1889-CC Coronet $20 Double Eagle
Grover Cleveland won the presidential election of 1884, spelling bad news for the Carson City Mint. The new president was a vocal of opponent of silver, and soon upon taking office in March 1885, ordered the cessation of coining operations at the frontier mint.(1)
The inauguration of Benjamin Harrison as president in March 1889 restored hope to the residents of Carson City and the Silver State in general. Thanks in no small part to the lobbying of Nevada senator William M. Stewart, the mint reopened and resumed production of silver dollars and $20 gold double eagles.
With the “CC” coin production machinery running once again, there were 30,945 double eagles struck there in 1889. These gold pieces circulated widely in the West, but many were exported overseas in trade transactions in the early 1890’s. In the 1950’s, some of these pieces were repatriated through the rigorous efforts of several U.S. coin dealers.
Fascinating Fact: The finest known example of the 1889-CC double eagle, graded MS-64 by PCGS, came to light in a very unusual manner. An old-time bottle collector in northern Nevada stumbled upon a stash of various gold coins hidden under an outhouse in sagebrush country. Among the recovered coins was an 1889-CC $20 gold piece. The bottle collector spent it sometime in the 1980’s for some furniture restoration work. The new owner of the coin sold it four years later to a dealer at a coin show in South Lake Tahoe, NV. The dealer submitted it to PCGS, where it eventually received its MS-64 grade.
The 1889-CC double eagle is not as famous as its close relative, the 1889-CC Morgan dollar, nor is it as revered as a few other double eagles, but it still attracts plenty of respect from the numismatic community.
When the 1889-CC values are charted for a range of conditions over a period of more than three decades, it actually does rather well… the trendlines point sharply upward. So, it’s not just the “outhouse” specimen collectors crave for the 1889-CC! (Be sure to read the "Fascinating Fact" paragraph above if this comment doesn't make sense.)
| Estimated survivors in all grades: 1060 ?
The survivor estimate from PCGS represents an average of one or more experts' opinions as to how many examples survive of a particular coin in all grades. Survival estimates include coins that are raw, certified by PCGS, and certified by other grading services. Learn more at PCGS. |
| PCGS Rarity Scale: 4.9 ?
The 'PCGS CoinFacts Rarity Scale' assesses the relative rarity of all U.S. coins, based on estimated surviving examples. The scale runs from 1.0 to 10.0. The higher the number, the rarer the coin.
Learn more at PCGS. |
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| Trendline Avg = 19.15 | BETTER |
Historic Value Trend Charts:
| Last updated 9-13-23 |  |
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Sources
1. Stack's Bowers Galleries. 1889-CC Liberty Double Eagle. Aug 2012 Auction.
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Coin Images by Stack's Bowers Galleries.
