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1884-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 8/7/2011
13 years 4 months ago - 13 years 4 months ago #2945
by coindrummer
Image courtesy of Heritage Coin Galleries
1884
Master of the Carson City mint, Superintendent James Crawford was entering his 10th year at the helm. He oversaw the production of four denominations in this year:
Gold Half Eagles
16,402 mintage - 190-225 survivors
Gold Eagles
9,925 mintage - 265-300 survivors*
Gold Double Eagles
81,139 mintage - 2,200-2,600 survivors*
Morgan Silver Dollars
1,136,000 mintage - 1,020,000-1,060,000 survivors
*It's a curiosity why there are more gold "CC" eagle survivors than half eagle survivors even though the eagle mintage was much lower. The reason(s) for this discrepancy remains unknown to me.
[color=]1884 Half Eagle Mintage Comparisons[/color]
Philadelphia: 191,030
San Francisco: 177,000
Carson City: 16,402
The 1880's Comstock mines were not producing as they were in the 1870's thus the Carson City mint was forced to buy its bullion from other sources. One of the mint's top suppliers of gold bullion in 1884 was the Syndicate Mining and Mill Company located in Bodie California.
Bodie is now a famous ghost town turned state park/ tourist attraction located about an hour's drive south of Carson City. The ruins of many of the old buildings and mine sites remain for all to enjoy today.
1884-CC Half Eagle - Overview:
With an original mintage of 16,402, there are approximately 190-225 survivors in all grades known today. From those figures, 155-165 are found in the XF to AU grade ranges while only 10-12 uncirculated examples are known.
The 1884-CC $5 is very close in over-all rarity, high-grade rarity and survivor figures to its counterpart 1883-CC $5. Most examples can be found in the VF and XF grades (as is my coin). It becomes very scarce in the lower AU grades while coins in the upper AU range, like the example shown above, are quite rare. Mint State examples are very rare and special coins.
Despite the rarity of the 1884-CC $5, it is often over-shadowed by the higher regarded "CC" 1870's gold half eagle issues. because of this fact, prices have tended to be somewhat held back compared to the 1870 counterparts of near equal rarity. It is true that most collectors do give wider attention to the 1870's issues, thus the 1884-CC $5 and its sister 1883-CC $5 offers great value to coin investors today as their rarity factor will eventually command higher premiums.
1884 - Election Year
The results of the 1884 U.S. presidential election of 1884 played a vital role in the history of the Carson City mint. The mint's future hung in the balance awaiting the outcome of this campaign.
The Republican candidate was James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893). He was a US Representative, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, and a two-time Secretary of State.
Blaine previously attempted a run for the white house and was a leading candidate going into the 1876 Republican National Convention. Rutherford Hayes ended up winning the nomination and was elected president.
In Blaine's 1876 Republican nomination campaign, the great orator Robert G. Ingersoll made a brilliant speech that made him famous. Ingersoll's speech extolled Blaine as the "Plumed Knight:" a nickname that stuck with him throughout his political career. Blaine used this moniker in his 1884 presidential campaign.
Despite earlier attempts to attain the U.S. presidency, Blaine was sure that finally this would be his time. Early in the Campaign he had a fair lead. This contest was to be a long and hard one full of bitterness and mudslinging.
"Rum, Romanism and Rebellion"
About one week before the election, a now famous speech was given by Protestant minister Dr. Reverend Samuel D. Burchard. (It is unknown to me whether or not he was related to Mint Director Horatio C. Burchard)
Rev. Burchard delivered his speech on behalf of Blaine which described the Democrats as the party of "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion." Of course the press played this up as a great slur and ran away with the story like a prairie wildfire. The term "Romanism" was viscously twisted for the sole purpose of making Blaine look like a "Catholic hater" which of course was not true. Only as the media can do, it all but destroyed James G. Blaine's hope for a presidential victory. Blaine tried in vain to convince America otherwise, but alas, it was too late, the damage had been done. In the midnight hour, much of the large eastern U.S. Irish Catholic vote had been "tricked" away and the result was a narrow victory for Democrat Grover S. Cleveland.
