The Carson City mint produced gold coinage in three denominations (half eagle, eagle, and double eagle) with interruptions from 1870 through the closing of this facility in 1893.

With the exception of a very limited number of issues, nearly all Carson City gold coins are considered scarce to rare in higher grades (MS60 and above), and choice CC coinage is popular with specialized collectors.

In the half eagle and eagle series, the three decades in which these coins were struck neatly compartmentalizes them in regards to their rarity: issues from the 1870s tend to be extremely rare in MS60 and higher, issues from the 1880s are rare to very rare although a touch more available. The limited issues from the 1890s are by far the most available with the 1891-CC half eagles and eagles actually fairly available in MS60 through MS63. Due to hoards, the double eagles have a slightly different rarity profile and they are more available in grades through MS62, but all CC double eagles are very rare in properly graded MS63, and essentially unknown finer.

There are no seven figure Carson City gold coins due to the fact that the rarest dates are unknown in high(er) grades. And there are no famous rarities as the two hardest CC gold coins to locate (the 1870-CC eagle and double eagle) are available from time to time.

The following list of the dozen greatest gold coins from Carson City includes some well-known pieces and some others which are not famous. Wherever possible, I have tried to include coins which I have seen in person. A number of coins just missed making it onto this list and these garner a nod on the Honorable Mention list at the end of this article.

1. PCGS/CAC MS61 1870-CC Half Eagle, ex Battle Born Collection

There are two Uncirculated 1870-CC half eagles known and although the other is graded higher than this example (NGC MS62) I have always regarded this coin as the best example of this popular first-year issue.
The story behind this coin is that it was supposedly discovered in the Carson City dirt by a postman making his rounds; a tale which seems fanciful. It made its way raw into a Carson City coin shop in 1994 and was graded MS61 by PCGS and later sold to the owner of the Battle Born Collection, by far the finest specialized set of CC coins ever assembled.

*1870-CC $5.00 PCGS MS61, courtesy Stack's Bowers*

This coin last sold in Stack’s Bowers 2012 ANA for $105,700; a figure which would be easily eclipsed today.

2. PCGS MS62 1873-CC Half Eagle, ex Bass Collection

The 1873-CC is likely the rarest Carson City half eagle in higher grades. There are fewer than 10 known in About Uncirculated, and just two in Uncirculated: this PCGS MS62 and a PCGS MS61.

*1873-CC $5.00 PCGS MS62, courtesy PCGS CoinFacts*

The finest known 1873-CC half eagle is in the Tom Bender Collection and it was purchased for a record-setting $168,000 in the Stack’s Bowers 2018 ANA sale. I’ve personally owned the coin on two different occasions. It first surfaced in the October 1999 Bass II auction where it brought $66,125 and a year later, I bought it for $48,300 in the October 2000 Goldberg sale.

It is interesting to note that the next finest example of the 1873-CC half eagle grades AU55, and there are likely not more than two or three accurately graded pieces at that level.

3. PCGS/CAC MS66 1876-CC Half Eagle, ex Eliasberg Collection

This is the single finest Carson City half eagle of any date and it also happens to be unique in Uncirculated. It holds the record price for any Carson City gold coin ever sold at auction, bringing $477,250 in the Stack’s Bowers 2012 ANA sale.

*1876-CC $5.00 PCGS MS66 CAC, courtesy of Stack's Bowers*

This coin has a pedigree dating back to 1893 (when the Chapman Brothers sold it to John Clapp for $5.15) and I purchased it for the owner of the Battle Born Collection in Bowers and Merena’s 7/2002 auction for $138,000 when it was then graded MS65 by PCGS.

How could this coin even exist? My theory is that it was an Assay coin which was purchased at face value by someone on the 1876 Assay Commission, and that it later found its way to the leading coin dealers in Philadelphia, the Chapman Brothers. Given that it was sold to John Clapp for $5.15, the original seller obviously didn’t hit a home run on his 17 year investment!

