Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1877-CC Trade Dollar: Market Values
1877-CC Trade Dollar: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of February 12, 1873
Designer: William Barber
Weight: 420 grains
Composition: .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.9457
Dies prepared: (Quantity of dies sent on December 4, 1876. No reverses were included.) Obverse: 6; Reverse: Unknown quantity left over from 1876.
Business strike mintage: 534,000. Delivery figures by month: January-May: none; June: 221,000; July: 188,000; August: 122,000; September-November: none; December: 3,000. This averages about 89,000 per die-pair. Most of the June-August coins were exported.
Estimated quantity melted: Some, probably fewer than 10,000, melted at the Carson City Mint on July 19, 1878 as part of the destruction of 44, 148 coins, most of which were 1878-CC.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 0 or 1 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-64: 5 to 10 (URS-4)
Approximate population MS-63: 15 to 25 (URS-5)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 100 to 160 (URS-8)
Approximate population VF-20 to AU-58: 400-800 (URS-10)
Characteristics of striking: Usually seen from average to well struck.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: In the 1970s World-Wide Coin Investments dispersed a group of about 10 coins.
Rarity with original Chinese chopmark(s): Scarce.
Proofs:
None
Commentary
The 1877-CC is scarce in all grades and is quite rare in Mint State.