The 1872-CC is one of the rarest Carson City eagles. Only 4,600 were made and this was an issue which circulated extensively. It is very rare in About Uncirculated with perhaps 10-12 known (none exist in Uncirculated) and most have been cleaned, processed or hideously recolored. The best I have seen is a PCGS AU58 which was last sold for $57,500 as ANR 10/04: 828; it is now in a California collection..

This is the most original 1872-CC eagle that I have seen in a number of years. It shows attractive deep, even green-gold color and it is one of the very few pieces I am aware of which hasn’t been cleaned in recent years. The strike is very acceptable for the date with just a small amount of weakness seen on the neck feathers of the eagle; the surfaces are exceptionally clean for the date with no noticeable abrasions or defects. While I do not know the past history of this coin, I do know that it is fresh to the market and it has an appearance which suggests it may have come from Europe.

The last AU50 example of this date to sell at auction was a very low end NGC coin which brought $16,675 in the Goldberg 6/10 sale. Before this, one has to go back to 2007 and 2008 to find records for sales of AU50 coins; one for $16,675 (low end!!) and the other for $26,450.

If you are a serious collector of Carson City gold coinage, you know how unusual it is to find a high grade 1872-CC eagle with natural color and surfaces. This piece would work well in nearly any set!