1890-CC $1 Morgan Silver Dollar, PCGS MS65

There is much romance and western lore connected with the silver dollars that emanated from the storied mint in Carson City, Nevada. Morgan dollar specialists treasure such specimens. It would be perfect for a collection of the subset of Carson City silver dollars, or if you would like just one amazing coin from that famous mint, this offering would fit the bill. Silver dollar expert Wayne Miller writes that, "circulated pieces are quite common. However, the 1890-CC is somewhat scarce in BU condition. Such pieces evidence very good luster and are usually well struck .... Fully gem [MS65 and higher grades] have become very scarce." Ron Guth writes that "The 1890-CC is a semi-scarce issue as far as Carson City Dollars go."

The 1890-CC silver dollar had the highest mintage of Carson City silver dollars, many of which were paid out in 1890. Bowers tells us that in 1893, after the closing of the Carson City mint, a sizable batch of this issue were shipped off to San Francisco and the Treasury in Washington, D.C. Some years later, bags of 1890-CC dollars were more than likely melted under the Pittman Act of 1918. The early 1930s saw 1,000-coin bags paid out in Washington. It was in 1941 and 1942 that more bags were paid out in the nation's capital, followed by many more bags being sold in 1942 and 1943 in San Francisco. A few thousand of the latter ended up in the hands of dealers and collectors, with the balance being circulated.  Even more saw the light of day during the 1950s in Washington; these found their way to dealers with "connections." By 1956-1957 bags of this issue had become hard to locate. Holdings in the GSA hoard were 3,949--or 0.17% of the original mintage.