The 22nd and 24th Presidents of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for president three times—in 1884, 1888 and 1892. Cleveland was the only Democrat elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to 1912.
"The Edge of Night" in Carson City - A Double Blow
Rev. Burchard's pro-Blaine pep-speech, "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" became the slogan for Blaine's undoing. Blaine's loss also became Carson City's loss and in the waning days of 1884 rumors began circulating that the beloved mint might soon be closing. It's ironic to think that history can be impacted in such a major way by so small a thing as a few harmlessly spoken words. Imagine if you will, the very real possibility that if those words had not been said, we collectors of today might be searching for 1886, 1887 and 1888 Carson City gold and silver coins. How close we were...
A second crushing blow to the Carson mint came in the latter part of 1884 when James Crawford showed the first signs of a serious illness. His medical condition worsened simultaneously with the impending closure of the Carson mint. Sadly, on March 8, 1885, the world lost one of her finest, James Crawford - soon after, the Carson City mint was closed.
A New Superintendent
Following Crawford's 1885 passing and Cleveland's oath of office, the rumors proved true as the mint on Carson street was closed. The vacant mint superintendent position was filled by the appointed Democrat William Garrard. Garrard no doubt was chomping at the bit to get this gig, after all, he had the honor of being the first Democrat appointed as superintendent of the fabled "CC" mint - a position widely sought by many. Sadly, and most likely disappointing to Garrard, production at the mint was ceased entirely and not a single coin bearing the "CC" mintmark was struck under his watch. I can just hear Cleveland guffawing in the oval office..."Those hard-headed Republicans...how dare they think they can have themselves a mint...the very nerve...I'll show them!" Garrard might as well been handed a broom and appointed "Custodian" rather than Carson City mint "Superintendent."
It is true that president Cleveland exhibited a great distain for the Carson mint facility, and all western silver and gold mines for that matter. What Cleveland and his cronies were forgetting is that a mere decade and a half earlier, those western mines (and Nevada's Comstock lode in particular) were the very factors that won the civil war for the union - saved Washington D.C. and retained it as the capitol of the United States - the very chair in the room where Cleveland sat was saved by the industry he so largely distained.
Cleveland's closure of the Carson mint act certainly was not an important functional service rendered to, and for the good of the country and her citizens, rather, it was a personal vendetta. Cleveland had an axe to grind...he suddenly was given that axe, along with the power to wield it as he saw fit , and like a kid in a candy store, he "axed" away with impunity.
My 1884-CC Half Eagle:
...from the drummer collection
Here is a "do-it-yourself-at-home" photo of my 1884-CC half eagle. The coin has a warm honey-gold patina and has an over-all pleasing look. As you can see in my photo, there are quite a few very visible surface scratches. In all fairness, most of these scratches lie on the surface of the well-traveled plastic holder. In a "live-and-in-person" viewing this coin is actually quite nice, especially for the grade.
The strike on this date is usually not quite as sharp as found on other 1880 "CC" $5 issues. The weakest strike areas will be generally seen on the obverse around Liberty's hair curls surrounding the ear and eye. the stars tend to flatten at the centers and the tip of the coronet is almost always weak. The weak areas on the reverse can be seen on the eagle's neck feathers and upper legs. The shield border is also sometimes seen as very weak in the 10:00 to 2:00 region (as my example is). In the early days of professional coin grading, these weak-strike areas were often mistaken for wear patterns and grades suffered accordingly.
My example exhibits all those typical weak strike patterns and thus is typical for its date. Here is what is not typical about my coin: Many "CC" half eagles from this date suffer from excessively abraded surfaces. In addition, many found on the market today are seen with ugly copper spots and/or planchet streaks. My coin has none of those imperfections. What does keep my coin from a higher grade is a fair amount of very fine hairlines left from a long ago cleaning. Despite these numismatic abuses, my coin has a very pleasing look and matches very well to the other 18 "CC" half eagles in my collection.
Upon first viewing my coin (live and in person), most knowledgeable collectors feel as though this coin should be resubmitted for a higher grade. Upon closer examination however, the fine hairlines become visible just enough to warrant its very proper grade at VF-35.
