1889-CC $1 Morgan Dollar, Carson City Key Date

About This Note

The coin you see here is the exact coin you will receive.

The 1889-CC Morgan Dollar. The second most famous key date in the entire Morgan Dollar series, behind only the 1893-S. If you want a complete Morgan Dollar date set, you need this coin. There is no way around it.

The Carson City Mint struck just 350,000 Morgan Dollars in 1889. That sounds like a lot until you compare it to the Philadelphia Mint, which struck 21,726,000 that same year. The Nevada mint was a small operation serving the silver mines of the American West, and its coins went directly into circulation in the rough economy of the frontier. Most were worn down to nothing. The survivors are prized today precisely because so few made it through.

The "CC" mint mark is clearly visible above ONE DOLLAR on the reverse. That is the most important detail on this coin, and it is unmistakable. The Carson City Mint operated from 1870 to 1893: just 23 years: and its Morgan Dollars are among the most collected coins in American numismatics. The "CC" mint mark is the most prized in the series.

This example is graded G6 by NGC: Good 6, straight grade, no qualifiers. G6 means the coin is heavily worn with the design visible but flat, all lettering bold and clear. Look at the surfaces. The steel-gray color on both sides is original. No cleaning. No polishing. No artificial treatment. This is an honest, problem-free 1889-CC that has been worn by the hands of history and preserved exactly as it left circulation. NGC agrees: G6, straight grade.

The 1889-CC in G6 with original surfaces is the most affordable entry point into one of the great key dates of American numismatics. At $1,500, it is a coin that belongs in every serious Morgan Dollar collection.

Carson City Mint. .900 fine silver, 26.73 grams. NGC G6, Cert #6507834-009.