2016-04-12 Tue

Did you know that coins were worth more as metal than as money in the early 1960’s? Before silver prices broke $1.29 an ounce point, banks kept rolls of silver dollars for birthday and Christmas gifts.

Among rare coins, those issued by Carson City Mint top the list of avid collectors of US coins. Even the most worn out of Carson City 1859 Morgan and 1921 Peace Dollars could fetch a $100 premium, sometimes more. The Carson City Mint Morgan Dollars are in high demand.

Carson City Mint issued dimes for four years between 1873 and 1876. The 1873-CC and 1874-CC Seated Liberty dimes can cost thousands of dollars while 1875-CC and 1976-CC dimes in good condition will fetch up to $30.

The 1876 and 1877 Carson City Seated Liberty quarters and half-dollars will cost about $50.

The 1876-CC Seated Liberty 20-cent coins had a mintage of 10,000 pieces but only a few survive today. The Mint Director, Henry R. Linderman, had ordered a meltdown of all that they had on hand at the mint in early 1877. An estimated 12 to 20 coins managed to escape this fate.

The rarest of Carson City mint coins is the 1873-CC Seated Liberty, No Arrows quarter. In 1873, the mint ordered an increase in the weight of quarters from 6.22 grams to 6.25 grams. To denote this change in weight, arrows were added on either side of the date. The mint had already struck around 4000 lightweight coins which were ordered to be destroyed. Somehow, 6 pieces managed to escape the melting pot.

In 2012, Stack Bowers sold a PCGS graded MS-64 1873-CC Seated Liberty, No Arrows quarter for a whopping $460,000!