RARE CC PROOF DIME IN SUPERIOR ORLANDO SALE

All CC fans! A rare 1876-CC Seated Liberty Proof dime will be sold in the Orlando Elite Auction January 5-6, 2008 by Superior Galleries. The coin is a PCGS Proof-65 and is the only specimen certified by PCGS. There are four known in NGC holders and one raw specimen in the Smithsonian Institute collection. Close inspection by the catalogers shows multiple impressions of the coining dies on a specially polished planchet. The coin exhibits "blue green & overlaying dove grey" toning on both sides giving it a fully original appearance. It is unknown as to why any Proof dimes were struck at the CC mint. Possibilities include presentation to dignitaries or perhaps an unofficial commemoration of the U.S. Centennial. The coin is in an old PCGS green holder. I certainly want to keep an eye on the auction of this special coin. Oh! What a coin to have!

"CC" GOLD FROM THE ELIASBERG SALE IN 1982

Twenty-five years ago, part one of the most famous collection of U.S. coins of all time sold at a Bowers and Ruddy auction in New York City. Billed at the time as "The United States Gold Coin Collection," everyone knew that these coins once belonged to Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., and were now part of the estate he left to his family when he died in 1976. An example of every known date/denomination combination from the U.S. gold coin series was represented in this sale. Two special coins, an 1870-S three dollar gold piece and an 1822 gold half eagle, set new price records when they sold for $687,500 each. All told, the aggregate prices realized for the sale totaled just under $12.5 million, establishing another new record.

While none of the "CC" coins from this sale achieved such lofty price levels as the record-setters, there were some incredible specimens offered. The absolutely finest "CC" gold coin in the auction was the amazing 1876-CC half eagle, listed in the catalog as an MS-65, and realizing the top price in the "CC" category at $26,400. Today, this awesome piece is encapsulated in a PCGS MS-66 holder, and would probably bring at least ten times what it sold for back in 1982 if it were offered for sale.

Other Carson City gold coin highlights from the Eliasberg sale, held between October 27 and 29, are as follows: (Prices realized are in parentheses)

1870-CC $5, catalogued as a VF-30, but easily an XF-45 by today's standards - ($2,420)

1892-CC $5, catalogued as an MS-65, but now in an NGC MS-66 holder - ($4,400)

1870-CC $10, catalogued as a VF-20, but probably at least an XF-40 - ($3,575)

1874-CC $10, catalogued as an MS-63, and now in a PCGS MS-63 holder - ($17,600)

1879-CC $10, catalogued as a VF-30, but probably closer to an XF-45 - ($3,575)

1881-CC $10, catalogued as an MS-63, but now in an NGC MS-64 holder - ($3,800)
(Recently sold for $74,750 at auction.)

1892-CC $10, catalogued as an MS-65 to MS-67, now a PCGS MS-64 - ($9,900)

1870-CC $20, catalogued as a VF-30, but probably closer to XF-45 - ($22,000)

1890-CC $20, catalogued as an MS-63, and no doubt deservingly so - ($2,970)

______________________

If you do the math on all of the above "CC" gold coins from the Eliasberg collection concerning their present values, you will discover that they have all appreciated in multiples of between ten and twenty times what they sold for back in 1982. The question is, where do we go from here? Will 2007 appear to collectors in 2032 as the "good old days" of pricing for "CC" gold issues? I think all of us can agree that 1982 sure appears that way right now.

COIN WORLD COVERS CURRY'S CHRONICLE FALL 2007 ISSUE

Greetings C4OA members. Have you checked out this issue of Coin World (Mon. Nov. 12, 2007)? Please do! On page 95 you will see a very nice review of the last issue (Fall 2007) of The Curry's Chronicle. The main theme of the review covers Ryan Baum's challenge medal (replicas with the reverse based off of Morgan dollars struck at the CC mint) specially made for each one of the sailors serving under him in Iraq. The obverse of his battalion coin proudly shows Teddy Roosevelt & the Romeo Rough Rider emblem. Also included are short but sweet reviews of our treasurer Paul Sudmeier's 4 coin 1893-CC final year of production set and My (Michael Parrott) 19 piece "real world" set of CC $5 gold half eagles. Now C4OA members who contribute articles to our Curry's Chronicle can get reviewed in a big time world publication like Coin World magazine! Way to go!!! Now...your turn!

CCCCOA MEMBER SUPPORT

DEAR VISITORS & DEAR MEMBERS,

AS VISITOR, YOU ARE WELCOME TO COMMENT ON ANY OF THE POSTS!

AS MEMBER, YOU ARE WELCOME TO SIGN-UP AS A BLOGSITE CONTRIBUTOR AND POST YOUR OWN ARTICLES OF INTEREST (INCLUDING UP TO 3 PICTURES) RELATING TO COLLECTING OF CARSON CITY COINS!

