Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
Varieties
Business strikes:
1. Normal date: Breen-5624. Probably not all the 24 obverse and 23 reverse dies shipped to Carson City were used. At least two dies show partly repunched CC. One of these, VAM-3, the "Spitting Eagle," has a tiny gouge or chip out of die in space between upper and lower beak points, and is consid-ered to be overvalued by some specialists. (Jeff Oxman, letter to the author, November 29, 1992.)
1891-CC Morgan: Market Values
1891-CC Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of February 28, 1878, plus the Shennan Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890
Designer: George T. Morgan
Weight and composition: 412.5 grains; .900 silver, .100 copper
Melt-down (silver value) in year minted: $0.76416
Dies prepared: Obverse: 24; Reverse: 23
Business strike mintage: 1,618,000;(All coinage from silver under the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of July 14, 1890.) Delivery figures by month: January: 200,000; February: 150,000; March: 190,000; April: 76,000; May: 86,000;June: 186,000; July: 120,000; August: 120,000;September: 120,000; October: 120,000;November: 120,000; December: 130,000.
Specimens sent to the Assay Commission: 809 Estimated quantity melted: Hundreds of thousands, probably mostly under the 1918 Pittman Act.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 1,400 to 2,200 (URS-12)
Approximate population MS-64: 6,000 to 10,000 (URS-l4)
Approximate population MS-63: 20,000 to 40,000 (URS-16)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 40,000 to 70,000 (URS-17)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 90,000 to 170,000 (URS-18)
Availability of prooflike coins: Prooflike and DMPL coins are readily available. Nearly all are in grades below MS-65, and nearly all lack eye appeal.
Characteristics of striking: Usually seen well struck and with good lustre, but there are exceptions.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: Numerous bags were released by the Treasury from the 1940s through the late 1950s. 5,687 leftover Treasury hoard coins were sold by the G.S.A. in the 1970s (plus 19 later sold in a "mixed lot" offering).
Proofs:
None
Commentary
The 1891-CC dollar is easily available in all grades up to and including MS-64.
Additional Information
Carson City Mint Operations
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1891, commented as follows concerning the fiscal year ended June 30th:
"The coiner received from the superintendent 3,228,681standard ounces, valued at $187.93, being less than 1 % of the legal allowance. There were coined and delivered to the superintendent, 2,109,041 standard silver dollars. The proportion of silver coin produced from ingots operated upon was 56.1 %, a very large percentage."
Distribution of Silver Dollars
The Annual Report of the Director of the Mint, 1891, told of the distribution of silver dollars at the Carson City Mint. In mint July 1, 1890, $1,270,233; coinage of the fiscal year, 2,109,041; in mint July 1, 1891, 2,880,360; distributed from mint: 498,914.