1870-CC Liberty Head Double Eagle. EF-40 (NGC).

Legendary 1870-CC Double Eagle Rarity Fewer than 70 Coins Extant Unknown in Mint State 1870-CC Liberty Head Double Eagle. EF-40 (NGC). An attractive and highly desirable example of one of the most eagerly sought issues in the entire double eagle series. In addition to being the rarest Carson City Mint double eagle, the 1870-CC is also the most difficult to locate with strong eye appeal. The obverse is always softly impressed to one degree or another, especially at stars 1 to 7 and the high points of Liberty's portrait. The present example, while lacking centrils to some of the stars around the obverse periphery, is suitably bold throughout Liberty's portrait, especially relative to the EF grade assigned by NGC. The central reverse offers bold to sharp definition, as well as a fully legible legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and denomination TWENTY D. around the border. The typical 1870-CC is very heavily abraded, often with numerous large, detracting marks, which should be expected for an early CC-Mint issue that served as a workhorse in commerce. The offered coin is overall lightly abraded from commercial use, but amazingly none of the individual marks are sizable enough to catch the eye in-hand. Faint traces of the original mint finish remain, including flashes of prooflike reflectivity in the protected areas around and among the reverse elements. The color is a deep, rich honey-olive gold that provides pleasing eye appeal. This coin is certainly the equal of, if not more attractive than, most certified 1870-CC twenties in today's market, which are clustered within the two Extremely Fine grades. A smaller number of About Uncirculated examples have been certified by PCGS and NGC; the 1870-CC is unknown in Mint State. The double eagle is the fourth denomination produced by the fledgling Carson City Mint in 1870, following silver dollars, eagles and half eagles. The mintage is 3,789 pieces, which Rusty Goe (The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, 2020) divides into five monthly deliveries: -March = 1,332 coins -April = 398 coins -May = 1,137 coins -June = 462 coins -August = 460 coins This is the lowest yearly production figure among the 19 Carson City double eagle issues. Since there was no contemporary numismatic interest in this issue, it entered commerce and suffered the expected attrition. The 1870-CC is not only the rarest Carson City Mint double eagle, as above, but also one of the rarest in the entire Liberty Head series. It is every bit as desirable as the fabled 1854-O and 1856-O duo, the low mintage 1881, 1882, 1885, 1886 and 1891 circulation strikes, and the intriguing 1861-S A.C. Paquet Reverse - perhaps even more so, since no other coinage facility in U.S. history is as storied or romanticized as that which operated at Carson City from 1870 to 1893. The rarity of the 1870-CC has long been established, and to this day it remains part of that select group of condition rarities within the U.S. series which are unknown in Mint State. Recent survival estimates put forth by numismatic researchers have been fairly tight, ranging from a low of 35 to 45 coins from Douglas Winter in the 2001 reference Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint, to a high of 55 to 65 coins proffered by Rusty Goe in his aforementioned book The Confident Carson City Coin Collector. Other sources have advanced similar estimates during the opening decades of the 21st century: - Q. David Bowers, A Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins, 2004 = fewer than 50 coins -Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins: 1795-1933, 2008 edition = 35 to 50 coins -PCGS CoinFacts = 40 to 50 coins Approximately half of the extant population, or 30 to 39 coins per Rusty Goe, grades EF to AU. Those certified AU-50 or finer by PCGS or NGC constitute much of the Condition Census for the issue. Choice coins in EF-45 also deserve inclusion in this group, such as the Fairmont Collection - Hendricks Set coin in PCGS/CAC EF-45 that realized an extraordinary (for the grade) $810,000 in our Spring 2022 Auction. The record price at auction for the 1870-CC was achieved by the PCGS AU-53 coin - currently the second finest certified by that service - that traded hands for $1,620,000 in Heritage's November 2021 Signature Auction. The Winter plate coin, it was formerly part of the Isaac Edmunds, Donald E. Bently and Prestwick Collections. PCGS and NGC each list a single AU-55 example as their finest certified, the PCGS coin bringing $1,440,000 in our November 2024 Showcase Auction. The NGC AU-55 last appeared at auction in our (Bowers and Merena's) March 2009 Baltimore Auction. In December 2014, the Heritage catalogers described an NGC AU-58 example as: "The finest-known specimen, recently discovered and shortly thereafter stolen during a Brinks transport on October 19, 2011. Unrecovered." As of this writing, that coin no longer appears on the NGC Census. The ownership of any 1870-CC is a mark of distinction for a numismatist, and this handsome piece is certainly worthy of serious bidder consideration. It is sure to sell for a strong bid to an astute Carson City Mint and/or double eagle enthusiast. Ranked #75 in the fifth edition (2019) of the influential reference 100 Greatest U.S. Coins by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth. Provenance: Ex Avalon Collection. PCGS# 8958. NGC ID: 26A8. Click here for certification details from NGC.

Estimate:£0.74

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