My 1884-CC half eagle was purchased in October of 2004 from
Southgate Coins in Reno and was the second to the final end piece of my complete collection. Listed below are a few pricing figures courtesy of
U.S. Coin Digest. As I've done many times in past C.O.W. posts, I must stress that nice examples of this date are rarely (if ever) found at these listed prices.
Pricing:
XF-40 - $975
AU-50 - $3,000
MS-60 - $17,000
The beautiful specimen shown at the top of my post (1884-CC $5 PCGS AU-58) sold for $8,337.50 (as lot 4777 in the March 2011
Sacramento Signature ANA Heritage Coin Auction #1153)
Auction Prices Realized for 1884-CC Half Eagles all graded AU-58:
(Courtesy of Heritage Coin Auctions)
Auction 1151 - Lot 6947 1/9/2011 - PCGS $8,625
Auction 1126 - Lot 2985 3/31/2009 - PCGS $14,950
Auction 1145 - Lot 4808 10/31/2010 - NGC $8,050
Auction 1142 - Lot 4690 7/11/2010 - NGC $9,200
With prices ranging from around 15K high to 8K low (AU-58 grades only), this "prices realized" table reveals a fairly realistic pricing gage for a very collectible and investment worthy coin.
Only One Die Variety Known:
Variety 1-A: "The date is very large and it slants slightly downwards from left to right. There is a thin die scratch through the RTY in LIBERTY which can be seen even on low grade coins. the mintmark is tall and widely spaced. The first C is positioned above the left side of the V in FIVE while the second C is over the left side of the E in FIVE."
(Die varieties courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter edited by James L. Halperin)
Portions of the info and mintage/survivor figures in my article come from the books; James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City - A Short Full Life & The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe. There is much more to learn about this fascinating transitional 1884 year, more than I have room for in this post. You can read it firsthand for yourself by getting these marvelous books. Most of us C4OAers have already read them....for those few who have not, a great treat is in store for you. They have become my reference source for all things "CC" related.
1884 HISTORIC EVENTS
January 19 - Jules Massenet's opera Manon, premieres in Paris
February 18 - Police seize all copies of Leo Tolstoy's book; What I Believe In
March 8 - Susan B. Anthony addresses the U.S. House Judiciary Committee arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. Anthony's argument came 16 years after legislators had first introduced a federal women's suffrage amendment.
April 22 - Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2 years 9 months)
May 23 - 12th Preakness: S Fisher aboard Knight of Ellerslie wins in 2:39.5
June 5 - William Sherman refuses Republican presidential nomination saying "I will not accept if nominated & will not serve if elected"
July 4 - Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris
August 30 - Jack Dempsey wins middleweight title in 1st fight with boxing gloves
September 20 - 6.2 mile Arlberg railroad tunnel completed in Austria
October 13 - Greenwich England established as universal time meridian of longitude
November 4 - Grover Cleveland (D) defeats James G Blaine (R) for 1st U.S. presidential term
December 6 - Aluminum capstone set atop Washington Monument, Wash. DC
By Michael Parrott the drummer
C4OA Lifer!
1884-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 8/7/2011 was created by coindrummer
1884-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece (PCGS AU-58)
Image courtesy of Heritage Coin Galleries
1884
Master of the Carson City mint, Superintendent James Crawford was entering his 10th year at the helm. He oversaw the production of four denominations in this year:
Gold Half Eagles
16,402 mintage - 190-225 survivors
Gold Eagles
9,925 mintage - 265-300 survivors*
Gold Double Eagles
81,139 mintage - 2,200-2,600 survivors*
Morgan Silver Dollars
1,136,000 mintage - 1,020,000-1,060,000 survivors
*It's a curiosity why there are more gold "CC" eagle survivors than half eagle survivors even though the eagle mintage was much lower. The reason(s) for this discrepancy remains unknown to me.
[color=]1884 Half Eagle Mintage Comparisons[/color]
Philadelphia: 191,030
San Francisco: 177,000
Carson City: 16,402
James Crawford (1832-1885) Carson Mint Superintendent (Sept 1874-Mar 1885)
The 1880's Comstock mines were not producing as they were in the 1870's thus the Carson City mint was forced to buy its bullion from other sources. One of the mint's top suppliers of gold bullion in 1884 was the Syndicate Mining and Mill Company located in Bodie California.
