I have been collecting Silver Eagles for the past four years or so. I just recently purchased a Morgan CC 1878 in vf30 condition I paid 100 dollars for this coin. I have it strictly to collect and pass on to my son some day as a piece of history. 1878cc was the first strike from Comstock.
Comstock was the name given for the Silver load found in Nevada. They opened the Carson City Mint to mint Morgans on site. It was not econimial to ship the silver to Philadelphia for minting. I am aware that the "CC" stands for Carson City
Speedy; without the Comstock silver discovery, there never would have been a mint at Carson City. When the silver load played out, the mint there was closed and it faded into history.
Sure. It may take me alittle bit though to get the pictures ready for download. The day I received my Morgan my wife related that "oh I have one of those". I looked at it and I immediately became jealous. It is a 1921 Morgan. I'm not an expert by any stretch of the word but I know enough that I told her I would send it to NGC for grading.
Hey Dollarcrazy Yep...alot of people are glad that there was a CC mint for a while...it gives another mint mark for them to collect. What I was thinking when I saw the Comstock name....I was trying to think of a variety with that name...you see...I don't think of the "Comstock load" when thinking of coins...I don't want someone to think that the coin is rarer or more valuble just because it came from the Comstock load...millions of coins came from CC and I'm sure all of the coins were made with Comstock silver...but that doesn't make them rarer. Now I'm not downplaying this guy's buy but just because a coin has a "name" such as Comstock or even a collector's name such as Bass or Eliasburg doesn't make the coin rarer...its still just a coin with a name on the holder---now I'm not a dealer, but if I was, and was selling a coin with the name Bass on the holder, I think I would sell the coin just as if it didn't have the name on there...it might make a "new" collector think its rare and buy something that in the long run is just a name. As for the one you and your wife have... I think the one you have is better....1921 dated coins are common and not rare even in the high grades....I get them for around $10-12 each most of the time to give away on B-Days..... Speedy
Now I'm not downplaying this guy's buy but just because a coin has a "name" such as Comstock or even a collector's name such as Bass or Eliasburg doesn't make the coin rarer...its still just a coin with a name on the holder---now I'm not a dealer, but if I was, and was selling a coin with the name Bass on the holder, I think I would sell the coin just as if it didn't have the name on there...it might make a "new" collector think its rare and buy something that in the long run is just a name. Speedy, provenance plays a much larger role in modern numismatics than you could imagine. Owning one of the historically coveted specimens does not make that coin rare by it's self, the provenance does. When I display coins I own at large coin and currency shows, the ones once owned or sold by people like Max Mehl, Lavere Redfield or Amon Carter are the ones I have always had the most and highest offers on. Not because they are the finest known, but because of the provenance. Coin and currency dealers alike want to handle this material in order to attach their own names to the history and chain of custody, regardless of the population consensus.
And why not Speedy! if it hadn't been for the Comstock mine there wouldn't have been a Carson City Mint, and NO CC mint marks for you to drool over. I happen to believe the Comstock Mine made a major contribution to Morgan dollars as we know them today, and thus very important. This isn't what make a coin 'rare', but 9 times out of 10 it will be a very important coin or else it wouldn't have been in these collections in the first place. Believe you me, I will accept a Elsburg coin any day of the week, and so would you if you would only admit it! Sorry Speedy, got to challange you on this one also. A 1921 is common and you buy them for $10 to $12 for B-days! I find this very hard to believe and would be interested in just how you came to this conclusion. In other words I think you are blowing smoke. One final question, and that is why so negative on your last several answers to people's questions?
I don't I don't collect Morgan dollars at all....I think I have a total of 3 Now I'll be the first to say that I've been wrong and I'll be reading up on this in the next few days.... I didn't say I wouldn't accept a coin with the name on it...I said I wouldn't try to sell the coin on the name...in other words I wouldn't hype the price up just because it has some guys name on it... Well I'm sorry...but I do...a 1921 Morgan dollar is common...maybe you were thinking of a 1921 Peace Dollar....I do buy them for around $10-$12 to give away on B-days... I'm sorry you think I have been negative----I try not to be...I try to help and be nice about it...maybe your reading them wrong--or maybe its the hot weather around here Speedy
Alrighty---I'm not done reading up on this but here are a few facts I've found... 1878 CC Moragns are not the first struck of the Comstock lode....in 1870 a Seated Dollar was struck in CC....I think that the mint opened using the silver from the Comstock so the 1870CC Dollar would be the first struck. Next....in the June 2005 COINS Mag here is what they said in an article about the CC mint. "Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin, found a body of ore near present day Silver City. they had just fnished marking their claim when Henry Comstock happened upon the scene and clanimed that he in fact had discovered the outcropping. It was obvious to O'Riley and and McLaughlin that Comstock was lying. But, not knowing the true extent of their discovery and fearing a lengthy legal battle, they caved in to the interloper and granted him a third. For some perverse reason, it was not long before the find was known as the Comstock Lode. The true owners might just as well have gone to court because all three ment got very little of the riches in the long run. McLaughlin and Comstock sold their shares for a song and were soon broke again. O'Riley had the most interesting life after he sold out. Under the guidence of a spirit medium, he spent his remaining funds sinking a worthless mine shaft. He soon afterwards died in a mental institution. " So in other words it should be called the O'Riley and McLaughlin Lode-- I'll be posting more as I find out more.!!! Speedy
Here is something else.... Now if that is true...1879 was the fist year to strike silver coins with silver from the Comstock lode... I've also found that many people don't know who found the lode first...some say the 2 guys I posted above and some say others.... I've really enjoyed searching for this info...and I'm not done yet!!! Speedy
I have an 1878CC Morgan in about VF condition and 1880CC that might be a little bit better. It's good to know they are worth something.
My birthday is comming up in July. I would be glad to accept two 1921 Morgans for $20/ea. I'll pass them on to my kids, also born in July (both of them) I'm happy with my Morgan. I now have a physical peace of history. Not many people can say that. When I get my wife's 1921 Morgan graded, we'll have a first and last of the beautiful Morgan's. It's nice to know what a coin is worth, but I believe it's even more important to preserve a small but important piece of American history.
Speedy, they named coins like Eliasberg or such may not be more valuable but in fact coins like "Binion Morgans" go way over book price. Ie....1886 Morgan MS-64, what maybe $60-70? With a Binion on there about $100
Hey SilverDollarMan.... That is what I'm worried about...it seems like in todays market people hype up a coin because there is a name on it...back in the "olden" days a coin was a coin...now its a coin or a COIN with a name on the slab. I have seen many Binion Morgan dollars and I think my dad even has one but he didn't get it because of the name...it was priced right...not hyped up to some high price. I know I'm a little nuts.... Speedy
When exactly were these "'olden' days"? Were you there? Do you remember them? I'm just teasing you a little, but I think my point is valid; your "memory" of the way things used to be is maybe not perfectly accurate.
I wonder if Michael Jackson collects coins. Can you imagine the markup on coins in the Jackson Collection? Personally, I don't think the name of the prior collector should add anything to the value of the coin.
