1870-CC Silver Dollar NGC MS61. The 1870-CC was the first silver dollar produced at the now fabled facility in Carson City, NV. On January 8, 1870, with a year of delay, Superintendent of the Mint and founder of the city, Abraham Curry opened the US branch mint in Carson City, NV. Four days later, the obverse dies arrived from Philadelphia and on February 10, 1870 the first coins, 2,303 Silver Dollars were produced.

The silver dollar with the liberty seated design was struck from 1840 to 1873, although they hardly circulated after 1853. The price of silver in these coins (.77344 oz. pure silver) by then was more than the face value of the coin. Instead, many examples were exported to the Far East, to be melted in local melting pots and never to be seen again in the country they originated from. As a result, nice examples of any date are very scarce.

One of the scarcest issues, the 1870-CC silver dollar is a fascinating coin to research. Besides a large number of varieties (10 known die combinations) for a relatively low mintage, it is this mintage that starts all the confusion of this fascinating and historical coin.

Mint records indicate that a total of 12,462 silver dollars were struck in the first year, but this number has been some point of discussion. According to the Monthly Reports by the Carson Mint, the mintage was 12,158 coins. However, the assay report for the deliveries by the Director of the Mint state that 11,758 coins were minted during the year. And, to complete the confusion, the Directors fiscal year statement from 1871, mentions 304 CC silver dollars that were minted between July 1, 1870 and June 30, 1871. In 1887, the official records were edited for the final time and the number of 12,462 coins has been used since then, compromising of the records from the Carson City mint and the 304 dollars minted between July 1 and June 30.

Of this mintage, an estimated 600 coins are presently known, with approximately 25 of these in mint state. This makes this issue the easiest seated dollar struck at the Carson City Mint, although they are far from common. Most of the known mint state pieces are heavily bag marked, as these coins were first brought to Reno by horse and wagon before they were paid out to the public.

The coin for sale here is one of the few exceptions. The surfaces are clean, with no major hits noted on either side. Prooflike surfaces show on both sides, with the coin toned in a very pleasing gray color with russet highlights on the reverse. The details are brought up perfectly by the strong strike, only slightly weak on the obverse stars. A pristine and fully original example of this very rare mint state seated dollar from the storied Carson City Mint, certified by NGC in a new holder.