1871-CC

The 1871-CC Seated Liberty Dollar carries a 1,376-piece mintage at the Carson City Mint, the lowest Carson City Seated Dollar mintage of the series and one of the apex Key Dates of the entire Seated Dollar collecting landscape. The 1871-CC carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the With Motto reverse that defines the Type 2 era from 1866 through 1873, with the CC mintmark positioned below the eagle on the reverse. The tiny 1,376-piece production reflects the second-year Carson City Mint operations and the limited demand for silver-dollar coinage in the western trade economy at the time.

Strike quality on the 1871-CC varies meaningfully across the small production, with examples showing the typical Carson City Seated Dollar characteristics. Liberty's head and the eagle's central feathers come up cleanly on early-die-state coins. Most surviving 1871-CC pieces grade VF to AU from circulation along the western trade routes, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at VF and EF. Mint State examples are genuinely rare at all levels above MS62, with MS65 and above among the trophy pickups of the Carson City Seated Dollar subset. Survival is estimated at approximately 100 to 200 across all grades.

The 1871-CC is a recognized Key Date and one of the apex Carson City Seated Dollar entries. Pricing trades at premium levels at every grade, with the climb to MS63 substantial and the gap from MS63 to MS65 dramatic. The 1871-CC pairs with the 1870-CC, 1872-CC, and 1873-CC as the complete four-year Carson City Seated Dollar subset, with the 1871-CC standing as the apex CC Seated Dollar by mintage. Counterfeit 1871-CC examples exist; added-CC alterations from genuine 1871 Philadelphia coins are the principal authentication concern. Certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are essential at any meaningful price level. For the Carson City Mint Seated Dollar production context and the broader Key Date framework, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.