This simply exquisite CC-Mint Liberty half eagle displays lovely soft satin luster and attractive orange gold patina. Sharply struck throughout and a delight to behold. This near-Gem would serve with distinction in a mintmarked gold type set or a specialized collection of Carson City Mint gold. The original mintage of 208,000 pieces for the 1891-CC is the highest of any Carson City half eagle. This actually represents the second year in a row that the Carson City Mint produced more half eagles than its Philadelphia counterpart. The appointment of Charles Foster to the post of secretary of the Treasury in 1891 caused a huge surge in the exportation of U.S. gold coins that year. Writing in our August 2012 catalog of The Battle Born Collection of Carson City Mint Coinage, noted authority Rusty Goe tells the story:"Charles Foster had succeeded William Windom as Treasury Secretary after Windom s untimely death in early 1891, and two of his earliest actions further facilitated the huge exportations of gold coins. First, he declined to furnish U.S. made gold bars to European buyers who paid for them with their own countries coins. Congress had even passed a law in March 1891 that gave the Treasury Secretary the discretion to impose a surcharge on the purchase of gold bars. So desperate were buyers in Europe, however, they paid the premiums. The Secretary raised the premiums higher until the purchase of U.S. gold coins was more enticing, which in turn caused the draining of the Treasury s reserves of gold coins to escalate."Foster s second measure occurred when he agreed to redeem the Treasury Notes and greenbacks held by wealthy U.S. bankers in the East in gold. Some historians have said that these savvy financiers conspired with their counterparts in Europe to deplete the U.S. Treasury s gold reserves. During the summer of 1891, this might have correlated with Mint Director Leech s "powerful causes were operating" statement [in his 1891 Annual Report of the Director of the Mint pertaining to the exchange of gold coins for gold bars]. Regardless , the records are clear: massive quantities of U.S. gold coins, many in small denominations, made their way onto large steamships and sailed across the Atlantic to Europe."This increased demand for small denomination gold coins certainly explains the Carson City Mint s record production of half eagles in 1891. Many of the 208,000 coins struck found their way to Europe where they remained as part of bank reserves for decades to come. The eventual repatriation of large numbers of these coins has made the 1891-CC the most plentiful CC-Mint half eagle in all grades, circulated and Mint State. Among the latter are a generous (by Carson City gold coin standards) number of coins in the MS-60 to MS-63 range, and these are favorites among collectors of high grade mintmarked gold type coins. On the other hand, near-Gems in MS-64 are rare and the province of more advanced numismatists, including many CC-Mint gold specialists. With Gems in MS-65 and finer virtually unobtainable, our offering of this premium quality MS-64+ represents an extremely important bidding opportunity in today s market. This beautiful condition rarity is highly recommended for inclusion in the finest gold collection. ， Est. $10,000-$15,000
