1890-CC $1 Morgan Silver Dollar PCGS MS63

There is much romance and western lore associated with the silver dollars that were produced at the Carson City Mint. Morgan dollar enthusiasts cherish specimens such as the 1890-CC being offered by AUCM. PCGS has graded 4,407 pieces as MS63, with 3,238 finer. Silver dollar authority Wayne Miller writes that, "[Uncirculated] pieces evidence very good luster and are usually well struck .... Fully gem [MS65 and higher grades] have become very scarce." Ron Guth writes in PCGS Coinfacts that "The 1890-CC is a semi-scarce issue as far as Carson City Dollars go."

George T. Morgan, who crafted the beautiful design on the silver dollar. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The 1890-CC silver dollar had the highest mintage of Carson City silver dollars, many of which were paid out in 1890. Some years later, bags of 1890-CC dollars were probably melted under the Pittman Act of 1918. The early 1930s saw 1,000-coin bags paid out in Washington.

It was in 1941 and 1942 that more bags were paid out in the nation's capital, followed by many more bags being sold in 1942 and 1943 in San Francisco. Even more saw the light of day during the 1950s in Washington; these found their way to dealers with "connections." By 1956-1957 bags of this issue had become hard to locate. Holdings in the GSA hoard were tiny: 3,949--or 0.17% of the original mintage.