1873-CC

The 1873-CC Trade Dollar is the inaugural Carson City issue of the series and the second-lowest Carson City Trade Dollar mintage at 124,500 pieces, behind only the 97,000-piece 1878-CC. The Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 authorized the new export silver coin, and Carson City began production later in 1873 to supply the western export trade through San Francisco. The 1873-CC carries the Type I obverse and Type I reverse hubs that define the series through 1875, with the CC mintmark positioned below the eagle on the reverse.

Strike quality on the 1873-CC varies, with many examples showing the soft central definition typical of Carson City Trade Dollar production in the first year of operation. Liberty's head and the eagle's central feathers come up cleanly on early-die-state coins but soften on later strikes. Most surviving 1873-CC pieces grade VF to AU from heavy circulation along the western and Asian trade routes, with PCGS and NGC populations clustering at VF and EF. Mint State examples are scarce above MS62 and genuinely rare at MS65 and above. The 1887 government redemption that melted millions of Trade Dollars eliminated many uncirculated 1873-CC examples that had not yet entered Asian trade channels.

The 1873-CC is a Semi-Key issue and one of the most-collected Carson City Trade Dollars alongside the 1878-CC. Pricing trades at meaningful premiums above the more common 1874-CC and 1875-CC dates at every grade, with the gap widening sharply at MS63 and above. Certified slabs are the standard purchase route given the prevalence of cleaned and polished examples in the raw market. The 1873-CC pairs with the 1878-CC as the matched bookend Carson City Trade Dollar issues that define the upper end of any complete CC mintmark set. For the Carson City production context and the 1887 redemption history that shaped survival rates, see the Trade Dollar series history.