1873-CC W/Arrows Half Coin Of the Week 07-24-2011

1873-CC with Arrows Half Dollar Coin of the Week 07/24/2011
Mintage: 214,560 with arrows
122,500 no arrows
As with previous articles regarding 1873 coins from the Carson City Mint, I will not spend much time on the Coin Act of 1873 or “The Crime of 1873 that is associated with that timeframe in history. I will however give my views along with the help of my trusty guides “The Mint on Carson Street” by Rusty Goe and “A Register of Liberty Seated Half Dollar Varieties Volume II Carson City Branch Mint” by Bill Bugert.
Because of the 1873 legislation, briefly the Half Dollar became the largest U.S. silver coin issued for circulation. Trade Dollars in 1873 were used for trade abroad mainly in the Orient and the rare 1873-CC Liberty Seated Dollar had 1,300 of the total mintage of 2,300 coins melted after the Coinage Act of “1873” was passed.
A Half Dollar represented a substantial sum of money in that era when you consider that seven out of ten industrial workers earned no more than ten cents an hour. (1)
1873-CC Half Dollars include two styles of dates (open 3and closed 3) and a major change in the design due to the addition of arrows at the date.
All 1873-CC with Arrows Halves have an open 3 and all no Arrows have the closed 3. According to Bill Bugert book on Carson City Branch Mint Half Dollars he states “Variations from this are unknown and likely don’t exist for the following reason. Four 1873 dated half dollar dies without Arrows (and closed 3) were received at the Branch Mint in November of 1872. As far as we are able to now determine, no additional dies were received until late March 1873 when the dies with the new with Arrows design was shipped.” (2) Six obverse dies were received March 31, 1873 and were acknowledged by Superintendent H.F.Rice.

For the collector an 1873-CC with Arrows Half Dollar represents an affordable alternative as a type coin as the 1874-CC with Arrows Half Dollar is much scarcer.

Half Dollar production in 1873 increased only 23% from 1872’s output and the production at the Mint in San Francisco were cut in half during the same period. For the variety collectors out there the 1873-CC with Arrows comes with a Small “CC” and a Large “CC” mint mark and a challenge it is to find nice problem free coins.
From the mid 1980’s until the late 1990’s, Peter Blake of Maverick Coin Company in Orlando FL accumulated a fantastic personal hoard of approximately (316) 1873-CC with Arrows Half Dollars mostly in low grades and evenly split amongst small and large “CC” mint marks. At this writing Bill Bugert believes that the hoard has been dispersed and that the older ANACS holders notated the hoard under the name ‘Berlinghof” and as of this writing there is one such specimen on a popular auction site. Bill Bugert estimated that there are approximately 750 1873-CC with Arrows in existence and if this figure is correct then Mr. Blake was successful in hoarding nearly one-half of the total known population.

A sad day indeed, on October 19, 1873 the Father of Carson City and our beloved Mint passed away. Without question Abe Curry’s funeral procession was the largest event of any kind in Carson City including the laying of the cornerstone of the Mint on Carson Street.
In 1873 the silver mines on the Comstock were generating mass quantities of the white metal. Independent miners preferred to trade silver bullion for minted coins, however with the passage of the Coinage Act the miners were forced to sell their silver at a discount to brokers, or exchange it for newly minted Trade Dollars. Mint Superintendent Frank D. Hetrich, successor to H.F. Rice, wrote a letter of appeal to the Director of the Mint in Philadelphia on behalf of the miners in the Comstock which unfortunately his plea fell upon deaf ears. The only coins authorized to be minted in the last quarter of 1873, besides Trade Dollars were $1280.00 face or 2560 pieces of the Liberty Seated Half Dollar with Arrows.


Survival estimates in all grades 500-700
Estimated in Uncirculated 20-25
Estimated in XF to AU 70-100
Total certified in all grades PCGS and NGC 144
All the above are based on July 2003 figures and estimates are quoted from “ The Mint on Carson Street” by Rusty Goe.

As I have posted now on quite a few Liberty Seated Half Dollars from the Carson City Mint, I have decided to put together a matched set of the ten coins needed to complete the coins minted in Carson City. Two years ago I had passed on an 1873-CC with Arrows Half Dollar and had I done this research before I would have known that I may not see another like it again for a very long time. Six dates in this set are represented in the top 25 coins from the Carson City Mint and although I have only two coins from this set I am fortunate to have a good start with the key 1870-CC half in an NGC G-6 holder with full rims both on obverse and reverse. Hopefully down the road I will meet up again with that 1873-CC half and it will join the others in my set albeit probably for twice the price offered back in the past.
Information obtained from:
(1) “The Mint on Carson Street” by Rusty Goe
(2) A Register of Liberty Seated Half Dollar Varieties
Volume II Carson City Branch Mint” by Bill Bugert
The Gobrecht Journal Volume 37 issue #110 article
“Building a Short Set of Carson City Half Dollars on a
Budget” by Denis Fortier
Loosechange

Great article, Loosechange. It would be great to have an example from that hoard. I hope you meet up with your '73-CC half sooner than later. There is another on that auction site that appears to be inexpensive.

Loosechange,

You did a lot of research and produced a very interesting article.

We often lose track of how signficant the half dollar was back in those days, but you brought us back in focus by pointing out the average industrial wage of 10c per hour.

Belay Off

Loosechange,

You have been learning more and more about "CC" half dollars as you post your COTW essays. That's nice you added a personal touch to this week's article when you said you have decided to build a 10-piece set.

You brought out several interesting bits of information for collectors. You wrote:

For the collector an 1873-CC with Arrows Half Dollar represents an affordable alternative as a type coin as the 1874-CC with Arrows Half Dollar is much scarcer.

And you added that

For the variety collectors out there the 1873-CC with Arrows comes with a Small “CC” and a Large “CC” mint mark

These are helpful insights.

Good luck in your pursuit of a set of "CC" half dollars. And congratulations on another good job in preparing a COTW post.

Rusty

Thank you all for your kind words! I can't believe that this project is winding down and what the next venture may be, but I must say that I have been enjoying this forum thoroughly. The information that has been posted is top notch. Kudos to all of the COWboys!!!

Loosechange

Mark

I hope you will keep us posted on your progress building the 10 piece CC Type Set.

You used the term "matched set" when referring to this endeavor.
That made me wonder if you were planning to add a specific element to your 10 piece type set search such as all coins certified in the exact same grade, or with the same certification company holder, etc.?

Either way, you've set out on a classic, numismatic adventure which I am certain will ultimately add fun, knowledge and pride of accomplishment to your life.

Belay Off