1871-CC 50C XF40 Certification #16735256, PCGS #6331

CAC green sticker. CAC data (6/18/2022): 26 total, 4 on grade, 7 higher. WB-1, Key Date, Gem Original, Newtown Collection. Silver central figures host gold patina in the recessed areas, surrounded by blue-gray fields with more deeply shaded rims. The date and reverse shield reveal original crust, as does the pole and adjacent hairline. Steely surfaces exhibit reflectivity under a light, and the overall effect is pleasing, indeed, pieces of this quality are rarely found with the coveted CC mintmark. WB-1, with a die crack through the middle of (A)MER(ICA). The mintmark is closely spaced, with the second C punched north of the first. The CAC population is 27 coins in all grades, with nine pieces graded higher. Bidding activity will be energetic for challenging Carson City issue. Housed in a PCGS Gen 4.4 (2005-2011) holder with CAC approval. Bought in GFRC auction of the Newtown Collection. Comments from "A Guide Book of Liberty Seated Silver Coins" by Q. David Bowers: 375 to 450 are estimated to exist in circulated grades, mostly with extensive wear. This issue is usually sharply struck, this being in contrast to the 1870-CC. Some coins of this issue have prooflike obverses.

Ron Guth

The 1871-CC Half Dollar is one of the scarcest and most popular dates in the entire series.  The mintage is a mere 153,950 coins.  Combined with the remote location of the Carson City Mint and the difficulty collectors had in obtaining examples for their collections, it is a real challenge to find this date in any grade at all.  In Mint State, the 1871-CC Half Dollar is a fantastic condition rarity and the few that exist are at the lower end of the scale.  It's hard to say what these coins looked like when they were fresh off the press, but the former Pryor-"Battle Born"-Gardner coin gives us one clue.  That coin has a fully Prooflike obverse, a frosty reverse and, in the past, it has been called a "one-sided Proof."