1870-CC Liberty Head Half Eagle. Winter 1-A, the only known dies. Die State I. Planchet Lamination. AU-55 (PCGS). Offered is one of the finest certified survivors of this historic and popular, yet also rare and conditionally challenging Carson City Mint gold issue. A beautiful coin drenched in deep honey gold color and pale champagne-apricot patina, both sides retain nearly complete mint luster in a softly frosted texture. The persistent viewer will also see modest semi-reflectivity in the fields - highly attractive. The strike is commensurate with the Winter Die State I attribution and features razor sharp to full definition throughout the design. Impressively smooth for a lightly circulated early date CC-Mint gold coin, there are no sizable or individually distracting handling marks. Housed in a PCGS Mint Error holder, which refers to a thin obverse planchet lamination extending into Libertys portrait from star 2. This feature, as made, serves as a useful provenance marker for identifying this coin in future market appearances. Far better preserved and infinitely more attractive than the vast majority of survivors from this challenging issue, this lovely Choice AU is destined for inclusion in a high quality half eagle cabinet or collection of Carson City Mint coinage.<p>On January 8, 1870, the Carson City Mint officially opened for coinage operations under the direction of Superintendent Abraham "Abe" Curry. The first $5 gold half eagles to bear the distinct CC mintmark of this facility were delivered by Coiner Ezra Staley on March 1 in the amount of 400 coins. By years end the total mintage for this issue would amount to just 7,675 pieces. In the outstanding new reference <em>The Confident Carson City Coin Collector</em> (2020), CC-Mint expert Rusty Goe provides the following monthly breakdown for this mintage:<p>-March = 400 coins<p>-April = 760 coins<p>-May = 730 coins<p>-July = 2,530 coins<p>-September = 530 coins<p>-October = 725 coins<p>-December = 2,000 coins<p>As with all early gold and silver issues from the Carson City Mint, the mintage for the 1870-CC saw immediate use in regional commerce, which would result in a high rate of attrition and correspondingly low rate of survival. Rusty Goes estimate for the number of coins extant in all grades is just 75 to 95 pieces, the vast majority of which do not exceed Choice VF.<p>On the other hand, and unlike the 1870-CC eagle and double eagle, the 1870-CC half eagle is obtainable in Mint State. It is exceedingly rare at that level, however, the title of finest known held by the Battle Born specimen certified MS-61 by PCGS that realized $105,750 in our August 2012 sale of that fabulous collection. The only other Mint State example known, ranked CC#2 for the issue, is the coin that has most recently been certified MS-62 by NGC.<p>The remaining rankings near the top of the Condition Census for this issue are occupied by a group of AU-58s that are nearly as rare as the Mint State coins. Rusty Goe estimates that only four or five such pieces are extant, despite combined PCGS and NGC certification data that shows 10 grading events for the 1870-CC at this level. Of the certified AU-55 coins, Goe discusses just two in his aforementioned book, neither of which is that offered here. While numismatic scholars may debate the effect of the planchet lamination on its exact ranking within the census for the issue, this is certainly among the best preserved 1870-CC half eagles available. PCGS# 8320. NGC ID: 25WA. New to Market from an old private collection. First Public Offering in Decades.
