1870-CC

Carson City struck its first double eagle in March 1870, just weeks after the new Nevada mint received its dies and presses. By July, only 3,789 pieces had left the coining room, a figure that immediately ranked the issue among the lowest mintages in the entire Liberty Head series and made it the lowest of the entire Type 2 design across all mints. Every example was meant to circulate hard in the silver and gold economy of the Comstock Lode, and circulate they did. The issue stands as the inaugural CC double eagle and the foundation date for a 24-year Carson City run that would extend through 1893.

Survival is brutal. Population data from PCGS and NGC consistently points to roughly 35 to 50 distinct coins across all grades, with the vast majority falling in VG through VF. AU examples can be counted on a few hands; no Mint State coin is known to exist, and even the finest survivors carry meaningful surface impairments from a half-century of frontier circulation. The famous NGC AU58 specimen stolen from a 2011 Brink's shipment between PCGS and Heritage remains missing, with a standing reward attached to its recovery. Strike quality reflects fresh CC dies under heavy pressure: soft star centers, weak central hair detail, and characteristic die-state granularity recur across nearly every certified piece.

Auction performance reflects that scarcity. A PCGS AU53 brought $1,620,000 at Heritage in November 2021, setting the issue record, and a PCGS AU55 followed at Stack's Bowers in November 2024 at $1,440,000. Well-circulated VF coins still trade comfortably in the mid-six figures when they appear, which is rarely. Counterfeit risk is acute: altered-mintmark forgeries created from common 1870 Philadelphia coins are documented, and any acquisition outside a current PCGS or NGC holder carries unacceptable exposure. Within the canon of great Liberty keys (1854-O, 1856-O, 1861 Paquet, and this date), the 1870-CC anchors any serious Carson City gold cabinet. For broader context, see the Liberty Head Double Eagle series history.