone showed an increase of about 3,500%. Things were not going quite as smoothly at the other western US mint…the one by the bay in San Francisco. Before the year was done the “S” mint superintendent General Oscar H. La Grange would resign in a hail of controversy and be replaced by Henry L. Lodge.
Director of the mint H.R. Linderman made a visit to the “CC” mint earlier in the year and gave high praise to its superintendent James Crawford. Despite this outward show of support, the mint on Carson Street was in a constant financial struggle and had little or no real support from the powers in Washington. If this wasn’t enough, Crawford was constantly battling the mud-slingers who were after his job. None of the mud-slinging ever stuck of course and Crawford deserves great credit for his accomplishment of keeping the “CC” mint productive in the face of little or no assistance from either the government or the Comstock mine owners.
“The Minnow would be lost…”
The more I study the history of “CC” mint superintendent James Crawford, the more I realize that the possibility looms large that had he not been the superintendent, the “CC” mint may not have made it past the 1870’s. The integrity of James and the steadfast way he did his business reminds me of an old tune from TV land’s Gilligan’s’ Island………”If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost….” In this case, replace Minnow with the Carson City mint.
1877 gold production at the “CC” mint
First place: Double eagles took the cake with the highest mintage as 42,565 were produced.
Second place: [color=]Half eagles[/color] (the subject of this article) 8,680 were coined.
Third place: Eagles (Rarest and lowest mintage of the 1877 "CC" gold issues) 3,332 were manufactured.
In the case of the 8,680 half eagles coined, about 1% to 1 ½% survive today. Simply put, the 1877-CC half eagle is scarce in all grades.
Of the approximately 125 – 150 survivors, only 3 – 4 are known in uncirculated condition; about 75 – 85 fall in the XF to AU range.
(figures courtesy of The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe)
1877 half eagle mintage comparisons:
Philadelphia: 1,132 (plus 20 proof issues)
San Francisco: 26,700
Carson City: 8,680
1877-CC $5 prices as suggested by US Coin Digest:
VF 20 - $1,000
XF 40 - $3,300
AU 50 - $11,000
MS-60 - $52,500
1877-CC half eagle overview
My studies indicate that only a small percentage of these issues were used in local commerce. Most in fact were shipped out of state (particularly the east coast of the US). "CC" half eagles used heavily in Nevada are actually a rare find. Just about every piece that can be located will be heavily abraded, cleaned, dipped or numismatically abused in one fashion or another. Any with good eye appeal will sell for a premium.
The striking characteristics of this date cannot be considered sharp, however they are generally known to be a bit better than most “CC” half eagles from 1873 through 1876. On the obverse, the typical weak areas are Ms. Liberty’s hair, hair bun and the curls around the face and ear. The borders are a bit sharper with good definition in the star radial lines and in the denticles. On the reverse, the weak areas are the neck of the eagle, top of the shield and the arrow feather details. Some issues show weak areas in the denticles in the 9:00 to 1:00 region.
My coin
The bad news for me concerning my 1877-CC half eagle PCGS VF-30 shown here is the long-ago cleaning it once received that left a moderate amount of hairlines. Before this coin received its numismatic abuse it was unquestionably in the AU grades. The reverse still is. There is evidence of die corrosion in the left obverse field. A light haze (probably from a long-ago iodine dipping) shrouds about ¾ of the obverse surfaces. The coin is undoubtedly one of the rarest of the series, especially in the higher grades. Few collectors will ever have the honor of owning an example graded higher than XF. It is truly a scarce issue. Most will be found grading from VF to low end XF. In my case, balancing price with negative characteristics and scarcity, I came to the conclusion that this piece was more than worth the $2,250 I paid for it in May of 2004.
I am far from a professional photographer but as you can see from my home-done images my coin does indeed have a pleasing look despite any negative characteristics. It has a fairly strong strike (considering the general weak strike tendencies of this issue) and a bright yellow gold appearance, particularly on the reverse which as previously mentioned is in the AU category. Of the two known die varieties for this issue, mine is a Variety 1-B*
*Die Varieties
There are two die varieties known:
(Courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter edited by James L. Halperin)
Variety 1-A: “The same obverse die was used to strike all 1877-CC half eagles. The date is placed somewhat low in the field and it slants slightly downwards. On this first variety, the mintmark is fairly compact and it is placed high in the field. The second C is placed much lower than the first and it is placed wholly above the E in FIVE.”
