1892-CC Morgan Dollar

The Carson City Mint struck 1.35 million Morgan dollars in 1892. Unlike many “CC” dates, hundreds of thousands of them were released into circulation within a relatively short time.⁽¹⁾

When the Carson City Mint was permanently shuttered in 1893, most of those remaining in government hands were shipped to the San Francisco Mint for storage; the rest ended up at the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C.

Some of the 1892-CC dollars were paid out from both locations in 1925-1926, and again in the late 1940’s and early to mid-1950’s.

During the highly publicized silver dollar releases of 1962-1964, only a small number of the 1892-CC dollars were found in Treasury vaults, generating headlines in the numismatic press, followed by rising prices.

In 1970’s and early 1980’s, the General Services Administration (GSA) sold 2.9 million “CC” surplus Morgan dollars directly to the public. Only ONE 1892-CC example was available for sale!⁽²⁾ Once again, speculation ran rampant as to the true scarcity of the 1892-CC, stimulating additional price hikes.

Today, thanks to Population Reports and the modern information age, we can confirm the 1892-CC is not in the upper tier of rare Morgan dollars, yet it remains a highly desirable date. It has earned a solid reputation with collectors because of its place of origin and relative elusiveness. This explains why the 1892-CC Morgan dollar has a long history of justifiable price advancements.

Fascinating Fact: 1892-CC Morgan dollars in high Mint State grade are exceedingly rare. That’s because when mint bags filled with unused dollars were transferred from Carson City to San Francisco or Washington, they travelled over bumpy terrain and were jostled roughly about, imparting heavy abrasions and bag marks on most of the coins.⁽³⁾

Bargain seekers, take note: Since the 2010’s rare coin bull market, prices for the 1892-CC have slumped. This is not to say it was overvalued in those years or was a passing fad. As we have documented on this site, even collector favorites sometimes move in a cyclical nature: over a period of years prices go up and then they go down, only to be followed by another round of price surges, pushing values higher than anything seen previously.

When it comes to rare coins, the old adage “Buy Low, Sell High” has never been more true.

Please Note: For the Morgan dollar price trend survey, only grades F-12, VF-20, EF-40, AU-50, and MS-60 were analyzed. Higher grades, Prooflike (PL), and Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) were omitted because in these conditions, even rather ordinary Morgan dates can attain astronomical values that could easily skew results. The goal of the survey is to identify coins demonstrating superior price trend histories, regardless of grade.

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Trendline Avg = 19.64	BETTER

Last updated 9-4-23		Return to Key Date Coin List
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