Bodie is now a famous ghost town turned state park/ tourist attraction located about an hour's drive south of Carson City. The ruins of many of the old buildings and mine sites remain for all to enjoy today.
Syndicate Mining and Mill Company site - Bodie, CA (photo by the drummer)
1884-CC Half Eagle - Overview:
With an original mintage of 16,402, there are approximately 190-225 survivors in all grades known today. From those figures, 155-165 are found in the XF to AU grade ranges while only 10-12 uncirculated examples are known.
The 1884-CC $5 is very close in over-all rarity, high-grade rarity and survivor figures to its counterpart 1883-CC $5. Most examples can be found in the VF and XF grades (as is my coin). It becomes very scarce in the lower AU grades while coins in the upper AU range, like the example shown above, are quite rare. Mint State examples are very rare and special coins.
Despite the rarity of the 1884-CC $5, it is often over-shadowed by the higher regarded "CC" 1870's gold half eagle issues. because of this fact, prices have tended to be somewhat held back compared to the 1870 counterparts of near equal rarity. It is true that most collectors do give wider attention to the 1870's issues, thus the 1884-CC $5 and its sister 1883-CC $5 offers great value to coin investors today as their rarity factor will eventually command higher premiums.
1884 - Election Year
The results of the 1884 U.S. presidential election of 1884 played a vital role in the history of the Carson City mint. The mint's future hung in the balance awaiting the outcome of this campaign.
The Republican candidate was James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893). He was a US Representative, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, and a two-time Secretary of State.
Blaine previously attempted a run for the white house and was a leading candidate going into the 1876 Republican National Convention. Rutherford Hayes ended up winning the nomination and was elected president.
In Blaine's 1876 Republican nomination campaign, the great orator Robert G. Ingersoll made a brilliant speech that made him famous. Ingersoll's speech extolled Blaine as the "Plumed Knight:" a nickname that stuck with him throughout his political career. Blaine used this moniker in his 1884 presidential campaign.
The "Plumed Knight" James G. Blaine
Despite earlier attempts to attain the U.S. presidency, Blaine was sure that finally this would be his time. Early in the Campaign he had a fair lead. This contest was to be a long and hard one full of bitterness and mudslinging.
"Rum, Romanism and Rebellion"
About one week before the election, a now famous speech was given by Protestant minister Dr. Reverend Samuel D. Burchard. (It is unknown to me whether or not he was related to Mint Director Horatio C. Burchard)
Rev. Burchard delivered his speech on behalf of Blaine which described the Democrats as the party of "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion." Of course the press played this up as a great slur and ran away with the story like a prairie wildfire. The term "Romanism" was viscously twisted for the sole purpose of making Blaine look like a "Catholic hater" which of course was not true. Only as the media can do, it all but destroyed James G. Blaine's hope for a presidential victory. Blaine tried in vain to convince America otherwise, but alas, it was too late, the damage had been done. In the midnight hour, much of the large eastern U.S. Irish Catholic vote had been "tricked" away and the result was a narrow victory for Democrat Grover S. Cleveland.
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908)
The 22nd and 24th Presidents of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for president three times—in 1884, 1888 and 1892. Cleveland was the only Democrat elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to 1912.
"The Edge of Night" in Carson City - A Double Blow
Rev. Burchard's pro-Blaine pep-speech, "Rum, Romanism and Rebellion" became the slogan for Blaine's undoing. Blaine's loss also became Carson City's loss and in the waning days of 1884 rumors began circulating that the beloved mint might soon be closing. It's ironic to think that history can be impacted in such a major way by so small a thing as a few harmlessly spoken words. Imagine if you will, the very real possibility that if those words had not been said, we collectors of today might be searching for 1886, 1887 and 1888 Carson City gold and silver coins. How close we were...
A second crushing blow to the Carson mint came in the latter part of 1884 when James Crawford showed the first signs of a serious illness. His medical condition worsened simultaneously with the impending closure of the Carson mint. Sadly, on March 8, 1885, the world lost one of her finest, James Crawford - soon after, the Carson City mint was closed.
