Carson City Seated Dollars
Higashiyama
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Does anyone have estimates of the number of these coins that survive?
Heritage is listing an 1870-CC, and suggests that the number of this date may be only 300 or so, which seems low.
Heritage is listing an 1870-CC, and suggests that the number of this date may be only 300 or so, which seems low.
Higashiyama
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Comments
keoj
1870-CC ~ 400 to 600 extant in all grades;
1871-CC ~ 75 to 125 extant;
1872-CC ~ 150 to 230 extant; and,
1873-CC ~ 60 to 90 extant.
These estimates seem about right to me, based solely on what I see available.
EVP
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
The mintage figures for the 1870-CC dollar are not known with absolute certainty. The figure 12,462 was popularly used until the Red book adapted the 11,758 figure beginning in 1994, following research by Randy Wiley in the National Archives (also verified by Bob Julian), which gave the following mintage record of dollars:
February 10 – 2303, February 24 – 1444, March 5 – 1116, March 22 – 1175, March 24 – 500, March 30 – 1300, April 7 – 500, May 20 – 600, June 11 – 870, June 14 – 550, June 30 – 1400.
[The 12,462 figure was additionally suspect because it matched the 12,462 mintage figure for 1873-CC quarters - a little bit too coincidential I think. Didn't look but somewhere Bowers attributes the 12,462 number to a Mint source in the 1880s.]
Another question - why is the survival rate of 1870-CC quarters less than 1% while the apparent survival rate for 1870-CC dollars is much higher (perhaps 4%-5%). It seems that some 1870-CC dollars were saved at the time of purchase, with the Carson City newspaper reporting that they were selling for $1.25 in California, this in 1870. In addition, the dollar was the first coin minted at Carson City, adding more to the "lustre" of the coin at the time. There was a lot of bad blood between Carson City and San Francisco, with the SF folks viewing Carson City as an anemic backwater upstart. In short, a Carson City dollar was the epitomy of all the mining efforts in the area - a worthy souvenir which was recognized from the day it was issued.
[My guess is that the 11,758 number is the correct mintage & that the surviving population is within Bowers estimate. The coin is readily available in most circulated grades, much tougher in Unc.]
Another question is whether the 3 odd strikes on Febraury 10th represent presentation pieces. I'm still working on that one
Phooey! When we last spoke, you estimated that there was FIVE specimen strikings and I was unconvinced that there was even a single specimen. Now you say THREE?!?
Coin-beast, you need to stop with the funny math... The kids might get confused!
EVP
PS Actually, when we last spoke about this, I think I was almost convinced of some number (but I can't remember how many) of specimen strikings. It may have been just a single specimen -- the White one -- whose image you showed me at Baltimore.
How does one get a hater to stop hating?
I can be reached at evillageprowler@gmail.com
There is a secondary source which indicates three presentation pieces for this date. I have not yet been able to locate the author of this source. Elsewhere in her book she cites certain references which I am not yet convinced actually exist. If I gave you the number of five, that was incorrect. Still investigating.......