1881-CC $5 (1881-CC Half Eagle) NGC MS61. This mint state branch mint 1881-CC Half Eagle smolders with subdued mint luster. Very light and few abrasion marks on the reverse keep this coin from a higher mint state grade. NGC was very conservative in grading this specimen. The strike shows a little softness on the obverse but is full and sharp on the reverse. Christian Gobrechts Coronet Head, No Motto half eagles were minted from 1839 to 1866. There were two types of the design, the first with the mint mark on the obverse above the date and the second with the mint mark above the denomination on the reverse. Gobrecht modified the previous designs denomination, 5D. He replaced the numeral with the word FIVE.

The design shows Liberty facing left, surrounded by thirteen stars, her hair tied with beads in a bun, wearing a coronet on which is inscribed LIBERTY. She also has two long loose curls, one on the back of her neck and one from behind her ear. The reverse is the heraldic eagle design, which shows the eagle facing left with wings outstretched, holding olive branch and arrows in the correct claws with a union shield attached to its chest. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse with the denomination at the bottom. Dots precede and follow the denomination separating it from the legend.

The coinage act of 1865 specified that motto IN GOD WE TRUST should be added to all coins large enough to accommodate it. The Mint interpreted this law to mean that the motto had to be added to silver coins larger than the dime and gold half eagles, eagles and double eagles. James Longacre, who was now the Engraver, added the motto scroll to the reverse under STATES OF, creating Type 2 of this design. The present coin is an example of this Type 2 modification.

Authorized in 1863, the Carson City Mint began coinage in 1870 and continued until 1893. It was then operated as a government assay office until 1933 when it was closed as a cost cutting measure. During its operation the Carson City Mint made fifty-seven different types of gold coins. It also converted gold bullion and oar into gold bars, which were shipped to San Francisco for coinage there. Coins issued from the Carson City Mint used the CC mint mark. Originally established to convert silver from the Comstock Lode to coinage, the Mint also processed gold in to 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.

Between 1870 and 1873, mintage at Carson City was limited because of political reasons. The Mint Superintendent, H.F. Rice was dismissed because of claims that the mint issued some light weight and debased coins. Rice could have been executed. This partly verified information led to frequently seen edge test marks on the gold pieces of this period. Those who wanted the Carson City Mint closed use this discovery to urge the closing. Their real motive was that they wanted the lucrative shipping contracts to move the oar to San Francisco.

The first Carson City coin was the Liberty Seated 1870-CC dollar. A person who had deposited silver at the mint received 2303 silver dollars. Shortly afterwards, gold eagles, half eagles and double eagles were struck. The mint at Carson City did not strike coins made of copper or nickel, and it never struck half dimes, gold dollars, quarter eagles, or three dollar gold coins.

In 1873 silver was demonetized; however, the Bland-Allison act of 1878 required the Treasury Department to coin two to four million sliver dollars each month. The act attempted to keep silver at artificially high levels. Large quantities of Morgan Dollars were minted, but they did not circulate well and were kept in Treasury storage vaults.

In 1884 Democrat Grover Cleveland became president. He fired all the Republican appointees including the top officials at the Carson City Mint and shut it down. A year later it reopened as an assay office. When Republican Benjamin Harrison became president, he fired Clevelands appointees and replaced them with Republicans. In 1889 coining operations at Carson City resumed.

In 1890 the Sherman Silver Purchase Act modified the Bland-Allison Act. Under it the government was required to purchase 4.5 million ounces of silver per month which was to be paid with bonds that could be redeemed for gold or silver. Much to the surprise of the officials, most bond holders chose gold, which depleted the governments gold reserve. This instability was one of the causes of the panic of 1893, which led to the repeal of the Sherman Act and slowed the production of silver dollars. At the same time the Nevada mines were no longer as plentiful as they had been before. Combined with a low silver price, a scandal (a worker tried to smuggle gold out of the mint in his lunch box), and a struggling economy, the Mint Director, Robert Preston, ordered the Carson City Mint as a coining facility closed in 1893.

The 1881-CC had an original mintage of 13,886. In its population report, NGC certified 77 coins in all grades. In MS61 there are 2 with only 2 better. PCGS also reports 2 in MS61 with one better. These numbers do not account for resubmissions and crossovers.