1871-CC Liberty Seated Quarter. Briggs 1-A, the only known dies. EF Details--Reverse Scratched (NGC).Attractively original toning in steel-gray and ample boldness of detail enhance the appeal of this key date CC-Mint quarter. The obverse is pleasingly smooth in hand, although the reverse is peppered with scratches to explain the NGC qualifier. The 1871-CC is a leading rarity among Liberty Seated quarters, which is saying quite a lot for a series replete with elusive and underrated issues. The Carson City Mints second delivery for the denomination, the mintage amounted to a mere 10,890 coins. These saw immediate and extensive circulation, which claimed most and left a paltry surviving population that Rusty Goe estimates at just 45 to 60 examples in all grades. (Goes estimate provided in his excellent 2020 reference <em>The Confident Carson City Coin Collector</em>.) Regarding the grade distribution of the survivors, Q. David Bowers states:<p><em>As is true of other Carson City silver, there was no numismatic interest in the 1871-CC quarters and the survival of high grade examples was a matter of rare chance. Today, a nice VF or EF 1871-CC quarter is about the top of the line in reality for an advanced collector.</em><p>These comments by two of the markets leading experts in Carson City Mint and Liberty Seated coinage establish the rarity of this relatively attractive EF example and its desirability for inclusion in a budget minded collection.PCGS# 5479. NGC ID: 23UN.From our sale of the Lincoln Square Collection, August 2021 Auction, lot 3103; our Winer 2022 Auction, November, lot 5032.
