Liberty Head Half Eagle

1879-CC Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter 1-A. VF-30 (PCGS). CAC.

This richly original half eagle is boldly toned in deep khaki-rose. Suitably sharp in detail for the assigned grade with a remarkably smooth and inviting appearance for moderately circulated Carson City Mint gold coin from the 1870s. Due to outlandish railroad tariffs, by the late 1870s it was more profitable for Nevada miners to send their bullion for coinage to the San Francisco Mint as opposed to the nearby Carson City facility. Carson City Mint expert Rusty Goe (August 2012) states that, "By 1879, Nevada's miners were already sending about 100 times as much of their gold to the San Francisco Mint than they were depositing in Carson City, and about 13 times as much silver." It is little wonder, therefore, that the Nevada branch mint produced so few gold coins of any denomination in 1879. The 1879-CC half eagle boasts a limited mintage of 17,281 pieces, and it is a scarce issue in an absolute sense. Rusty Goe (2020) provides for only 235 to 275 survivors in all grades in Volume 2 of his outstanding new reference The Confident Carson City Coin Collector. A charming Choice VF example from the Fairmont Collection that will garner plenty of attention from specialists of the series.

PCGS# 8349. NGC ID: 25X8.

Estimate: 2000