Variety 1-B *(my coin): “On this variety, the mintmark is placed higher than on Reverse A. The letters are level and the second C is placed above the right edge of the V and the left edge of the E in FIVE.”
“It is not known which of these two varieties is scarcer.”
1877 HISTORICAL EVENTS
January 8: Battle of Wolf Mountain: Crazy Horse fights his final battle with the US Cavalry in Montana
February 20: Emile Berliner invents the microphone
March 4: Hayes succeeds Grant and becomes the 19th US president
April 12: Baseball catcher’s mask used in first game
May 22: 3rd Kentucky Derby: Billy Walker aboard Baden-Baden wins in 2:38
June 21: Irish activists The Molly Maguires are hanged in Carbon County Prison, Jim Thorpe, PA
July 19: Wimbledon men’s tennis: Gore defeats Marshall 6-1 6-2 6-4
August 11 & 18: Astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Deimos & Phobos – Mars outer and inner moons
September 20: Chase National Bank opens in NYC (later merges into Chase Manhattan Bank)
October 22: Blantyre mining disaster in Scotland kills 207 miners
November 17: Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta Sorcerer premiers in London
December 30: Johannes Brahms 2nd Symphony in D premiers in Vienna
By Michael Parrott the drummer
C4OA Lifer!
1877-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 01-02-2011 was created by coindrummer
1877-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece
1877: The end of the post-civil war reconstruction period
The year 1877 was a presidential re-election year for the USA. It began with an embroiled controversy as to the actual winner of the highest office of the land. The popular vote gave the election to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The controversy arose over a disputed 20 electoral votes. Eventually the contest was settled when Rutherford B. Hayes (R-Ohio) was declared the winner by just one electoral vote. This whole affair has been referred to as the “Compromise of 1877” where Hayes and his fellow republicans got the presidential victory on the conditional agreement that they would oversee the end of the military occupation of the South.
1877 at the Carson City mint
1877 life in Carson City got off to a cold, rainy and muddy start. Daily work at the Carson mint was anything but sluggish though. Coin production at that facility was experiencing a 2000% increase between the years 1874 and 1877. Silver coin production alone showed an increase of about 3,500%. Things were not going quite as smoothly at the other western US mint…the one by the bay in San Francisco. Before the year was done the “S” mint superintendent General Oscar H. La Grange would resign in a hail of controversy and be replaced by Henry L. Lodge.
Director of the mint H.R. Linderman made a visit to the “CC” mint earlier in the year and gave high praise to its superintendent James Crawford. Despite this outward show of support, the mint on Carson Street was in a constant financial struggle and had little or no real support from the powers in Washington. If this wasn’t enough, Crawford was constantly battling the mud-slingers who were after his job. None of the mud-slinging ever stuck of course and Crawford deserves great credit for his accomplishment of keeping the “CC” mint productive in the face of little or no assistance from either the government or the Comstock mine owners.
“The Minnow would be lost…”
The more I study the history of “CC” mint superintendent James Crawford, the more I realize that the possibility looms large that had he not been the superintendent, the “CC” mint may not have made it past the 1870’s. The integrity of James and the steadfast way he did his business reminds me of an old tune from TV land’s Gilligan’s’ Island………”If not for the courage of the fearless crew, the Minnow would be lost….” In this case, replace Minnow with the Carson City mint.
1877 gold production at the “CC” mint
First place: Double eagles took the cake with the highest mintage as 42,565 were produced.
Second place: [color=]Half eagles[/color] (the subject of this article) 8,680 were coined.
Third place: Eagles (Rarest and lowest mintage of the 1877 "CC" gold issues) 3,332 were manufactured.
In the case of the 8,680 half eagles coined, about 1% to 1 ½% survive today. Simply put, the 1877-CC half eagle is scarce in all grades.
