1882-CC $1 Morgan Silver Dollar, PCGS MS66

For many collectors, the 1882-CC Morgan dollar is the prototypical Carson City issue. Its mintage places it among the lower of the entire Morgan dollar series, far less than the 11.1 million silver dollars struck in Philadelphia that same year. But thanks to the Treasury and GSA releases of the 1960s and 1970s, perhaps over half of the original production is in the hands of collectors today in the 21st century. This pristine example offered by AUCM is indeed among the finest available and should be carefully considered by Carson City Morgan dollar enthusiasts. 

There is much western lore associated with Carson City Morgan dollars. Did Wyatt Earp have silver dollars in his pocket when he stopped by the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, in 1881? It is quite possible. Did "Buffalo Bill" Cody, Billy "the Kid," Chief Sitting Bull, or Annie Oakley pay for drinks, provisions, or clothing in the Rockies during the late 1800s? If so, the distinctive clang of a silver dollar was heard as it was dropped onto a wooden bar or store counter. The smell of whiskey hung in the air as stacks of Morgan dollars sat upon the gaming tables in smoke-filled rooms of Rhyolite, Tincup, Silver Reef and other gambling towns that dotted the Wild West. In banks, bordellos, and bistros in Helena, Cheyenne, and Denver, clerks handled silver dollars every day.  Many dollars that changed hands in those days carried the "CC" mintmark of Carson City.