1881-CC Liberty Head Half Eagle. AU-58 (NGC).This attractive and flashy Carson City half eagle features uniform medium-gold coloration throughout. It is nicely struck with considerable luster around the devices and just the faintest trace of friction in the fields.<p>The 1881-CC is among the rarest Carson City half eagles and is the rarest of those from the 1880s. Only 13,886 coins were struck as compared to more than 5.7 million struck at Philadelphia. A single pair of dies was employed for the entire run, managing to turn out 5,640 half eagles before the facility was shut down on April 1. When the doors reopened in November, mint personnel were able to coin an additional 8,246 examples of the denomination before the end of the year. Scarcely more than a hundred or so are thought to survive, almost all of which are in lower grades, generally clustered in and around VF and EF. Even in the higher grades this issue is known for less than stellar luster and surfaces; examples with remarkable eye appeal, such as offered here, are very challenging to locate and are seldom available.PCGS# 8356. NGC ID: 25XE.NGC Census: 4; 9 finer.From the Henry Collection.