Of the approximately 125 – 150 survivors, only 3 – 4 are known in uncirculated condition; about 75 – 85 fall in the XF to AU range.
(figures courtesy of The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe)
1877 half eagle mintage comparisons:
Philadelphia: 1,132 (plus 20 proof issues)
San Francisco: 26,700
Carson City: 8,680
1877-CC $5 prices as suggested by US Coin Digest:
VF 20 - $1,000
XF 40 - $3,300
AU 50 - $11,000
MS-60 - $52,500
1877-CC half eagle overview
My studies indicate that only a small percentage of these issues were used in local commerce. Most in fact were shipped out of state (particularly the east coast of the US). "CC" half eagles used heavily in Nevada are actually a rare find. Just about every piece that can be located will be heavily abraded, cleaned, dipped or numismatically abused in one fashion or another. Any with good eye appeal will sell for a premium.
The striking characteristics of this date cannot be considered sharp, however they are generally known to be a bit better than most “CC” half eagles from 1873 through 1876. On the obverse, the typical weak areas are Ms. Liberty’s hair, hair bun and the curls around the face and ear. The borders are a bit sharper with good definition in the star radial lines and in the denticles. On the reverse, the weak areas are the neck of the eagle, top of the shield and the arrow feather details. Some issues show weak areas in the denticles in the 9:00 to 1:00 region.
My coin
The bad news for me concerning my 1877-CC half eagle PCGS VF-30 shown here is the long-ago cleaning it once received that left a moderate amount of hairlines. Before this coin received its numismatic abuse it was unquestionably in the AU grades. The reverse still is. There is evidence of die corrosion in the left obverse field. A light haze (probably from a long-ago iodine dipping) shrouds about ¾ of the obverse surfaces. The coin is undoubtedly one of the rarest of the series, especially in the higher grades. Few collectors will ever have the honor of owning an example graded higher than XF. It is truly a scarce issue. Most will be found grading from VF to low end XF. In my case, balancing price with negative characteristics and scarcity, I came to the conclusion that this piece was more than worth the $2,250 I paid for it in May of 2004.
I am far from a professional photographer but as you can see from my home-done images my coin does indeed have a pleasing look despite any negative characteristics. It has a fairly strong strike (considering the general weak strike tendencies of this issue) and a bright yellow gold appearance, particularly on the reverse which as previously mentioned is in the AU category. Of the two known die varieties for this issue, mine is a Variety 1-B*
*Die Varieties
There are two die varieties known:
(Courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter edited by James L. Halperin)
Variety 1-A: “The same obverse die was used to strike all 1877-CC half eagles. The date is placed somewhat low in the field and it slants slightly downwards. On this first variety, the mintmark is fairly compact and it is placed high in the field. The second C is placed much lower than the first and it is placed wholly above the E in FIVE.”
Variety 1-B *(my coin): “On this variety, the mintmark is placed higher than on Reverse A. The letters are level and the second C is placed above the right edge of the V and the left edge of the E in FIVE.”
“It is not known which of these two varieties is scarcer.”
1877 HISTORICAL EVENTS
January 8: Battle of Wolf Mountain: Crazy Horse fights his final battle with the US Cavalry in Montana
February 20: Emile Berliner invents the microphone
March 4: Hayes succeeds Grant and becomes the 19th US president
April 12: Baseball catcher’s mask used in first game
May 22: 3rd Kentucky Derby: Billy Walker aboard Baden-Baden wins in 2:38
June 21: Irish activists The Molly Maguires are hanged in Carbon County Prison, Jim Thorpe, PA
July 19: Wimbledon men’s tennis: Gore defeats Marshall 6-1 6-2 6-4
August 11 & 18: Astronomer Asaph Hall discovers Deimos & Phobos – Mars outer and inner moons
September 20: Chase National Bank opens in NYC (later merges into Chase Manhattan Bank)
October 22: Blantyre mining disaster in Scotland kills 207 miners
November 17: Gilbert & Sullivan’s operetta Sorcerer premiers in London
December 30: Johannes Brahms 2nd Symphony in D premiers in Vienna
By Michael Parrott the drummer
C4OA Lifer!
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