This coin currently resides in the Tom Bender Collection, and I have long regarded it as the finest Carson City gold coin of any date or denomination.

4. PCGS MS66 1890-CC Half Eagle

This is one of just two Carson City gold coins of any date or denomination graded higher than MS65. It sold for $66,125 in the Heritage 12/2004 auction, and it has not been seen since then.

*1890-CC $5.00 PCGS MS66, courtesy of Heritage*

This is a different sort of coin than the others on this list as it represents a common date in an uncommon grade. However, it makes it onto my 12 Greatest Carson City coin list due to its remarkable quality.

What would this coin sell for today? Assuming that it is as nice as I recall, it has to be a $100,000-125,000+ item, given its significance as a great Carson City type coin.

5. PCGS/CAC MS62+ 1871-CC Eagle, ex Battle Born Collection

There are not more than a handful of Uncirculated Carson City eagles from the 1870s. These dates tended to have low mintages and were actively circulated. While more available in terms of its overall rarity than any Carson City eagle from the 1870s, other than the 1874-CC, the 1871-CC is very rare in properly graded AU55 to AU58 and unique in Uncirculated.

*1871-CC $10.00 PCGS MS62+ CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

This example was discovered in Europe prior to 1995 and it first sold in Heritage’s March 1995 auction. Its most recent appearance was as Lot 11021 in Stack’s Bowers August 2012 sale of the Battle Born Collection, where it set a record for the date at $129,250.

It is surprising to me that more coins of this quality have not been located in Europe. Virtually every other CC eagle from this era which has been repatriated grades AU50 or lower. It is entirely possible that some of these coins were technically Uncirculated before they were shipped abroad, but through rough handling, they have become AU50 or AU53.

6. NGC MS62 1872-CC Eagle

Who says great coins never surface anymore? This remarkable early date Carson City eagle was located in England in 2019, and it sold for a record-setting $240,000 in the Heritage 2020 FUN auction.

*1872-CC $10.00 NGC MS62, courtesy of Heritage*

Prior to the discovery of this coin, the 1872-CC eagle was unknown in Uncirculated, and just two or three AU58 examples were accounted for.

This coin was purchased by the owner of the Tyrant Collection, and it is an important member of the finest set of Liberty Head eagles ever assembled.

7. PCGS MS63 1874-CC Eagle, ex Battle Born/Eliasberg Collections

The 1874-CC is the most common Carson City eagle from the 1870s, but it is extremely rare in Uncirculated with just two coins known. The higher graded of the two is an NGC MS65 but I have always liked the lower graded of the two, which is a nice MS63 encapsulated by PCGS.

*1874-CC $10.00 PCGS MS63, courtesy of PCGS*

This coin has the second oldest known pedigree of any Carson City gold coin (after the Gem 1876-CC half eagle described above), as it was sold by the Chapman Brothers in January 1900 to John Clapp. It went into the Eliasberg Collection in 1942 and in 1982 it was purchased by Harry Bass. I bought it in November 2000 for $66,700 and sold it to the Battle Born Collection, and it last brought $199,750 in the Stack’s Bowers 2012 ANA. It was purchased there by David Hall and it went to collector Bob Simpson, until finally it was purchased by the Tyrant Collection where it currently resides.

8. NGC MS62 1879-CC Eagle

I’ve never seen this coin and I’ve never spoken to anyone who has seen it, but I can confirm that this piece exists. It was graded a number of years ago and it was said to have been located by a dealer in Alaska.
As a date, the 1879-CC closely rivals the better-known 1870-CC as the rarest Carson City eagle in terms of its overall rarity. The 1879-CC is more available in AU grades, but it is still very rare in this range and the finest AUs are a pair of 58 coins graded by PCGS.

This is a coin I would pay to see and it would almost certainly shatter the price record for a Carson City eagle (currently held by the NGC MS62 1872-CC described above) if it were made available to collectors.

9. NGC AU58 1870-CC Double Eagle

I hesitated to include this coin on the list but as soon as I gave it some thought, I knew that I had to mention it.