A New Superintendent
Following Crawford's 1885 passing and Cleveland's oath of office, the rumors proved true as the mint on Carson street was closed. The vacant mint superintendent position was filled by the appointed Democrat William Garrard. Garrard no doubt was chomping at the bit to get this gig, after all, he had the honor of being the first Democrat appointed as superintendent of the fabled "CC" mint - a position widely sought by many. Sadly, and most likely disappointing to Garrard, production at the mint was ceased entirely and not a single coin bearing the "CC" mintmark was struck under his watch. I can just hear Cleveland guffawing in the oval office..."Those hard-headed Republicans...how dare they think they can have themselves a mint...the very nerve...I'll show them!" Garrard might as well been handed a broom and appointed "Custodian" rather than Carson City mint "Superintendent."
It is true that president Cleveland exhibited a great distain for the Carson mint facility, and all western silver and gold mines for that matter. What Cleveland and his cronies were forgetting is that a mere decade and a half earlier, those western mines (and Nevada's Comstock lode in particular) were the very factors that won the civil war for the union - saved Washington D.C. and retained it as the capitol of the United States - the very chair in the room where Cleveland sat was saved by the industry he so largely distained.
Cleveland's closure of the Carson mint act certainly was not an important functional service rendered to, and for the good of the country and her citizens, rather, it was a personal vendetta. Cleveland had an axe to grind...he suddenly was given that axe, along with the power to wield it as he saw fit , and like a kid in a candy store, he "axed" away with impunity.
My 1884-CC Half Eagle:
1884-CC $5 Liberty Gold Piece (PCGS VF-35)
...from the drummer collection
Here is a "do-it-yourself-at-home" photo of my 1884-CC half eagle. The coin has a warm honey-gold patina and has an over-all pleasing look. As you can see in my photo, there are quite a few very visible surface scratches. In all fairness, most of these scratches lie on the surface of the well-traveled plastic holder. In a "live-and-in-person" viewing this coin is actually quite nice, especially for the grade.
The strike on this date is usually not quite as sharp as found on other 1880 "CC" $5 issues. The weakest strike areas will be generally seen on the obverse around Liberty's hair curls surrounding the ear and eye. the stars tend to flatten at the centers and the tip of the coronet is almost always weak. The weak areas on the reverse can be seen on the eagle's neck feathers and upper legs. The shield border is also sometimes seen as very weak in the 10:00 to 2:00 region (as my example is). In the early days of professional coin grading, these weak-strike areas were often mistaken for wear patterns and grades suffered accordingly.
My example exhibits all those typical weak strike patterns and thus is typical for its date. Here is what is not typical about my coin: Many "CC" half eagles from this date suffer from excessively abraded surfaces. In addition, many found on the market today are seen with ugly copper spots and/or planchet streaks. My coin has none of those imperfections. What does keep my coin from a higher grade is a fair amount of very fine hairlines left from a long ago cleaning. Despite these numismatic abuses, my coin has a very pleasing look and matches very well to the other 18 "CC" half eagles in my collection.
Upon first viewing my coin (live and in person), most knowledgeable collectors feel as though this coin should be resubmitted for a higher grade. Upon closer examination however, the fine hairlines become visible just enough to warrant its very proper grade at VF-35.
My 1884-CC half eagle was purchased in October of 2004 from
Southgate Coins in Reno and was the second to the final end piece of my complete collection. Listed below are a few pricing figures courtesy of
U.S. Coin Digest. As I've done many times in past C.O.W. posts, I must stress that nice examples of this date are rarely (if ever) found at these listed prices.
Pricing:
XF-40 - $975
AU-50 - $3,000
MS-60 - $17,000
The beautiful specimen shown at the top of my post (1884-CC $5 PCGS AU-58) sold for $8,337.50 (as lot 4777 in the March 2011
Sacramento Signature ANA Heritage Coin Auction #1153)
Auction Prices Realized for 1884-CC Half Eagles all graded AU-58:
(Courtesy of Heritage Coin Auctions)
Auction 1151 - Lot 6947 1/9/2011 - PCGS $8,625
Auction 1126 - Lot 2985 3/31/2009 - PCGS $14,950
Auction 1145 - Lot 4808 10/31/2010 - NGC $8,050
Auction 1142 - Lot 4690 7/11/2010 - NGC $9,200
With prices ranging from around 15K high to 8K low (AU-58 grades only), this "prices realized" table reveals a fairly realistic pricing gage for a very collectible and investment worthy coin.
