LOT #3861 |
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1870-CC $20 XF40 PCGS. CAC....
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Sold on Feb 9, 2023 for:
$480,000.00
Bid Source: Internet bidder
Description
1870-CC Liberty Double Eagle, XF40
First-Year, Low-Mintage Issue
Rarest Type Two Twenty
1870-CC $20 XF40 PCGS. CAC. Ex: Bender Collection. The
1870-CC Liberty double eagle holds a special place in American
numismatics. It is the flagship issue of the Carson City Mint, an
institution that has come to embody the pioneering spirit of the
American West. According to Doug Winter and Michael Fuljenz:"The 1870-CC Double Eagle holds a number of important distinctions. It is the rarest and most valuable Type Two Double Eagle. It is the most famous and desirable gold coin struck at the Carson City Mint. And, it is the most difficult Type Two Double Eagle to locate in premier quality grades."
Heritage Auctions is privileged to present an attractive example of this classic Western gold rarity in this important offering.
Striking the Coins
The Carson City Mint began receiving bullion deposits on January 8, 1870. Unfortunately, the government had not approved a substantial bullion fund for the new Mint, so many depositors had to wait some time to receive payment, while their bullion was processed and coins were struck. This naturally discouraged potential depositors and many miners opted for shipping their bullion to the San Francisco Mint instead. Despite the rich finds from the nearby Comstock Lode, the Carson City Mint continued to see only small deposits throughout most of the year. The Secretary of the Treasury finally authorized a bullion fund of $150,000 per month in November 1871, and deposits increased considerably.
The first coins struck at the Carson City Mint were silver dollars, followed by ten dollar eagles and five dollar half eagles. Carson City Mint Superintendent Abraham Curry was anxious to begin coinage of double eagles, and the first twenty dollar pieces were struck on March 10. Coinage of double eagles was accomplished during five months in 1870, with 1,332 pieces delivered in March, followed by 398 coins in April, 1,137 examples in May, and 462 specimens in June. A final delivery of 460 coins in August brought the yearly total to a meager 3,789 pieces, the smallest mintage of any Carson City double eagle.
As might be expected, the new mint experienced some technical difficulties in its early press runs, and the 1870-CC was not a well-produced issue. In his outstanding reference The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, Rusty Goe notes:
"Technical problems appear to have occurred, possibly during the first runs of those coins through the press or in the limited subsequent strikings, because not one example survives today that looks as if it was struck perfectly."
It seems that the coins were not properly centered in the collar during striking. The left obverse rim and corresponding area on the reverse were weakly impressed, resulting in noticeable flatness on the left-side stars. Liberty's hair typically lacks definition and the eagle's tail feathers are weak. The reverse generally shows a sharper strike than the obverse.
Two die varieties are known for the issue. Variety 1-A shows the mintmark centered above the right upright of the N in TWENTY and Variety 1-B shows the mintmark centered over the space between the N and the T. The coin offered here represents Variety 1-A.
Despite their technical shortcomings, the 1870-CC double eagles were a source of pride for the Carson City Mint personnel and the people of the surrounding district, who felt the new Mint put their state on the map for people back East.
The 1870-CC in the 19th Century
The coins were all released into circulation at the time of issue and all saw heavy use in the regional economy. Unlike some later issues that were used in international trade and preserved in foreign banks, the 1870-CC seems to have circulated almost exclusively in the hard-money economy of the American West. There was little numismatic interest in double eagles at the time, as few 19th century collectors could afford to set aside long date runs of twenty dollar coins for their collections. The few wealthy collectors who did systematically collect double eagles preferred to update their holdings by purchasing gold proofs from the Philadelphia Mint every year, as there was little interest in branch mint issues before Augustus Heaton published his ground-breaking treatise on mintmarked issues in 1893. Heaton singled out the 1870-CC among Carson City double eagles, saying "the first date only should be rare", but the coins had been circulating for more than two decades by then, suffering heavy wear and attrition along the way. As a result, the 1870-CC is among the most challenging double eagles to locate in high grade, regardless of mint or design type. No Mint State examples have ever been certified, and the issue is rare in all grades today. Rusty Goe estimates the surviving population at 55-65 examples in all grades.