AS A MEMBER, TO GET THINGS ROLLING, YOU NEED TO SEND AN EMAIL TO: CCCCOA.SUPPORT@gmail.com REQUESTING AN INVITATION. (REMEMBER: INVITATIONS TO BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR ARE AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS ONLY.)

MEMBERS: JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE BLOGSITE AFTER YOU FOLLOW THE LINK TO YOUR INVITATION. SHOULD YOU ENCOUNTER ANY PROBLEMS, YOU ARE WELCOME TO REQUEST MY PHONE NUMBER AND I OR ONE OF OUR VOLUNTEERS WILL MORE THAN GLADLY HELP YOU!

THANKS & HAPPY BLOGGING,

CCCCOA.SUPPORT

BOOKS-BOOKS!

THERE ARE NUMEROUS BOOKS ON THE MARKET ABOUT OUR CARSON CITY COIN COLLECTING HOBBY.

RUSTY HAS TWO VOLUMES (AWARD WINING) MUST READS!
-THE MINT ON CARSON STREET
-JAMES CRAWFORD: MASTER OF THE MINT AT CARSON CITY.

I ALSO LIKE BOOKS WRITTEN ABOUT THE COMSTOCK LODE. EVERY TIME I PASS BY VIRGINIA CITY, I VISIT THE MARK TWAIN BOOKSTORE.

"Mark Twain may have defined a literary classic as 'a book which people praise and don't read,'" writes Cynthia Kennedy of Virginia City, "but this shop holds thousands of books people DO read. A creaking boardwalk leads to this mother lode of Nevada history, including photos and artifacts left from when the shop was the Mark Twain Museum of Memories." http://www.marktwainbooks.com/

GO CHECK IT OUT NEXT TIME YOU'RE THERE! YOU WONT REGRET IT.

SIERRABIKER

RECORD PRICE SET FOR 1876-CC TWENTY-CENT PIECE

A new record price was established for an 1876-CC twenty-cent piece at the Stack's 72nd Anniversary Sale held in New York on Wedsnesday, October 17, 2007. The price realized for this coin, graded MS-64 by PCGS, was $350,750. The bidding opened at $220,000 and immediately a flurry of hands went up. At the end, two bidders battled back and forth until one of them dropped out at the $300,000 level. The winning bid was $305,000 plus the fifteen percent buyer's fee of $45,750.

Prior to this record-setting event, the most recent sales of 1876-CC twenty-centers were of MS-66 specimens, with prices realized in the $250,000 range.

BOOK REVIEW: JAMES CRAWFORD "A SHORT FULL LIFE"

Hi to all C4OA members. You might be interested to know that in this month's issue (Oct. 2007) of the Numismatist (The A.N.A. Monthly publication), there is a very nice review of Rusty Goe's wonderful book "JAMES CRAWFORD Master of the Mint at Carson City - A short full life". Rusty's book is sure to capture many awards and is must reading for all C4OA members and Carson City coin fans. The Numismatist review is short but sweet and is among the first of many positive reviews that will undoubtedly be forthcoming.

1871-CC $5 Gold PCGS VF-25 Var. Winter 1-B

In the last issue of Curry's Chronicle there was an article by John W. McCloskey (RM-0188) entitled "A RARITY STUDY FOR 1871-CC HALF EAGLES". In the article he meticulously describes the known die varieties of this date. Please refer to his article for the descriptions. There are about 140 to 175 known survivors* in all grades and aproximately 70% of these are Var. 1-A.** Much rarer are the varieties 1-B & 1-C. They each represent about 15% of the surving total. Thanks to John's enlightening article, I have made the wonderful discovery that I have one of the rare 1871-CC $5 die varieties in my collection; in this case a Var. 1-B (again, only 15% of this date's total survivors are of this variety). My coin is a PCGS VF-25 in an old green holder, and I thought I would give everyone a view. My "hats off" to John McCloskey for the great article. It would be nice to see future "Curry's" articles on the die varieties of these low survivor population coins.

*Survivor figures from "Mint on Carson Street" - Rusty Goe **Varieties 1-A & 1-B attributed to Doug Winter & Lawrence Cutler

Problem Coins

When does a really rare coin

that is also a problem coin

cease to be desirable?

With all the hoopla surrounding the registry set craze and certified coins in general, the hobby normally discounts coins with problems. Currently there are no set standards to the price deductions of coins based on the degree of the problem. Coins that don't make it into one holder as a problem coin, may make it into another holder as a good coin. The problem may be "barely detectable" as with a light old cleaning, to quite bad as would be the case for a coin that was holed or damaged.

If the coin is an 1884 CC Morgan dollar with a problem, it's easy to pass, because a nicer coin can be found immediately at nearly every dealer's shop, show or auction house. But, if the coin happens to be a desirable rarity such as an 1870 cc quarter or 1873 cc dollar that's cleaned, how would you value it? Or, would you just pass knowing that these coins rarely surface. Please comment.

1873-CC With Arrows dime with porous surfaces on obverse.