1881-CC $1 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS65

Here's an affordable gem-state Carson City Morgan dollar, which is among the most popular coin sub-sets for collectors. PCGS has graded 5,207 as MS65, with 2,685 finer.

This coin, from the storied Carson City mint, is a true relic of the romantic past of our great nation. Such coins evoke the fabled--and actual--history of the Old West: Cowboys and Indians; the banks, bordellos and bistros that popped up almost overnight during the Gold Rush; and of course the gold and silver mines and the miners who worked in the belly of the earth. Without them we wouldn't such vestiges as the one currently offered by AUCM.

The Carson City Mint, where this great collectible was produced in 1881.

Despite its low mintage of 296,000, this is not a rare coin. David Bowers writes, "The low mintage of this issue and the popular Carson City mintmark contribute to the desirability." Ironically, this coin is a true rarity in worn grades--and actually difficult to find. Wayne Miller, who authored The Morgan and Peace Dollar Textbook, writes, "The typical 1881-CC has full, frosty luster and bold strike .... On the whole, the 1881-CC is probably the highest quality Morgan dollar struck at the Carson City mint." Bowers tells us that many were paid out during the 1930s, as well as a few more bags in 1954. The GSA holdings were 147,485--49.82% of the original mintage.