1879-CC Double Eagle (1879-CC $20) NGC AU55. Frosty mint luster and excellent details characterize this lovely 1879-CC Double Eagle. Very light abrasion and a small scratch on Libertys cheek keep this coin from a mint state grade. The strike is strong and bold so that every detail is apparent. The 1879-CC is a Type 3 double eagle because the motto IN GOD WE TRUST has been added to the oval of stars above the eagles head, and the denomination is written out as TWENTY DOLLARS instead of being abbreviated TWENTY D. as in the previous type.

Coinage at Carson City began in 1870 and continued until 1893, when the Mint facility became a government assay office that operated until 1933. Originally established to convert silver from the Comstock Lode to coin, the Carson City Mint also processed gold into gold coins. When first discovered, gold and silver found in Nevada had to be shipped over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the branch mint in San Francisco. This trip was dangerous and expensive. The Nevada mine owners asked Congress to establish a branch of the mint in their state, and legislation was enacted in 1863. Carson City was chosen as the location for the mint facility because it was near some of the major mining sites.

In 1849 James Barton Longacre designed the pattern for the twenty dollar double eagle. The coin was necessitated because of the huge amount of gold that came into the Mint from California. In January 1848, gold was discovered at Sutters Mill in California and the gold rush began. It led to an influx of miners and others into the area. A standard form of exchange was needed to deal with the vast quantity of gold produced. The government responded with the creation of the double eagle denomination. They also felt that the double eagle would be useful for interbank transactions and that it would facilitate foreign trade.

Longacres design for the double eagle shows a profile of Liberty facing left wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY. Her hair is tied in the back, and there are two loose curls hanging down her neck to the end of the truncation. Thirteen six pointed stars are in an arc around her and the date is below. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The reverse shows a stylized heraldic eagle with ornate scrolls, the tips of which are on top of the wings and tail of the eagle on both sides of the shield. The scrolls are inscribed, on the left E PLURIBUS and UNUM on the right. The scrolls were added to the design to symbolize the denomination since this was the first twenty dollar double eagle coin. There is an oval of thirteen six-pointed stars above the eagles head and an arc of rays from wing tip to wing tip behind the upper half of the oval, which give a scalloped effect. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc at the top of the coin, and the denomination is below. The mint mark is between the tail feathers and the denomination.

With an original mintage of 10,708, the 1879-CC is rare in all conditions. In its population report, NGC has certified 286 pieces in all grades.