Collectors Guide to Morgan Silver Dollars - Littleton Coin Company

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The Carson City Mintand the Great Silver Dollar Sale!Kit Carson was a well-known andmuch-admired frontiersman. He rode onmany expeditions exploring the West.Abraham Curry, founder of Carson City, namedhis settlement for this famous explorer.The “CC” mint mark from the branch Mintin Carson City, Nevada is a favorite ofcollectors. During its years of operation, theCarson City Mint gained a reputation forstriking some of the most finely detailed,high-quality coins in U.S. history. TheMorgan silver dollars that were struck hereare considered to be the finest in the series!Carson City, today the capital ofNevada, was founded by a colorfulcharacter named Abraham Curry during the heyday of the Comstock Lodesilver strike. Curry had purchased a large tract of land along the CarsonRiver, named for the famous frontiersman Kit Carson. Curry proceeded toset up a trading post, sold tent and cabin sites to prospectors, and namedthe settlement Carson City.Abe Curry was a shrewd businessmanwho bargained and fought tirelessly toimprove and develop the city. He finallyconvinced the federal government to builda branch Mint in Carson City to handleNevada’s large silver supply.Congress authorized $150,000 for theproject in 1866. Abe Curry became thegeneral contractor for construction. The Mintended up costing three times the originalamount, but it was a fortress.Carson City was founded byAbraham Curry, a shrewd businessmanwho went on to become the superintendentof the Carson City Mint.Carson City“CC” mint mark16
The Mint at Carson Citywas nothing less than afortress, with walls fourfeet thick. The “CC”Morgan silver dollarsare real collectorfavorites because of thehistory of the CarsonCity Mint and theoutstanding quality ofthe coins it produced.Today, the Mintbuilding is a museumthat takes visitors backto the exciting times ofthe Comstock Lode.The concrete foundation extended seven feetbelow the basement floor and the sandstone walls were four feet thick!When the Carson City Mint opened in 1869, general contractor Currywent on to become its first superintendent.During the years it operated, the Carson City Mint struck 13 differentdates of outstanding quality Morgan silver dollars. Its colorful and excitingera ended in 1893, when the Comstock Lode began to give out. Yet, thefrontier Mint was not finished creating interest in the world of numismatics.Seventy years later, in 1963, nearly 3,000 bags of silver dollars – mostof them from the Carson City Mint – were found in the vaults of the mainTreasury building in Washington, D.C. The final tally was over 2.8 million“CC” Morgan silver dollars!Marketing the coins was the responsibility of the General ServicesAdministration. The GSA conducted five separate sales, beginning in 1972,and made the “CC” Morgan silver dollars available to collectors.Today, the Carson City Mint is a museum, opening its doors to half amillion visitors each year. Exhibits change from time to time, but the mostpopular and permanent displayis a reconstruction of a silver mine leading intothe building’s basement. Visitors are transportedback to the excitement of the Comstock Lodeand the years when the first Carson CityMorgan silver dollars were minted!The “CC” Morgan dollars were taken out oftheir sealed Mint bags and checked to make surethey were all Uncirculated. Any that weren’t wereculled out, and the rest placed in thesegovernment holders for the GSA sale.17
Page 1 and 2: LITTLETON’S$4.95COLLECTORS GUIDE
Page 3 and 4: Collecting is a way to make time st
Page 5 and 6: What became of the partners?Despite
Page 7 and 8: The American Eagle on the reverse o
Page 9 and 10: The New Orleans MintThe U.S. branch
Page 11 and 12: The Morgan Silver DollarDate: 1878
Page 13 and 14: of silver dollars stored in Treasur
Page 15: California Street, looking west tow
Page 21 and 22: Some homesteaders constructed their
Page 23 and 24: The Reno Casino HoardRudy, like Red
Page 25 and 26: The History ofLittleton Coin Compan
Page 27 and 28: Caring for Your CoinsProper handlin

Collectors Guide to Morgan Silver Dollars - Littleton Coin Company

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