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1878-CC T$1 MS65 PCGS. CAC....
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Description
1878-CC Trade Dollar, MS65
An Elusive Rarity
1878-CC T$1 MS65 PCGS. CAC. The Coinage Act of 1873 damned
the silver dollar by omission rather than commission, removing it
from the list of authorized coinage denominations and effectively
denying its legal tender status. Powerful Western silver interests,
however, supported the unlimited coinage of silver, and the "Crime
of '73" propelled the formation of the Free Silver movement. Among
the factions who aligned to support increased silver coinage were
the Western silver mining interests, farmers who hoped that an
expanded currency would increase crop prices, and debtors who hoped
they could repay their debts in depreciated currency. While anyone
could purchase Trade dollars from the Mint by exchanging 378 grains
of silver, that amount in 1873 was worth $1.022 in gold. A coining
fee was levied in addition, making Trade dollars no bargain. As
silver prices continued to trend downward, however, Trade dollars
gained in attractiveness to bullion depositors. Others protested
the then-overvalued Trade dollars, and in 1876 the Treasury revoked
their legal tender status for domestic commerce. Rusty Goe's The
Mint on Carson Street continues the story thusly:"This stripped bullion depositors of their domestic profit-making opportunities, although there were still advantages from exportation.
"In general, the public was baffled by trade dollars, and exploitation permeated the country. Unwary merchants and consumers were assured by licentious brokers that trade dollars were worth one dollar in gold, or close to it. Then, upon attempting to use them for payment, merchants and retail customers alike were subject to losses due to discounting. Finally, in October of 1877 a proposal was made to discontinue further issuance of trade dollars; but since orders were pending for more trade dollars to be exported to China, the authorization to cease production did not come until February of 1878.
By then the Carson City Mint had manufactured 97,000 1878-CC trade dollars. ..."
The 1878-CC issue has the lowest business-strike mintage by a considerable margin in the Trade dollar series, with the 1873-CC second. By 1878, the Free Silver supporters had achieved a major victory in the passage of the Bland-Allison Act, which provided that the Treasury purchase from $2 million to $4 million per month of domestic silver, to be coined into silver dollars of the new Morgan design. The mints in Philadelphia and San Francisco performed yeoman service in each producing about 10 million coins (all varieties), give or take, and even the Carson City Mint manufactured a respectable 2.2 million pieces of the new Morgan design. General confusion and dissatisfaction with the Trade dollar, along with the introduction of the new "Bland" dollar, doomed the Trade dollar to what now seems a just and well-deserved fate. The last year for business-strike Trade dollars was 1878, although proof coins struggled along for a few more years.
The 1878-CC is a notable rarity in all grades, and is especially challenging in mint condition. The present MS65 example offers light but lavish toning in shades of rose, aqua, and gold, and is surely among the finest certified survivors, both in terms of the population data as well as the overall eye appeal. As of this writing, PCGS has certified only a single Gem specimen and just one with a finer grade, while NGC also has certified one Gem coin, with one higher (11/18). CAC: 1 in 65, 1 finer (11/18).
Ex: FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2007), lot 1074.
From The Greensboro Collection, Part VII. (Registry values: N10218)
Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 253F, PCGS# 7047)
Weight: 27.22 grams
Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Learn more at the Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis.
View all of [The Greensboro Collection, Part VII ]
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