1879-CC $10.00 NGC AU58

Battle Born Collection pedigree. The 1879-CC has the lowest mintage figure of any Carson City gold coin and it was traditionally regarded as the rarest eagle from this mint. Of the 1,762 produced, only four dozen or so are known. But in recent years, the popularity (and price) of this rarity has been trumped by the 1870-CC and now the 1879-CC is actually, in my opinion, extremely undervalued when compared to such issues as the 1872-CC, 1873-CC, 1877-CC and 1878-CC eagles. This is one of the more lustrous 1879-CC eagles that I have seen with very vibrant semi-prooflike surfaces that show virtually no wear. There are some contact marks in the obverse fields that are accentuated by the depth of the luster; the reverse has some minor nicks in the fields. I bought this coin in the recent Battle Born sale and thought it was an incredible bargain for a number of reasons. Firstly, I saw a PCGS EF45 1879-CC eagle recently sell for close to $30,000 and that coin wasn't close to the present example from a quality standpoint. Secondly, I saw coins in the Battle Born sale (like the 1878-CC in NGC AU58 which brought $80,500) that were not close to being as rare as the 1879-CC sell for significantly more. Remember; this is a date that used to sell for more than the 1870-CC and which is probably the second rarest CC eagle in terms of rarity. A very important Carson City eagle.

Formerly in the Battle Born collection (Lot 11029) where it brought $41,688; earlier sold to the owner of this collection by me in Augsut 2002.

1879-CC $5.00 PCGS MS62 CAC

Tied for Finest Known. This fresh-to-the-market example is not only tied for the finest known 1879-CC half eagle (more on this below), it has a great backstory as well. Around six months ago, it walked into a coin store in Nevada raw, along with a group of otherwise unspectacular bullion-related gold. It was then sent to PCGS where it graded MS62 and was just sold to me. It is stone cold original with superb deep natural green-gold and orange-gold hues seen on the obverse and reverse. There are a few light ticks in the fields but the appearance of this piece is exceptional and this is one of the best CC gold coins from the 1870's of any denomiantion that I have seen. The previous finest known 1879-CC half eagle is a PCGS MS62 in the Battle Born collection that brought a staggering $69,000 when it was sold as Heritage 2/11: 4474. That coin, like this, was totally fresh and had been found in a group of common date gold coins in Europe. It is remarkable that the two finest known 1879-CC half eagles have been introduced to the numismatic community.