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Jeff Ambio: All known 1876-CC half eagles were struck from a single die marriage. The obverse has the date level and somewhat low, and is most readily identifiable by the presence of a small raised die lump on Liberty's neck just below the jaw. On the reverse, the mintmark is close and level with the edge of the arrow feather midway between the two Cs.
There are only two Mint State examples of the 1876-CC known to exist:
1 - PCGS MS-66. Ex: Chapman brothers, 1893; John H. Clapp Collection, 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; Bowers and Ruddy's sale of the United States Gold Coin Collection (Eliasberg), October 1982, lot 540; Herbert Melnick's sale of November 1983; Joe Kuehnert; Andy Lustig; David W. Akers' session of Auction 89, July 1989, lot 1395; Superior's Father Flanagan's Boys Home Sale, May 1990, lot 5598; Superior's sale of May 1991, lot 1390; Bowers and Merena Galleries, June 1991; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Henry S. Lang Collection, July 2002, lot 613; the Battle Born Collection. The present example, and the plate coin for the issue on the PCGS Coin Facts website.
2 - NGC MS-61. Ex: Heritage's sale of the Ashland City Collection of Branch Mint Gold Coins & Other Rarities, January 2003, lot 4823; our (Bowers and Merena's) Baltimore Auction of June 2008, lot 3685; Heritage's Los Angeles, CA U.S. Coin Auction, July 2009, lot 1264; and Heritage's FUN U.S. Coin Auction, January 2010, lot 2190.
The Battle Born specimen of the 1876-CC half eagle is far and away the finest known survivor of this issue. It is also the finest known Carson City Mint gold coin of any denomination, a fact agreed upon by the foremost experts on CC-mint coinage. Writing in the 2001 book Gold Coins of the Carson City Mint, Doug Winter states that this coin, "...remains the finest Carson City gold coin of any denomination that I have ever seen."
Truly a mind-blowing piece, the technical quality and eye appeal of this coin are more akin to what one would expect to see in a common date Liberty half eagle such as a 1901-S or 1908 as opposed to a key date rarity from the Carson City Mint. Bursting with full, vibrant, satiny mint luster, direct light also calls forth modest hints of reflectivity in the open field areas around the central devices. Those same devices are sharply, if not fully defined from a well executed strike that is equally strong around the peripheries. Rich rose gold patina exudes originality, and the surfaces are devoid of even the most trivial distractions.
Rusty Goe: Earlier in 1876, the Carson Mint had faced charges of making inferior quality and lightweight trade dollars. The accusations were later proved groundless. Coincidently, the workmanship on some groups of coins in 1875 and earlier years had received complaints. Half eagle gold coins from 1875, for instance, showed distracting signs of weakness on the eagle's breast and the upper portion of the shield on the reverse. The Journal of July 19, 1876, was happy to report that "the imperfections in the coins turned out ... have been attributed to machinery defects, which have now been remedied." Credit was given to Joseph B. Harmstead, who had "spent most of his life in the Mints," and who had in early 1876 "been appointed General Machinist at the [Carson] Mint." Ever since, "no more complaints have been made about imperfect coins." Superintendent James Crawford received accolades as well and, in the Journal’s words, was "to be congratulated on his management of affairs...." Crawford had spent his first year and a half in office assembling a top-notch crew, which included his hiring of Harmstead, in 1876, and Coiner Levi Dague the year before. Crawford had also secured two additional coin presses by summer 1876, which aided operations in that department immensely.
All of the 6,887 1876-CC half eagles were minted in the second half of the year -- after the coining department had eliminated most of the problems experienced earlier. Despite the low mintage, this was the third consecutive year that the Carson Mint had bested the other two coining facilities in half eagle production.
As is evident from surviving coins from the Carson Mint today the quality on several series showed noticeable signs of improvement in the post-1875 years. The 1876-CC half eagle is a perfect example, as the quality on surviving specimens is clearly superior to the ones dated 1875-CC. The Battle Born example offered here in this auction illustrates this fact beyond doubt. It memorializes the centennial year output of gold coins at the Carson Mint in a similar way as the finest 1876-CC twenty-cent piece specimens honor the silver coinage. Gold coin experts recognize the extraordinary 1876-CC half eagle, graded MS-66 by PCGS, as not just the finest example known for this date, and not just the finest known half eagle of any of the 19 dates issued at Carson City; but as the finest surviving gold coin of any denomination from that mint.
We can trace the provenance of this awesome piece back to 1893, just 17 years after Levi Dague had struck it on a press at the Carson Mint. John M. Clapp, a notable numismatist of the late 19th century and early 20th century (he died in October 1906), paid the Chapman brothers -- Philadelphia coin dealers -- $5.15 for the 1876-CC half eagle in 1893. Forty-nine years later, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr. took possession of this superb specimen when he bought the entire Clapp family holdings in 1942. Apparently, the coin's rarity had not yet registered with numismatic experts, as the value listed in the Clapp family appraisal at the time was only $10.00. Even in 1976, the year Eliasberg died, the coin's value in the inventory of his holdings was recorded at $2,500. When this jewel of the Carson Mint sold in 1982, in Bowers and Ruddy's auction of the gold portion of the Eliasberg holdings, its price soared to $26,400, the highest bid for any "CC" gold coin in the sale.