The 1870-CC in Later Years
Numismatic interest in large denomination gold coins was slow to develop before the Gold Recall of 1933 made private ownership of gold illegal in the United States, outside of a few exceptions for things like jewelry and collectibles. An early auction appearance of the 1870-CC double eagle was lot 688 of the Charles W. Cowell Collection (B. Max Mehl, 11/1911), where the cataloger noted, "1870 First $20.00 gold piece of this mint. Fine. Rare." The lot realized only $24.50. a typical price for that era.
By the mid-1930s, savvy investors, like Louis E. Eliasberg and Dr. Charles W. Green, realized that collecting double eagles was one of the few legal avenues for American citizens to invest in gold in any large quantity. The Standard Catalogue of United States Coins listed the price of the 1870-CC at $50 in 1936, inline with most other branch mint Liberty double eagles, but the 1870-CC soon began to distance itself from the pack. By the late 1940s, the 1870-CC was bringing $250 to $300 whenever a specimen was offered. Prices continued to skyrocket in the following decades, and the 1870-CC outperformed many other famous rarities over the years. Among regular-issue Liberty double eagles, only eight issues have a smaller mintage than the 1870-CC: the 1854-O, 1856-O, 1879-O, 1881, 1882, 1886, and 1891. Despite their minuscule production totals and well-deserved reputations in the numismatic community, only the 1854-O and 1856-O have realized prices that kept pace with those brought by the 1870-CC. The 1870-CC has truly been a trendsetter for high prices realized in the Liberty double eagle series over the last eighty years.
Rusty Goe notes there was a minor correction in prices realized for the 1870-CC during the recent Great Recession, but he believed that trend was reversing at the time he wrote his book:
"In sum, over the past three decades (as of late 2018), prices for 1870-CC $20 gold pieces have rocketed to previously unfathomable levels. The trajectory path seemed to be headed straight to the moon at one point. During the Great Recession years (2008-2014), a mild correction occurred in the 1870-CC double eagle market which halted momentum and actually caused a decline in prices. As of this writing it appears as if a rebound of sorts is brewing."
Recent auction results confirm Rusty's suspicion that the correction in prices for the 1870-CC is over, as the AU53 example in lot 3699 of the November Signature (Heritage, 11/2021) realized a staggering record price of $1.62 million. To further confirm the upward trend, an XF45 PCGS specimen, with a green CAC sticker, brought the second-highest price ever realized of $810,000 when it was sold in a Stack's auction in April 2022. It does seem that the sky is the limit for the 1870-CC in the current market.
The Present Coin
Light, even wear shows on the design elements of this impressive XF specimen, but much interior detail remains intact. The strike appears better-than-average for the issue, but the obverse stars show some of the flatness that is typical for the 1870-CC. The pleasing orange-gold surfaces exhibit the usual number of minor ticks and scratches for the grade, but no large or distracting abrasions are evident. The surfaces are especially appealing for an 1870-CC, which is almost always heavily abraded. Traces of original mint luster remain in sheltered areas around the devices. The overall presentation is most attractive and the high quality within the grade is confirmed by CAC. This coin has been off the market for the last 14 years and should be the centerpiece of a fine collection of Carson City gold when it crosses the auction block in August. In the words of Q. David Bowers, "In any grade, the 1870-CC is a numismatic prize of the first order." The 1870-CC is listed among the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. Population: 11 in 40, 21 finer. CAC: 2 in 40, 2 finer (1/23).(Registry values: N10218)
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 26A8, PCGS# 8958, Greysheet# 9911)
Weight: 33.44 grams
Metal: 90% Gold, 10% Copper
Note for clients in the European Union: This lot is considered by the European Union to be “investment gold”. We believe that it meets the criteria established in Article 344(1), point (2) of Council Directive 2006/112/EC and thus should be exempt from import VAT regardless of the selling price. Any questions or concerns about VAT should be addressed to your accountant or local tax authority.
The Confident Carson City Coin Collector
by Rusty Goe
The Carson City Mint’s celebrated legacy — replete with landmark achievements, setbacks, mysteries and tall tales — is covered in exacting detail in Goe’s three-volume set.
by Rusty Goe
The Carson City Mint’s celebrated legacy — replete with landmark achievements, setbacks, mysteries and tall tales — is covered in exacting detail in Goe’s three-volume set.
Auction Info
2023 February 9 - 12 Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature® Auction #1357 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
February, 2023
9th-12th
Thursday-Sunday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 36
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 2,337
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
20% of the successful bid per lot.
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