Only One Die Variety Known:
Variety 1-A: "The date is very large and it slants slightly downwards from left to right. There is a thin die scratch through the RTY in LIBERTY which can be seen even on low grade coins. the mintmark is tall and widely spaced. The first C is positioned above the left side of the V in FIVE while the second C is over the left side of the E in FIVE."
(Die varieties courtesy of Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint by Douglas Winter edited by James L. Halperin)
Portions of the info and mintage/survivor figures in my article come from the books; James Crawford: Master of the Mint at Carson City - A Short Full Life & The Mint on Carson Street by Rusty Goe. There is much more to learn about this fascinating transitional 1884 year, more than I have room for in this post. You can read it firsthand for yourself by getting these marvelous books. Most of us C4OAers have already read them....for those few who have not, a great treat is in store for you. They have become my reference source for all things "CC" related.
1884 HISTORIC EVENTS
January 19 - Jules Massenet's opera Manon, premieres in Paris
February 18 - Police seize all copies of Leo Tolstoy's book; What I Believe In
March 8 - Susan B. Anthony addresses the U.S. House Judiciary Committee arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. Anthony's argument came 16 years after legislators had first introduced a federal women's suffrage amendment.
April 22 - Thomas Stevens starts 1st bike trip around world (2 years 9 months)
May 23 - 12th Preakness: S Fisher aboard Knight of Ellerslie wins in 2:39.5
June 5 - William Sherman refuses Republican presidential nomination saying "I will not accept if nominated & will not serve if elected"
July 4 - Statue of Liberty presented to US in Paris
August 30 - Jack Dempsey wins middleweight title in 1st fight with boxing gloves
September 20 - 6.2 mile Arlberg railroad tunnel completed in Austria
October 13 - Greenwich England established as universal time meridian of longitude
November 4 - Grover Cleveland (D) defeats James G Blaine (R) for 1st U.S. presidential term
December 6 - Aluminum capstone set atop Washington Monument, Wash. DC
By Michael Parrott the drummer
C4OA Lifer!
Please Log in to join the conversation.
13 years 4 months ago - 13 years 4 months ago #2948
by Carsonite
C4OA Lifer!
Replied by Carsonite on topic Re:1884-CC $5 Gold CC Coin of the Week - 8/7/2011
Michael,
The year 1884 was so pivotal in many respects regarding the history of the Carson City Mint. You touched on a few of the key points that took place locally, in Nevada, and nationally. I believe your comments might inspire readers of your COTW article to explore more fully events that happened in this year.
As for the Carson City Mint's Morgan silver dollar production, 1884 proved to be the year that would leave collectors the most examples of that denomination to choose from.
You wrote
And, equally important, you wrote, concerning 1884-CC half eagles, that
You get another AAA rating for this week's COTW post---despite what Standard & Poor's might say
.
Rusty
The year 1884 was so pivotal in many respects regarding the history of the Carson City Mint. You touched on a few of the key points that took place locally, in Nevada, and nationally. I believe your comments might inspire readers of your COTW article to explore more fully events that happened in this year.
As for the Carson City Mint's Morgan silver dollar production, 1884 proved to be the year that would leave collectors the most examples of that denomination to choose from.
You wrote
You know as well as anyone else how true this statement is.the 1884-CC $5 and its sister 1883-CC $5 offers great value to coin investors today as their rarity factor will eventually command higher premiums.
And, equally important, you wrote, concerning 1884-CC half eagles, that
This is something that continually dumbfounds collectors who aren't well acquainted with the pricing structure of "CC" gold coins.I must stress that nice examples of this date are rarely (if ever) found at these listed prices.
You get another AAA rating for this week's COTW post---despite what Standard & Poor's might say
.Rusty
C4OA Lifer!
Please Log in to join the conversation.
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