1872-CC Liberty Seated Dime

A mint in silver country

The Civil War cost the federal government minting capacity, and a branch mint was created at Carson City, Nevada, in 1863 to coin silver from the Comstock Lode, much as the San Francisco Mint served the California gold rush. It did not open until February 4, 1870, when it struck Seated Liberty silver dollars as its first coins. Despite the plan, most Comstock silver bypassed Carson City and went to San Francisco.

Carson City did not strike dimes until 1871, and it made them in only eight of its 19 operating years, 1871 through 1878. Output in the early years was meager. The 1872-CC, at 35,480 coins, had the largest mintage of the first few years, but it is dwarfed by the more than 4.6 million dimes Carson City struck in 1875.

Every 1872-CC dime came from one die marriage, catalogued as Fortin-101, and the reverse die was used for all Carson City dimes from 1871 to 1874. The mint closed for good in 1893; its building is now the Nevada State Museum.

Liberty seated on a rock

The Seated Liberty design appeared on most U.S. silver coins from 1836 to 1891. Mint Director Robert M. Patterson wanted a change from the old bust designs; artists Thomas Sully and Titian Peale drew the figure, and Mint engraver Christian Gobrecht engraved it. Liberty sits on a rock, holding a pole topped by a Phrygian cap and resting her other hand on a shield bearing the word LIBERTY.

In 1860 the Mint moved UNITED STATES OF AMERICA from the reverse of the dime to the obverse, replacing the stars, and enlarged the reverse wreath to include corn, wheat and other agricultural products. Mintmarks moved below the wreath, which is where the CC appears on this coin. Sources credit the design differently: one names Gobrecht for both sides, while PCGS lists James Barton Longacre as designer.

The 1872-CC belongs to the No Arrows type. In 1873 the Mint changed the weight of its silver coins and marked the change with arrows beside the date, removed again in 1875. The Carson City dime of 1873 without arrows is known in only one example.

Why only one survived unworn

Nevada was a long way from the collectors of the East, and almost no 1872-CC dimes were saved when new. PCGS estimates about 200 survive in all grades and only three at MS60 or better, but in practice only this coin is known in Mint State.

Every other Carson City dime date is known in at least two uncirculated pieces. The 1872-CC stands alone at its level, matched only by the unique 1873-CC No Arrows. Below this coin, only a handful are known in About Uncirculated grades, and those show the dull luster and tarnish typical of lightly circulated old silver. The second-finest, a PCGS AU58 from the Bender collection, is a toned coin with patches of color.

From Colonel Green to the Hansen collection

The coin's history goes back to the early 1940s and the estate of Colonel E.H.R. Green. Through a dealer handling the estate it was offered to a buyer on an invoice dated December 5, 1941, and returned, then offered again on an invoice dated July 23, 1943. It passed into a New York collection sold in January 1990.

After unknown owners, it appeared in the Kennywood Collection sale on January 10, 2005, graded PCGS MS61, and sold for $71,300. Rusty Goe bought it for his Battle Born Collection, and PCGS later upgraded it two points to MS63. In the Battle Born sale on August 7, 2012, it brought $188,000.

The coin went next to the Eugene H. Gardner Collection and sold on May 12, 2015, for $182,125. On August 24, 2022, by then with the Bender name added to its holder label, it sold again for $480,000, the auction record for the date; the second-finest coin, the AU58, sold in the same sale for $69,000. It now belongs to the Dell Loy Hansen Collection.

How to know this coin

An 1872-CC dime weighs 2.48 grams, measures 17.90 millimeters and is 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper, with a reeded edge. The date sits below Liberty on the obverse, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA wraps around her, and the CC mintmark sits below the wreath on the reverse.

The Mint State coin is identifiable by its plum, gold and orange toning and by diagonal die polish lines in the right field of the obverse. Its holder has carried the Battle Born and Bender names on its label.

The numbers

Mintage

35,480

Known survivors

About 200 in all grades (PCGS); one in Mint State

Weight

2.48 grams

Diameter

17.90 mm

Composition

90% silver, 10% copper

Edge

Reeded

Designer

Christian Gobrecht (CoinWeek); James Barton Longacre (PCGS)

Variety

Fortin-101, the only die marriage

Rarity

R-7.0 in all grades (PCGS)

Timeline

1. 1863

   The Carson City Mint is created.

2. Feb 4, 1870

   The Carson City Mint strikes its first coins, Seated Liberty dollars.

3. 1871

   Carson City strikes its first dimes.

4. 1872

   Carson City strikes 35,480 dimes from a single die pair.

5. 1873

   The Mint changes silver coin weights and adds arrows beside the date.

6. 1878

   Carson City strikes its last dimes.

7. 1893

   The Carson City Mint makes its final strikes and closes.

8. Dec 5, 1941

   This coin, from Colonel E.H.R. Green's estate, is offered on an invoice and returned.

9. Jul 23, 1943

   It is offered again on a new invoice.

10. Jan 1990

    It is sold with a New York collection.

11. Jan 10, 2005

    Graded PCGS MS61, it sells for $71,300 in the Kennywood Collection sale.

12. Aug 7, 2012

    Upgraded to PCGS MS63, it sells for $188,000 in Rusty Goe's Battle Born Collection sale.

13. May 12, 2015

    It sells for $182,125 from the Eugene H. Gardner Collection.

14. Aug 24, 2022

    It sells for a record $480,000; the second-finest brings $69,000 in the same sale.

The world in 1872

• Feb 20, 1872

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.

• Mar 1, 1872

  Yellowstone becomes the world's first national park.

• Mar 5, 1872

  George Westinghouse patents the railroad air brake.

• May 10, 1872

  Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for president.

• Aug 1872

  Montgomery Ward issues its first mail-order catalog in Chicago.

• Nov 1872

  Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horace Greeley for the presidency.

• Nov 7, 1872

  The Mary Celeste sails from New York, bound for Genoa.

• Nov 9, 1872

  The Great Boston Fire begins, destroying 776 buildings.

Price record

A realized auction price is what a buyer actually paid on the date shown, including the buyer's premium where the sale reported it. It is the strongest kind of reference price, and it is a record of one sale of one object on one day, not a promise of what the next example will bring.

By reference price, 1872-CC Liberty Seated Dime is number 41 of 100 in the coins entries of the FLOAT 100. 96 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (100 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Every 1872-CC dime was struck from the same pair of dies, and the reverse die served all Carson City dimes from 1871 to 1874.
• The coin was first certified MS61 and later upgraded two points to MS63.
• It sold for $188,000 in 2012 and $182,125 in 2015, then more than doubled to $480,000 in 2022.
• The second-finest 1872-CC dime sold the same day as this one for $69,000, about a seventh of the price.
• The Carson City Mint building is now the Nevada State Museum, and its original Coin Press No. 1 still strikes medallions there.
• Carson City struck more than 4.6 million dimes in 1875, three years after making only 35,480.