1889-CC $1 Morgan Silver Dollar NGC AU58

Heritage Auctions writes in 2024: “Circulated examples of the 1889-CC can be found, but problem-free midgrade (and especially high-end AU) examples are scarce and hotly contested.”

A true demand rarity, the 1889-CC Morgan dollar is a key date in the series and the key of the sub-set of Carson City Mint Morgan dollars. From a small mintage of 350,000 pieces, the 1889-CC is the rarest Morgan dollar that emanated from the legendary Carson City Mint. NGC has graded 237 as AU58 with 366 finer. Collectors Universe prices this rare issue at $20,000.00 in AU58.

NGC Coin Explorer explains, “Unfortunately, it seems that a majority of [the 1889-CC dollars] eventually made their way to the melting pot, making [them] even rarer than the low mintage suggests.” A sharply-struck and attractive example, this coin would be an important addition to an outstanding collection of Morgan dollars.

The Carson City Mint, where this great rarity was struck in 1889. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

After an interruption of four years, silver dollars were again being produced in Carson City in 1889. David Bowers writes, "The 1889-CC dollar is one of the great keys in the Morgan series, and among the Carson City issues it is far and away the most elusive." Unlike many of the earlier "CC" dollars, however, a vast majority of the 1889-CC silver dollars were paid out, mostly in 1889. The original mintage was 350,000. Silver dollars were a valued instrument of commerce in the Old West.

Significantly, there were no reports of any sale of 1000-coin bags of 1889-CC Morgan dollars. In his writing, Bowers made no mention of GSA holdings for this issue. However, after publishing an article on "CC" Morgan dollars in the CDN Monthly Supplement Newsletter in 2007, a collector in Idaho called this author to say that he had indeed received an uncirculated 1889-CC Morgan dollar in one of the GSA mail bids. Thus the documented GSA holdings of the "CC" key date is a single piece.