This coin was said to have been in the possession of a family for over 50 years before it was sent to Heritage to be included for sale in the January 2012 FUN auction. It was sent by Heritage to NGC where it graded AU58. From there, Heritage sent it to PCGS for a crossover attempt where it failed. It was then placed by itself in a shipping box and sent in a Brink’s shipment back to Heritage’s office in Dallas. When the box was opened, there was nothing inside and to this day, the location of this coin remains a mystery, despite a $100,000 reward.

It is likely that this coin still exists, as the theft was too professional for someone to take this coin and melt it.

10. NGC MS64 1871-CC Double Eagle, the Ed Shapiro Coin

Ed “The Hawk” Shapiro’s career in numismatics was coming to an end just as mine was coming to a start. He was a New York City resident who was among the first U.S. dealers to export American gold coins from Europe, and this 1871-CC double eagle was likely among the single best coins he ever located. He was known as the “Hawk” due to his resemblance—in profile—to said bird.

*1871-CC $20.00 NGC MS64, courtesy of Heritage*

Sad story: when I first saw this coin, it had absolutely wonderful deep orange-gold color which slightly obscured the luster. It was sent to a grading firm and “conserved” in order to upgrade from MS62 to MS63. This coin is still the finest known 1871-CC double eagle by a mile, but it is tragic that it had to be stripped in order for everyone to make money. Ironically, sometime between August 2004 and April 2008, it was upgraded again; this time to MS64.

In its last auction appearance (April 2018), this coin brought $414,000, which is tied for the highest auction price ever recorded by a Carson City double eagle.

11. PCGS/CAC MS62 1872-CC Double Eagle, ex Battle Born Collection

I first remember seeing this coin in a wholesale dealer’s bid sale at a major show about 20 years ago. I partnered with another dealer and bid aggressively on the coin (close to $100,000, if I recall correctly), but we were outbid. The coin quickly made its way to a specialist Reno, Nevada dealer who sold it to the Battle Born Collection; exactly where I was going to place it, had I purchased it.

*1872-CC $20.00 PCGS MS62 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

The 1872-CC is more available than the 1871-CC in higher grades but there is not likely more than six to eight known in Uncirculated; all of which are in the MS60 to MS61 range except for this coin.

In its only public auction appearance, this coin brought $164,500, by far a record for the date. It remains the best 1872-CC double eagle I have seen or heard of.

12. PCGS/CAC MS64 1889-CC Double Eagle, ex Crawford Collection

There has never been a Carson City double eagle graded MS65 by either service and the coin which comes closest is this wonderful PCGS MS64 1889-CC, which is currently in the DL Hansen Collection, and previously was owned by Dr. William Crawford.

*1889-CC $20.00 PCGS MS64 CAC, courtesy of PCGS*

Take a careful look at this coin in the accompanying images. You’ll quickly note two things about this exceptional coin: it has almost zero marks, and it has superb color. When you consider how “marky” a Carson City double eagle in MS63 can be according to 2020 standards, it surprises me that this coin isn’t, at the very least, an MS64+.

HONORABLE MENTION LIST

1870-CC $5, NGC MS62, ex Lang Collection
1871-CC $5, NGC MS63, ex Battle Born Collection
1875-CC $5, NGC MS63, ex Morgan Collection via Doug Winter
1881-CC $5, NGC/CAC MS63
1875-CC $10, PCGS MS62
1881-CC $10, NGC MS64, ex Eliasberg Collection
1882-CC $10, PCGS MS63
1870-CC $20, PCGS AU53
1873-CC $20, PCGS MS63
1875-CC $20, PCGS MS64

I’m curious to know what your choices are for the dozen finest Carson City gold coins. Please feel free to make comments in the space provided below.

Are you interested in owning coins of this quality? If the answer is yes, I would be happy to work with you. Please contact me via email at dwn@ont.com or by calling me at (214) 675-9897.