Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
Proofs: Wayte Raymond stated that 12 Proofs were struck (apparently included in the mintage of 677,000 business strikes) to observe the closing of the Carson City Mint in 1893. Wayne Miller described the characteristics of one specimen as follows;' "Although some cameo contrast is evident especially on reverse, this coin is more brilliant than [a] cameo Proof. The fields are deeply mirrored, and the strike is very bold. The piece is an obvious Proof at first glance."
Wayne Miller reported that he had seen three specimens which he considered Proofs: (1) The Amon Carter Collection coin, at $26,400 (possibly ex Atwater Collection). (2) The Garrett Collection coin (Lot 719 of the 1980 sale); I catalogued the coin as "MS-67," but perhaps I was too conservative-it brought $30,000. (3) The so-called "discovery coin," authenticated in 1972 by Walter H. Breen and sold by Rarcoa in 1973 as part of the Bruce Todd Collection, in the January 1986 sale of the Wayne Miller dollars realized $30,800. To this can be added: (4) The Norweb Collection coin, Lot 3884, at $20,900, earlier from Abe Kosoff. One of these may have come from St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co's sale of the George W. Rice Collection (April 13-14, 1906) at $6.85, a price second only to his 1893-CC "Proof." Other alleged "Proofs," in Mehl's Nygren sale, USCC's Andrus and "Prominent American" sales, Mehl's 1916 Griffith sale, and B.M. Douglas's The Numismatist 12/51 offering, were probably DMPLs.
Varieties
Business strikes:
1. Normal date: Breen-5633. The five varieties listed by VAM are from four obverse dies and three reverses.
Proofs:
1. Proof issue. Breen-5633. As preceding, but carefully struck from highly polished dies.
1893-CC Morgan: Market Values
1893-CC Morgan: Summary of Characteristics
Business Strikes:
Enabling legislation: Act of February 28, 1878, plus the Sherman 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: $0.60351
Dies prepared: Obverse: 10; Reverse: 5
Business strike, mintage: 677,000; Delivery figures by month: January: 130,000; February: 150,000; March: 140,000; April: 120,000; May: 137,000; June-December: none. Mint ended coinage June 1.
Specimens sent to the Assay Commission: 339 Estimated quantity melted: Probably several hundred thousand under the 1918 Pittman Act.
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 50 to 100 (URS-7)
Approximate population MS-64: 1,000 to 2,000 (URS-12)
Approximate population MS-63: 2,000 to 4,000 (URS-13)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 15,000 to 30,000 (URS-15)
Approximate population G-4 to AU-58: 4,500 to 9,000 (URS-14)
Availability of prooflike coins: Prooflike specimens are elusive, and are usually flatly struck at the centers. DMPL coins are exceedingly rare.
Characteristics of striking: Usually weakly struck at the center, but exceptions exist.
Known hoards of Mint State coins: Scattered bags were released in the 1950s. Harry J. Forman handled at least 10 bags (10,000 coins). An esti-mated several thousand coins, damaged by a coin counting machine, were sold from the Redfield estate in the 1970s.
Proofs:
12 Proofs are said to have been struck.
Commentary
The 1893-CC is the last Carson City Mint silver dollar issue. Mint State examples are usually seen heavily bagmarked.