While this issue will never command the price of a classic rarity such as an 1870-S $3 gold piece or an 1822 $5 Capped Bust gold piece (because the overall population for the date is relatively high), the finest known 1876-CC half eagle should command condition-rarity price respect such as accorded to the finest examples of the 1920-S and 1921 Saint-Gaudens double eagles.
Mr. Battle Born became enamored with the Carson City half eagle series in the early years of his collecting pursuits. Even as he sold off his holdings of all of the other denomination-subtypes from time to time, he hung on tenaciously to his half eagle set. Naturally, when he acquired the 1876-CC half eagle offered here, it became his favorite coin of his entire Carson City assemblage, because of its status as the best piece in his favorite series. When he decided to sell the entire collection, he almost held back the 1876-CC half eagle because it held such sentimental value to him.
Q. David Bowers: Rusty Goe estimates 135 to 160 1876-CC half eagles survive, with two or three in Mint State. When I did my research some years ago I was not able to confirm a single Mint State coin beyond the marvelous Eliasberg Collection coin here offered. It is nice to see this "old friend" again.
It was in the summer of 1982 when Louis E. Eliasberg, Jr., one of two sons (the other being Richard A.) invited me to come to Baltimore. After due deliberation he and his family awarded my firm the privilege to auction the gold portion of the Eliasberg Collection, while the copper, nickel, silver, and many other coins were retained by Richard (and later sold separately by us). Security arrangements in place in 1982 had it that the to-be-auctioned gold coins were to remain in Baltimore until the sale time. I went to visit with Louis Jr. and with magnifying glass in hand filled out over 1,000 index cards with data. I then returned to New Hampshire and in leisure and with my reference library at hand, proceeded to catalog the coins one by one.
This particular landmark half eagle earned accolades after it was sold in the Eliasberg Collection auction in November 1982. David W. Akers offered it as Lot 1395 in Auction '89 in July 1989:
"1876-CC Gem Uncirculated 65. This has long been one of our very favorite coins, ever since we first saw it in the Eliasberg Sale back in 1982. It is so much better than any other 1876-CC Half Eagle that to call it only the "Finest Known" doesn't seem to do it justice. In Walter Breen's Encyclopedia he notes that this issue is "Prohibitively rare above EF" and then goes on to mention this piece specifically.
"We have never seen another example graded as high as MS-60 and so it is our feeling that this coin is not only Unique in this gem condition but possibly unique in Mint State as well. Ex Eliasberg (1982), Clapp (1942), Chapman Bros. (1893). Quality-wise, this coin leaves little to be desired. It is fully struck with lustrous, semi-prooflike surfaces and superb coppery gold toning. Under a glass, a few stray hairlines can be seen but absolutely no nicks, bagmarks or abrasions. This would be called a "gem" if it were a common 1901-S. In the Eliasberg sale in 1982, this 1876-CC realized $26,400 compared to $19,800 for the perfect 1894-S. However, as Q. David Bowers said in 1982 in the Eliasberg catalogue, "this certainly will be one of the issues attracting the greatest attention (in this sale). Everyone likes to own something no one else has, and here is a good opportunity." On that basis, a bid in the mid-five figure range will probably be required to buy this coin."
As noted, half eagles circulated at par in the West at a time when gold coins were not seen in circulation in the East or Midwest. These were produced in the era in which large denomination Carson City $20 were widely exported (this having commenced in 1873), including to European banks, but the half eagle denomination was generally excluded from this. It was far easier to ship a given amount of gold in the form of double eagles, than it would be to have four times as many half eagles. In foreign depositories, assets were counted from time to time, and the $20 pieces facilitated this.
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Statistical Snapshot*
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Service
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Grade
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Population in Battle Born Grade
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Population in Higher Grade
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Population in All Grades
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Survival Estimate
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Mintage
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PCGS
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MS-66
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1
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0
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75
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—
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—
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NGC
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—
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0
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0
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100
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—
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—
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—
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—
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—
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—
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175
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135-160
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6,887
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* As of July 2012
Combined PCGS and NGC Population: just 1; 0 finer.
PCGS# 8340.
From the Battle Born Collection. Earlier ex: Chapman brothers, 1893; John H. Clapp Collection, 1942; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; our (Bowers and Ruddy's) sale of the United States Gold Coin Collection (Eliasberg), October 1982, lot 540; Herbert Melnick's Grand Central sale of November 1983; Joe Kuehnert; Andy Lustig; David W. Akers' session of Auction 89, July 1989, lot 1395; Superior's Father Flanagan's Boys Home Sale, May 1990, lot 5598; Superior's sale of May 1991, lot 1390; Bowers and Merena Galleries, June 1991, to the following; and our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Henry S. Lang Collection, July 2002, lot 613. The plate coin for the issue on the PCGS Coin Facts website.
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