1876-CC 20C MS66 Certification #05226579, PCGS #5300

Charles Morgan

1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece

The 1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece (#5300) is one of the "Great Rarities" of United States numismatics. Despite the denomination's lack of commercial success, the Carson City Mint struck 10,000 pieces in 1876, with the entire mintage believed to have been produced during the first week of May.

The denomination’s introduction was a "sop" to Nevada Senator and mining tycoon John Percival Jones, who introduced the legislation in February 1874. While ostensibly created to facilitate Western trade, the coin was widely derided as commercially unnecessary and a "subsidy" for the silver interests of the Comstock Lode. Like other domestic silver coinage of the era, it featured Christian Gobrecht’s Liberty Seated design. Despite efforts to differentiate it from the quarter—including a plain edge and a Trade Dollar-style eagle—its similar size caused persistent public confusion.

Despite these predictable issues, U.S. Mint Director Henry R. Linderman remained sensitive to political pressure to monetize Nevada’s silver. He directed Carson City Superintendent James Crawford to maintain a robust inventory. Following the distribution of 133,290 pieces in 1875, Crawford authorized an additional 10,000 coins in 1876. These coins languished in the Mint’s vaults for a year, never officially entering circulation.

A single die pair was used to strike all known examples. The obverse die, spectacularly bungled by the Philadelphia Mint, exhibits pronounced doubling most visible on the word LIBERTY. This doubling is a diagnostic feature present on every genuine 1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece.

In July 1876, Congress introduced a bill to repeal the Mint’s authority to strike the denomination. President Ulysses S. Grant signed it into law in January 1877. On January 20—just days after the abolition—the 1876-CC dies were destroyed at the Carson City Mint. On May 19, 1877, Director Linderman issued the final order to Crawford:

"You are hereby authorized and directed to melt all 20-cent pieces you have on hand, and you will debit 'Silver Profit Fund' with any loss thereon."

It appears only a small number of coins were either paid out before the melt order or, more likely, saved for the Annual Assay and later passed into private hands. Today, fewer than 20 examples are known to survive. While virtually unknown to 19th-century collectors, pieces slowly trickled into the market over the next century. The most significant source was a hoard of ten (some say five to eight) uncirculated examples discovered near Baltimore, Maryland, and unveiled by dealer Tom Warfield in 1957.

The first public offering occurred in January 1890 at the Robert Coulton Davis sale. Listed as lot 1506, the cataloguer noted with prescience:

"1876 CC mint: sharp, brilliant, uncirc. We know of no duplicate of this mintage."

The census of known examples grew slowly, reaching only four by the time Edgar H. Adams remarked about an example exhibited by Elmer Sears. Today, PCGS has certified the majority of surviving examples, with two grading MS66 and nine falling in the MS64–MS65 range. With MS65 specimens now approaching the million-dollar mark, the 1876-CC has seen an extraordinary trajectory from its humble $7.00 auction debut.

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Breen cited a "Maryland estate" in the pedigrees of four of the 16 1876-CC Twenty Cents he listed. According to Breen, "The Maryland estate (1957) reportedly contained 10 in all, of which I examined four..." The cataloguer of the October 2003 Stack's sale explains, "In the late 1950s, five to eight were discovered in Baltimore by Tom Warfield of the Mason-Dixon Coin Exchange, an early mentor of the late Walter Breen. These ``Maryland Hoard' pieces were all high grade, Very Choice to Gem Uncirculated..."