1874-CC

The 1874-CC Trade Dollar is the second-year Carson City issue at 1,373,200 pieces, the highest Carson City Trade Dollar mintage of the series and a sharp increase from the 124,500-piece inaugural 1873-CC production. Carson City scaled its Trade Dollar output significantly in 1874 to supply the western export trade routing through San Francisco to China and other Asian markets. The 1874-CC carries the Type I obverse and Type I reverse hubs that define the early series, with the CC mintmark positioned below the eagle on the reverse.

Strike quality on the 1874-CC varies meaningfully across the production run, with many examples showing the soft central definition typical of Carson City Trade Dollar work. Liberty's head and the eagle's central feathers come up cleanly on early-die-state coins but soften on later strikes through the year. Most surviving 1874-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 redemption melted significant quantities of unredeemed 1874-CC pieces, anchoring the modern survival profile.

The 1874-CC is a regular common date for the Carson City subset and the most accessible mid-grade CC Trade Dollar after the more common 1875-CC. Pricing trades at the standard CC Trade Dollar level, well above non-CC issues but well below the Semi-Key 1873-CC and Key Date 1878-CC. The 1874-CC pairs with the 1875-CC and 1876-CC as the mid-series Carson City trio at the regular pricing tier. Certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are the standard purchase route at higher grades. The 1874-CC also appeared in early western circulation studies of the 1880s and 1890s and remains a familiar collector pickup through modern Carson City Trade Dollar set-building. For the Carson City production context and the 1887 redemption history that shaped survival rates, see the Trade Dollar series history.