The Amazing Eliasberg 1889-CC Dollar, MS68

1889-CC $1 MS68 PCGS. Ex: Eliasberg/Jack Lee 2. Carson City struck their first silver dollars in 1870, the first year of coinage operations. They continued to strike Seated dollars through 1873, and Trade dollars until 1878, in addition to subordinate silver denominations and gold half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. Beginning in 1878, all of the mints, including Carson City, were primarily occupied with the production of silver dollars as a result of the Bland-Allison Act. Gold coins were also in production at the various mints. Coinage of silver dollars continued at Carson City into 1885, when operations of that mint were suspended. The cessation of operations was due to the extreme expense of coinage in comparison to the benefits. According to the mint director, costs were as high as 18% of the value of local deposits in 1885. At the time, Carson City was hardly a large city, with a population of only about 4,000 people, and overall population in the state was declining.
The Mint at Carson City opened again in the third quarter of 1889, with preliminary steps taken to prepare the facility for coinage. Rusty Goe writes in The Mint on Carson Street: "Carson City Mint employees were eager to get back to work in July of 1889. Four years of dormancy had left the facility in a state of disrepair, but clean-up crews removed the cobwebs, aired out the rooms, and dusted off the machinery in preparation for a resurrection of coinage operations."
As preparations were underway in Carson City, changes were being made in Philadelphia. Edward O. Leech took over reign of the Mint as its director in Philadelphia, a position that he held during these last years of Carson City production, stepping down in 1893. Leach was born in Washington, D.C., in 1850, and graduated from Columbia University and the National Law University. He served in the Bureau of Statistics at the Treasury Department before being transferred to the Mint Bureau. His resignation from the Mint gave him the opportunity to accept a position as vice president of the National Union Bank in New York City. Leech died in 1900.
The 1889-CC Morgan dollar was one of the lower mintage issues of the entire series, with just 350,000 coins produced. All of them were struck during the last three months of the year, with monthly production of 100,000 coins in October and November, and 150,000 coins in December. Many other less famous dates had lower mintages, but Goe explains that the many 1889-CC silver dollars met an early demise: "For unknown reasons, approximately 250,000 to 325,000 1889-CC silver dollars were eventually melted, securing this date as one of the keys to a set of Morgan dollars."
Like several other dates, this is an extremely rare issue in Gem quality. Most of those that avoided the melting pot were placed in circulation, and today the typical example grades just VF or lower, often with damage. To date, NGC and PCGS have certified 925 submissions as MS60 or finer, but they have combined to certify only eight coins in grades of MS65 or finer. PCGS has certified this MS68 along with an MS65. NGC has actually certified five examples as MS65 (representing at least three different coins) and one MS67.
There seems to be a little confusion regarding the appearance of these coins. Wayne Miller, in 1982, stated "the typical 1889-CC is well struck, with average bagmarks." A decade later, Dave Bowers essentially said the same thing: "Nearly all 1889-CC dollars are well struck with excellent definition of details." However, another decade passed, and the Red Book of Morgan Dollars contained the following: "Usually an average strike at best, often below average." This Eliasberg specimen can only be considered well-struck.
The only quantity of Mint State examples is reported to be three bags, one owned by Harry Warner, and the other two owned by Ben Stack. There were also reports of a couple of bags located in Montana during the 1950s or early 1960s. Other than these, there have been no quantities of 1889-CC Morgan dollars released. The Treasury had none when their hoards of dollars were distributed in the early 1960s. Apparently, they actually retained one solitary coin, which later was part of the GSA sales of CC dollars in the 1970s.
The physical beauty of this coin was aptly described by Dave Bowers in the Eliasberg catalog: "prooflike. Delicately mottled golden toning over silver, prooflike surfaces. Extremely well struck. A gorgeous, splendid coin in all respects. This is certainly one of the very finest in existence of this exceedingly important date and mintmark, quite possibly the finest. An exciting coin for the connoisseur and specialist." Careful examination with magnification fails to reveal any surface marks on either side of this Superb Gem example. The strike is nearly full, even down to separation of the hair strands over Liberty's ear, almost always a point of weakness on these Morgan dollars.
Ex: John G. Mills Collection (S.H. and H. Chapman, 4/1904); J.M. Clapp; John H. Clapp; Clapp Estate (1942); Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection (Bowers and Merena, 4/1997), lot 2280; Jack Lee 2 Collection. From The Jack Lee Collection, III
From The Estate of Jack Lee Collection.(Registry values: P9, N25858) (#7190)

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