Why the romance over Carson City coins?

FrankH · December 12, 2022 9:57AM

San Francisco was the real wild west town.

First year issues from each:

LanceNewmanOCC · December 12, 2022 10:10AM

san fran has one heck of a history to be sure but the romance surrounding the one(s) you can't have anymore will always have an allure.

dahlonega, charlotte and carson city all had a rather brief time in the sun by comparison.

san fran is still making them right?

i know they made some new CC but it is simply not even in the same ballpark, for me at least, plus, are they even made there?

i did enjoy recently reading about the 1848-1850 period when cali was founded and seeing JUST how quickly the official mint was up and running and of course all the private issuers as well. it started out reading about shipwrecks and san fran has seen their share of losses.

FrankH · December 12, 2022 10:12AM

FrankH · December 12, 2022 10:13AM

Namvet69 · December 12, 2022 11:34AM

Who was enterprising enough to capitalize on the devastation? Any info on the rim? Peace Roy

FrankH · December 12, 2022 11:53AM

Plain rim.

AUandAG · December 12, 2022 12:07PM

SF by the 1870's was a very sophisticated town. It had ports, weather, and a lot more than CC. What SF did not have was a source of silver and gold. The California gold rush was long gone. Nevada was the next gold rush/silver rush and SF needed it and wanted it. Nevada shipped the ore to SF to keep that town rolling. Even after their own mint in CC was up and running. In fact there was great resistence to the CC mint as the RR could transport the bullion over the Sierras to SF for minting. Nevada was set up with milling the ore and smelting it before it ever was put on the RR.
Perhaps all of this is what makes the CC mint coins desireable. Everyone knew it would not last and would close when the ore ran out. And it did, making it a short run of just 23 years with less than that in actual minting. By 1885 the writing was on the wall and of course it sputtered after reopening again in 1889.
bob

pmh1nic · December 12, 2022 12:27PM

Two letters instead of one.

asheland · December 12, 2022 12:46PM

I think all of the mints have interesting aspects to them.

Maywood · December 12, 2022 12:58PM

I believe Carson City minted coins are sought by collectors for one very simple reason, they had very small mintages by comparison to other mints. In that regard, those who seek them are very astute collectors. The same goes for Dahlonega and Charlotte, very low mintages and very low surviving coins.

pointfivezero · December 12, 2022 2:56PM

I agree with all the points illustrated by @LanceNewmanOCC, @AUandAG, @pmh1nic and @Maywood and would add a couple of my own:

Western Nevada is still the "Wild West". One can drive through the old mining towns of Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City just a few minutes up the road from the Mint.
The Carson City Mint is still open (as the Nevada State Museum) while the San Francisco Mint is closed to the public. The old Carson City Mint is a must see for any numismatic or non-numismatic fans. The exhibits and replica mine in the lower level are well worth the price of admission:

Tim

LanceNewmanOCC · December 12, 2022 3:43PM

@pointfivezero said:
Tim

thanks.

it is nice when someone shows up with props.

124Spider · December 12, 2022 6:09PM

Speaking only for myself...

When I was a kid, I had no money to buy coins, only to hold onto some that I got in change (small allowance). So coins that I knew were way out of my league acquired, in my mind, a special aura. This included all Carson City coins, because I knew that I would never own one.

Life has treated me well, so never say, "never."

But I still pinch myself when I look at those beautiful coins with the CC mintmark.

7Jaguars · December 12, 2022 6:26PM

Well, TBH, the private issues that essentially are SF issues rank right up there with the best of CC, D, and C mints - but as was stated when SF went back into production (in the multi- and tens of millions) they got a lot lest interesting.
BTW - I am not at all sure the Cali gold was done by 1870....gold came from many sources there from the 1860s until about the turn of the century.

jesbroken · December 12, 2022 7:22PM

@FrankH
You beat me, I was going to list mine. lol
Jim

CaptainBlunt · December 12, 2022 7:25PM

There was a big increase in CA gold production in the 1930’s. It started out with cheap available labor and reduced costs followed by an increase in the price of an ounce of gold. Many of these years (1936-1939) saw over a million ozs recovered. For the years 1939-1941, CA gold production was 1.4 million plus ozs per year.

The 1859-S Seated dollar is a very interesting coin. I think the published history of these dollars needs to be re-written including PCGS’s CoinFacts.

SPalladino · December 12, 2022 8:09PM

Must it be a binary choice?

COCollector · December 12, 2022 10:24PM

Maybe 14 seasons of subliminal messaging helped the romance & appeal of CC coins...

