1879-CC $10 (Regular Strike)

Doug Winter: For many years, the 1879-CC was regarded as one of the key issues in the Carson City eagle series. It has lost some respect in the past decade as the true rarity of the 1870-CC and the 1873-CC have been better appreciated. That said, the 1879-CC is a rare coin in all grades and I believe that a case can be made for calling it the rarest issue in the series from the standpoint of total known. There were only 1,762 produced of which around four dozen are known today. Unlike the early dates of this denomination, the 1879-CC did not circulate as freely and survivors tend to be in the EF40 to AU50 range. Medium to high end AU's are very rare and in Uncirculated this date is unique with an NGC MS62 (discovered a few years ago in Alaska, of all places...) taking the honors. Nearly every 1879-CC eagle is heavily abraded and only a small number have original color and surfaces. The hair above Liberty's ear is usually very soft but the rest of the details tend to be sharp. In my opinion, this is a date that is waiting to be "rediscovered" and it deserves to be regarded as one of the great gold rarities from the CC mint.