Carson City Struck Its Last 20-Cent Piece in 1876

For the branch mint facility in Carson City, Nev., every year of operation was probably an interesting one, but 1876 was more interesting than most. The results of that fascinating year are some of the most interesting of all American rarities.

Simply having a Carson City mint had been something of a struggle. The great silver deposits in the region had been known for decades, so a branch mint there was natural – but there was a Civil War, so it took until 1866 for the facility to be established. Its first coins emerged in 1870.

Over the years, coins from Carson City have taken on a special allure as coins associated with the Old West. To own a “CC” coin is to own a piece of the Old West, created under primitive conditions in a place forever carved into the annals of the American history. On top of that, the production levels at Carson City were never high.

In 1876 the nation was celebrating its centennial. It was a year of special events. There were probably some festivities in Carson City, but it was a long way from places like Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. Yet, apparently at least one special thing happened at Carson City: one, and apparently only one, proof 1876-CC dime was produced, despite production of 8,270,000 regular-strike Seated Liberty dimes. The reason for the 1876-CC proof dime is unknown, but it was not the only significant coin to emerge from Carson City that year.

In 1876, Carson City was in the second year (and in fact the last year in terms of circulation strikes) of what might be described as the 20-cent experiment. The 20-cent coin had been simply one in a long series of desperate efforts to use more silver in coinage.

No one really wanted a 20-cent coin, with the exception of a few political figures and silver mine owners. Officials compounded the problems of the unwanted denomination by making it similar in design and size to the quarter.

The 20-cent piece was launched with relatively little attention, and things seemed to go downhill from there. Production in that first year of 1875 was over 1 million pieces in San Francisco, over 133,000 in Carson City and over 36,000 in Philadelphia. No one liked the coin, and complaints of confusion with the quarter came quickly.

It was almost surprising that the 20-cent piece was even produced in 1876. But you could barely call what took place “production.” Philadelphia struck a total of 14,640 pieces for circulation. San Francisco did not produce any, and at Carson City the total stood at 10,000. An order to halt production of the coin actually stopped production of additional 1876-CC 20-cent pieces.

A significant number of the 10,000-piece 1876-CC 20-cent piece production sat in vaults in Carson City, and destruction of those pieces was ordered later. It is not known how many 1876-CC 20-cent pieces were destroyed, but considering its rarity today, it very probably was most of those 10,000.

The total number of surviving 1876- CC 20-cent pieces is believed to be under 20. They are interesting coins, not only in their rarity but also the fact that all were produced from a doubled obverse die, which is most evident when you examine the word “LIBERTY.”

The 1876-CC 20-cent piece is a rarity – they are virtually unknown in upper grades. Any 1876-CC coin, however, is a real treasure and makes for an interesting story.