This is an exceptionally attractive Mint State Carson City Mint double eagle. Both sides are crisply impressed throughout with equally sharp definition to the tresses of Liberty s hair and the star centers on the obverse, and the eagle s plumage on the reverse. The luster is full and vibrant with a satin to softly frosted texture. Handsome medium orange-gold patina attests to the coin s originality. It is difficult for us to imagine a more technically and visually pleasing CC-Mint twenty at this grade. The 1884-CC has one of the higher mintages among Carson City Mint double eagles with 81,139 pieces produced, although this higher mintage did not signify any increase in the popularity or viability of the Carson City Mint. In fact, 1884 was a pivotal year in the fortunes of the Carson City Mint with important political developments that would result in the first cessation of coinage operations at the facility. Rusty Goe summarizes the situation perfectly in his cataloging for our August 2012 sale of The Battle Born Collection of Carson City Mint Coinage: "As 1884 began, everyone in the country knew that much was at stake in this presidential election year and Nevadans kept a close watch on all that transpired in the political arena. The state s overwhelmingly Republican constituency knew the implications of having a Democratic president for the first time since before Lincoln had granted it statehood in 1864. Senator John P. Jones, who was seeking his own reelection in 1884, told a crowd at a rally in Carson City in October that, if Republican candidate James G. Blaine became the president he would order his Treasury secretary to coin the maximum amount of silver dollars and would place silver on a par with gold. In contrast, if Cleveland won, he would not allow any increase of coinage, and would probably push for the discontinuance of the silver dollar s production altogether. Furthermore, Jones told the crowd that the Democratic Party would cater to the whims of Wall Street and big banks, both of which preferred gold to silver."Reverberations of the political melee shook the Carson City Mint. In this crucial election year, Superintendent James Crawford had to take a distressful action and fire his friend of 30 years, William S. Byrne, (the mint s cashier ever since Crawford had assumed office in 1874), because Byrne was a Democrat."The residents in Carson City also faced the danger of losing their mint if Cleveland won. Already, in January 1884, they had dealt with the news that Senator Hill from Colorado had proposed to Congress to move the minting rights from Nevada to Denver."The fears of Carson City resident were realized for, as a result of Grover Cleveland s election as president the previous year, Mint Director Horatio Burchard ordered the Carson City Mint to suspend coinage operations on March 28, 1885. The ban would not be lifted until 1889.Today, the 1884-CC ranks as one of the more obtainable Carson City Mint double eagles, and it is a popular candidate for inclusion in mintmarked gold type sets. Mint State coins remains scarce relative to market demand, more so than those of the 1874-CC, 1875-CC, 1876-CC, 1883-CC, 1889-CC, 1890-CC, 1892-CC and 1893-CC issues.， Est. $10,000-$20,000
