Carson City Dime Swallowed Up By Silver
Carson City’s first dime flew under the radar in 1871—but with dismal survival rates and historic significance, this sleeper coin commands attention (and dollars) today.
The Carson City branch mint produced its first dime in 1871. Silver mining was huge in this area, so the tiny amount of silver in dimes didn’t turn heads.
Everyone is looking for a sleeper. Of course, most people like their sleepers to be $25, headed for $700. Sadly, that is not the case with the 1871-CC dime, but it still is a solid value and a historic coin. The 1871-CC is literally a piece of history, as it is the first dime of the Carson City Mint. That makes it an important coin, perhaps a bit understated, as few think of Carson City dimes. The Carson City story started well before the 1871-CC dime. Carson City might be called the silver mint—it was created to serve a mining area. The branch mint at Charlotte was a product of the region’s gold, as were the mints at Dahlonega and San Francisco, although San Francisco was also becoming a significant transportation center. Only New Orleans was different, as it was a product of a sweetheart deal on prime real estate, and the fact that New Orleans was a transportation hub. Carson City was in the tradition of Charlotte, Dahlonega, and San Francisco, as, except for the mines, there was no real estate of interest to anyone. As for transportation, Carson City was perhaps the transportation center for the territory, which at the time was about as heavily traveled as the moon's surface.
The idea of a mint in Carson City did not receive enthusiasm. Some said San Francisco was large enough and modern enough to serve the entire region. In addition, there was talk of a facility in Denver, which seemed like a more promising idea than one in Carson City.
Even once the facility was approved, things didn’t go smoothly in Carson City. It probably had a little to do with the Civil War and a lot to do with the fact that few cared about Carson City.
People in Carson City did not care about coins. When they appeared with silver, they more often than not wanted bars, not coins. That made Carson City mintages lower than expected. Low mintages were also helped by outdated machinery and the time it took to receive dies and supplies from the East.
Carson City operated on a made-to-order basis. People brought in silver and gold and told officials what they wanted. With silver so abundant, coins were naturally often of higher denominations. Carson City made dollars in 1870, but dimes weren’t struck until 1871.
Few collected the first Carson City coins, but apparently a few saved an example of the first dollar, although the handling fell short of today’s standards.
If a few dollars were saved, it’s safe to assume the line wasn’t long to get an 1871-CC dime. It was, after all, the second year of production, so the novelty was gone, and dimes were paid to people already standing on tons of silver.
The mintage of 20,100 pieces was not that low for dimes of the time, as there had been five lower dime mintages since 1861, but the survival rate of the 1871-CC was simply awful.
We do not know what happened to the 1871-CC dime, although being a low denomination in Carson City is probably all the information we need to suggest a poor survival rate. Just how poor can be summed up in a current G-4 price of $2,450. The price climbs to $32,000 in AU-50.