Lost amidst all the hoopla at the recent 2020 FUN show and auctions was the sale of one of the most remarkable US gold coins I have seen in a while. This coin was a totally fresh-to-the-market 1872-CC Liberty Head eagle graded MS62 by NGC and offered as Lot 4470 in the Heritage 2020 Winter FUN sale.
Carson City double eagles can be neatly divided into three tiers of rarity. The first tier—or what I like to call the Big Five—consists of the 1871-CC, 1878-CC, 1879-CC, 1885-CC, and the 1891-CC. If we assume that most collectors will never buy an 1870-CC due to its rarity and cost, these five issues are the keys to the set.
The 19 different Liberty Head double eagles struck at the Carson City mint between 1870 and 1893 form one of the most popular series in American numismatics.
It is difficult to call an issue as expensive as the 1878-CC half eagle “underpriced” but it is my opinion that this is easily the most underappreciated half eagle from this mint; if not the single most underappreciated gold coin of any denomination made at this facility.