Bonanza TV Series

BillJones · December 13, 2022 4:19AM

For whatever reason the Carson City Mint bug has never bitten me hard. I have a few Carson City Morgan Dollars and a five dollar gold piece for the “all mints $5 gold set,” but that’s it, The high prices for some of the more interesting coins is one of the reasons why I have never gotten involved that much.

justindan · December 13, 2022 5:50AM

I learned recently Cali gold was used to make many of the Dahlonega coins in the later years. Which I thought was interesting. The Dahlonega mint made around $6 million in gold coinage. The museum there is just an old courthouse, so not as cool as CC.

ricko · December 13, 2022 6:19AM

I have always been attracted to the CC mint marked Morgans. Did a set of them in the late nineties, early 2K's... Still have that set... Some years ago, I added a counterfeit 1902 CC I found in an antique shop.... got it discounted when I proved to them it was a fake. The attraction is a combination of where the mint was and the gold rush there, plus a double letter, and a fairly short run. Cheers, RickO

LukeMarshall · December 13, 2022 1:21PM

Double the mint mark letters, Double the fun?

Chevyrose · December 13, 2022 5:41PM

Read a book about Morgan’s long ago. Seems like the theme of the book to me was that cc Morgans were the only ones worth collecting. Something like maybe Jesse James held a cc Morgan you have now

I still think cc Morgans are the only ones worth collecting

ColonelKlinck · December 13, 2022 5:49PM

It's all about the silver!

Catbert · December 13, 2022 7:46PM

I think the affinity is due to one's imagination: being there in the wild west, seeking Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, drinking whiskey in a saloon while ladies hover about in frilly dresses.

pointfivezero · December 14, 2022 12:06PM

@Catbert said:
I think the affinity is due to one's imagination: being there in the wild west, seeking Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, drinking whiskey in a saloon while ladies hover about in frilly dresses.

Some dresses are more frilly than others…

Tim

Cladiator · December 14, 2022 12:41PM

Did the plaque behind you say how many coins?

Swampboy · December 14, 2022 2:54PM

I had a very pleasant visit to Carson City and to the State Museum one day. I keep looking at shows for a $5 gold with eye appeal that will work with my budget. The appeal for me is nostalgic you can say.

pointfivezero · December 14, 2022 3:10PM

@Cladiator said:
Did the plaque behind you say how many coins?

Not sure what the plaque said as I was too busy looking for '89-CC's in her dress. Here is some info:

FrankH · December 14, 2022 6:00PM

null

vulcanize · December 14, 2022 6:25PM

@justindan said:
I learned recently Cali gold was used to make many of the Dahlonega coins in the later years. Which I thought was interesting. The Dahlonega mint made around $6 million in gold coinage. The museum there is just an old courthouse, so not as cool as CC.

Thanks. Had been planning to take a trip and visit the Dahlonega museum last year but it somehow never really materialized.

I am very content with my Trade dollars along with Morgans (six of which are GSA) and don't have any other coins in either silver nor gold from Carson City Mint with the costs being the primary reason (below link from GC knowledge base makes interesting reading with some eye popping numbers - atleast for me)

https://www.greatcollections.com/kb/catalog/7/The-Allure-of-the-Carson-City-Mint--History-and-Information-about-the-Coins

Was really thrilled to lay my hands on the 1883 & 1884 CC Morgans (GSA) two years for $200 a piece that replaced the regular slabs since it came back as MS 62 (1883) and MS 63 (1884) from our hosts. Don't think upgrades will happen any time soon.
Cheers.

Cougar1978 · December 15, 2022 9:16AM

They are highly liquid and scarcer than non cc. Demand very high. They were transported in wagons got a lot of bag marks. Hence nice pieces trading high. Super for investment. Takes some serious pocket get a lot of them. Would be a nice area specialize in. Visualize a showcase full of them at a a show - full with many stacked high. Good selection of all types.

Expect strong competition in bidding to get one. But if lots pocket go for it. Just having a box of 20 would be awesome. At shows from my table they attract strong attention - 5 star players. They will all try like get out at a show talk one down on one with their little sheet or some other BS. I don’t budge might give 5 pct move them but I know have them beat in that so they will pay me what I want or not get one. The gold ones most likely will be only one in room a dealer would have. If They don’t pay the money, they won’t get the coin.

FrankH · December 15, 2022 10:26AM

I think a LOT of coins from Carson City came with instructions.
"Carry in pocket or toolbox. Clean regularly. If dropped, retrieve with pliers.."

Bigtree · December 15, 2022 1:09PM

I get the fascination with CC silver coins because of the connection to the Comstock lode. Nevada is the "Silver State" after all.

When it comes to gold coins, though, I go against the grain a bit - I'm drawn to early SF gold, which I don't think gets enough love compared to CC or the Southern branch mints, given its connection to the most famous gold rush in history.

FrankH · December 15, 2022 1:21PM

Just as soon get a circ and no dings.

Why the romance over Carson City coins?

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