Coin of the Issue: 1889-CC Morgan Dollar, PCGS MS64

The Morgan Dollar is a quintessential classic in American numismatics. This large silver coin born during the Gilded Age bears a portrait of Miss Liberty on the obverse and a heraldic eagle on the reverse. Both designs were the brainchildren of renowned U.S. Mint engraver George T. Morgan, for whom the coin was nicknamed by coin collectors. Today, the Morgan Dollar is one of the most widely collected United States coins, with more than 6,000 Morgan Dollar sets collected on the PCGS Set Registry alone.

One of the many qualities the Morgan Dollar series has going for it is the romance behind the coin. The Morgan Dollar was cultivated during the silver boom of the late 1800s, when many frontier towns sprang up literally overnight as silver discoveries were made in mines throughout the Rocky Mountains and out west toward the Pacific shores. Carson City was one such town propagated by nearby silver discoveries that led to the creation of a mint.

The Carson City Mint began producing coinage in 1870, and among its emissions were Morgan Dollars, many that have long since proven rare due to later mass meltings of these large silver coins. Many of the survivors were later distributed through banks and, in the 1970s, hundreds of thousands of “CC” Morgan Dollars were sold by the General Services Administration (GSA). Yet, while millions of CC Morgan Dollars collectively exist, many dates are rarer than others. In fact, some of the most important key dates in the Morgan Dollar series are found among the Carson City issues, with the 1889-CC being the rarest of the famed “CC” Morgan Dollars. Yielding an initial output of 350,000 examples, the 1889-CC doesn’t receive the coveted claim of having the lowest mintage – that honor goes to the 1885-CC and its production of just 228,000 coins.

However, as seasoned numismatists know, rarity has little to do with published mintage figures and almost everything to do with the number of survivors. PCGS estimates more than 180,000 of the 1881-CC Morgan Dollars survive versus fewer than 30,000 examples of the 1889-CC. In fact, only one 1889-CC Morgan Dollar was offered during the GSA sales of yore.

Rarer still are 1889-CC Morgan Dollars in Mint State grades, with about 5,000 extant in MS60 or better. Only a handful are known in grades of MS65 or higher, with an MS65+ example garnering $660,000 in an August 2023 Heritage Auctions offering. Even in MS64 the 1889-CC Morgan Dollar is highly elusive. Collectors may search for many years with the hopes of landing a decent MS62 or MS63 specimen. So, when an MS64 comes along, Morgan Dollar enthusiasts line up for the chance to get their hands on it – they know such opportunities are too few and far between to “think about it” for very long.

That’s the case with a spectacular 1889-CC Morgan Dollar graded PCGS MS64 and currently offered by Finest Known, LLC. Adam Crum, president of the Torrance, California, rare coin establishment, has handled many rarities over more than 35 years. He says, “The 1889-CC is considered to be one of the top two most desirable and difficult coins of the Morgan Dollar series, sharing this crown with the 1893-S.”

Crum has facilitated transactions involving many of the top Morgan Dollars around, including the finest 1889-CC Morgan Dollar, which is graded PCGS MS68 and took more than $880,000 in its last auction appearance more than a decade ago. “The 1889-CC is the undisputed ‘King of Carson City Morgan Dollars,’ and it is often compared to the 1893-S. The finest 1893-S is a lone MS67 that last traded hands at more than $2,000,000.”

The 1889-CC Morgan Dollar specimen featured here is an exceptional MS64 devoid of distracting features. It boasts gorgeous, bright white surfaces and well-struck devices. “[It’s] one of the nicest I’ve seen for the grade,” remarks Crum, who authored Carson City Morgan Dollars, a book now in its fourth edition with a fifth edition due in 2025.

Crum’s firm acquired this lovely 1889-CC Morgan Dollar in 2018 and is now offering it for sale. The coin bills pedigree to the prestigious R. Dier and Arizona Collections, both cabinets known in numismatic circles for housing rarities of unrivaled quality. This offering of the 1889-CC Morgan Dollar in exquisite MS64 is something not to be missed by PCGS Set Registry collectors aspiring to complete a Morgan Dollar collection of peerless repute.

For more information about the sensational 1889-CC Morgan Dollar featured here, please contact Crum and his team at FinestKnown.com. Those who wish to purchase a copy of Crum’s highly informative 150-page Whitman Publishing book, Carson City Morgan Dollars, are referred to https://finestknown.com/product/carson-city-morgan-dollars-featuring-the-coins-of-the-gsa-hoard/.