1871-CC

Carson City delivered 20,100 dimes in 1871, the first dime ever struck at the Comstock branch and the opening entry in a Carson City dime run that would last only seven years before closing in 1878. The Carson City Mint had opened in February 1870 with Coin Press No. 1 striking a Seated Liberty silver dollar as its first coin, followed within days by the first $20 gold double eagle, and only added dimes to its production schedule in 1871 as the operational rhythm of the branch settled. The 20,100-piece figure sits among the smallest mintages in the Seated dime series and is the lowest of the four Carson City dime Key Dates from the 1870s, eclipsed within the Carson City output only by the 1873-CC No Arrows, which exists as a single known specimen. The 1871-CC left the dies into a Nevada mining-camp economy that ran on metal, circulated hard for years, and almost none of the original run was preserved as collector material at the time.

Authentication is the central concern with any 1871-CC dime, and PCGS or NGC certification is the practical baseline for any purchase above bullion levels. The CC mintmark sits within the wreath on the reverse below the bow, two cleanly punched C's of matching height and serif weight, and added-mintmark fakes built from worn Philadelphia 1871 dimes are the standard counterfeit vector for the date, with altered-date work on other Carson City dimes as a secondary risk. Both alterations show under magnification as tooling halos around the mintmark, recut bases on the C's, or mismatched mintmark color against the surrounding field. Strike on the issue follows the early Carson City pattern of softness across Liberty's head and the upper-obverse legend, with the central wreath reverse usually rendering reasonably full. Authentication weight is 2.49 grams under the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853, diameter 17.9 millimeters, edge reeded, and the design carries the Legend obverse format opened in 1860 with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA replacing the thirteen stars Gobrecht's original design had carried, and no IN GOD WE TRUST motto because the dime planchet was too small to accept the ribbon banner.

The 1871-CC is a Key Date with the steepest price ladder of the Civil War and Reconstruction-era Seated dimes, with PCGS and NGC populations falling sharply above Very Good and Mint State examples genuinely rare. Collectors buy this date certified at the grade level that fits the budget and accept that the population at any specific level is small. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the Civil War-era production, and the Carson City Mint, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.