1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar. Clear CC. MS-65 (NGC).Frosty white surfaces are seen on both sides of this semi-key date Carson City Mint Morgan dollar. Fully lustrous with a sharply executed strike, the smooth and attractive surfaces enhance the appeal of this coin. After a promising start with 2,212,000 coins struck in 1878, Morgan dollar production at the Carson City Mint fell off markedly the next year. Only 756,000 pieces were produced in 1879, and mintages would continue to fall through 1881. Despite its proximity to Nevadas rich silver mines, the Carson City Mint was forced to play second fiddle as much of the bullion mined was sent to the more distant San Francisco Mint for coinage. There was so little bullion on hand at the Carson City facility throughout 1879, in fact, that the presses were still for much of the year. In our August 2013 sale of the Battle Born Collection, Rusty Goe reported that Superintendent Crawford received orders from his superiors in Washington, D.C. to cease coinage operations in April and lay off workers. The presses in Carson City remained idle until August, after which only 210,000 additional silver dollars were struck before the end of 1879; these added to the 546,000 coins struck prior to the Mints cessation of operations in April constituted the mintage for the year.<p>With a far smaller percentage of the mintage finding its way into numismatic hands through the GSA sales of the 1970s, the 1879-CC is rarer than the lower mintage 1880-CC, 1881-CC and 1885-CC in Mint State. This issue, in fact, is the scarcest Carson City Mint Morgan dollar of the 1878 to 1885 era. Particularly desirable as a Gem example, the present offering is among the finer certified survivors. With strong candidacy for an advanced collection of Morgan dollars on the NGC Set Registry, we certainly anticipate strong interest in this offering.PCGS# 7086. NGC ID: 253T.NGC Census: 61; 10 finer in this category (MS-66 finest).
