1876-CC Twenty-Cent Piece : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

The 1876-CC Liberty Seated Twenty-Cent Piece is one of the Great Rarities of United States numismatics. Despite being an unpopular denomination, the Carson City Mint struck 10,000 Twenty-Cent Pieces in 1876. It is believed that the entire mintage was produced during the first week of May.

One die pair was used to strike all of the known coins. The obverse die was spectacularly bungled by the Philadelphia Mint and exhibits pronounced doubling, which is most visible on the word LIBERTY.

In July of 1876, Congress introduced a bill to repeal the United States Mint’s authority to strike the denomination. The bill would be signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in January 1877. On January 20, just days after Congress officially abolished the denomination, the 1876-CC Twenty-Cent dies were destroyed at the Carson City Mint, and U.S. Mint Director Henry R. Linderman ordered all specimens on hand to be melted down. Between the time the coins were struck and the time the destruction order was issued, only a small number of coins were (apparently) paid out. The vast majority of the mintage was destroyed.

Fewer than 20 examples are known to survive, and very few were known to 19th-century collectors. Additional pieces trickled into the market over the next century. The biggest source of coins purportedly was a hoard of 10 uncirculated examples discovered near Baltimore, Maryland in the late 1950s. The coins were unveiled by Baltimore dealer Tom Warfield in 1957.

Grading overlap exists for this issue at NGC and PCGS. Our table represents coins that we have photographically reviewed. We will update this table when we more closely review numismatist Rusty Goe’s table of known examples.

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Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS66 (2, 8/2024), NGC MS65 (4, 8/2024), and CAC MS66 (2:0 stickered:graded 8/2024).

• PCGS MS66 #05226579: “Joseph C. Thomas Collection, Part Two”, Heritage Auctions, April 30, 2009, Lot 2299 – $460,000.
• PCGS MS66 #2575134: Heritage Auctions, October 4, 2001, Lot 6222 – $138,000. Old Green Holder. Dark toning.
• PCGS MS66: Numismatic Gallery, June 1950 – $1,325; Purchased at the preceding sale by Harold M. Budd, Sr.; “Norweb Collection”, Bowers and Merena, October 1987, Lot 691 – $69,300. Driftwood Collection (possibly the above coin).
• PCGS MS66: “J.G. Hubbard Collection”, Edouard Frossard, December 1900, Lot 324 – $28; Winning bidder of the Hubbard coin was S. Benton Emery; Walter P. Nichols; Bowers and Merena, 1984.

• PCGS MS65 #25508313: Possibly “The Malcolm N. Jackson Collection,” U.S. Coin Company, May 1993, Lot 997 – $250; F.C.C. Boyd; In 1935 Boyd placed an ad in The Numismatist, saying he would sell the coin for $350; “The World’s Greatest Collection, Part II” Numismatic Gallery, March 1945, Lot 487 – $1,500; “The Jerome David Kern Collection,” B. Max Mehl, May 1950, Lot 1642  – $1,675; “The Edwin M. Hydeman Collection,” Abe Kosoff, March 1961, Lot 405 – $6,900; Joe Flynn, who offered the coin for sale at $23,900 and sold it privately; Julian Leidman; “The Armand Champa Collection,” American Auction Association, May 1972, Lot 791; Ron Winget; Bowers and Ruddy, sold privately; Stephen Tebo; Tebo advertised the coin for sale in the November 1974 Numismatist for $100,000; Superior, August 1975, Lot 349 – $45,000; Quality Sales Corp., November 1976), Lot 349; “The Arnold and Romisa Collections,” Bowers and Merena, September 1984, Lot 2211 – $44,000; “The Reed Hawn Collection,” Stack’s, July 1985, Lot 1653 – $57,750; Stack’s, March 2002, Lot 352 – $115,000. As PCGS MS65. Stack’s Bowers, January 22, 2013, Lot 13170 – $564,000. As PCGS MS65 #25508313. Heritage Auctions, August 14, 2024, Lot 4132 – $690,000.
• PCGS MS65 #37861676: As PCGS MS65 #37861676. Bowers and Ruddy’s Fixed Price List of July 1979; Stack’s, January 1988, Lot 1405; “E. Horatio Morgan Collection”, Stack’s Bowers, August 15, 2019, Lot 5182 – $456,000. As PCGS MS65 #37861676. “Bender Family Collection, Part I”, Heritage Auctions, August 24, 2022, Lot 3550 – $870,000. Coin regraded. Bender Collection on insert. Goldenrod hue. Spot to the right of Liberty’s upright hand. Scratch to the right of star 2. Diagonal hit on Liberty’s stomach. 
• PCGS MS65: Tied for finest known as of 1/91. Offered for sale by American Rare Coin Trading Corp in the January 1991 Numismatist. Price on request.
• NGC MS64 #3222533-005: “Belle Collection”, Heritage Auctions, March 2009, Lot 983; Pacific Northwest Collector; “Rian’s Bequest Collection”, Heritage Auctions, January 13, 2022, Lot 3648 – $432,000. Rian’s Bequest on insert. Pedigree information assisted by Heritage Auctions. 
• PCGS MS64 CAC #20714029: Maryland Hoard, discovered in Baltimore area in 1956-1957; unknown intermediaries; unknown collector, who included this coin in a set of 1876 coinage; that collector to dealer Mark Mendelson; Mendelson sold the set intact to Dr. David Litrenta; “The Litrenta Collection”, Heritage Auctions, August 1999, Lot 5518; As NGC MS64. Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2000, Lot 5177 – $69,000; Duncan Lee/Douglas Winter; As PCGS MS64. Stack’s Bowers, August 7, 2012, Lot 11101 – $470,000. As PCGS MS64 CAC #20714029. “The Poulos Family Collection, Part II”, Heritage Auction, September 6, 2019, Lot 4716 – $456,000. Battle Born Collection on insert. Dark toning at the base of the date and around the rim of the obverse. Multiple hits to the left of Liberty’s ankle. Vertical hit located to the right of the gap between stars 1 and 2. Cluster of dark stains to the right of the cap. Two spots to the right of the eagle’s neck and head. Pedigree information assisted by Stack’s Bowers.
• PCGS MS64 #6566090: “Simon L. Lee Collection”, J.W. Scott & Co., June 12, 1899 – $26.25; John H. Clapp; Clapp Estate to Louis E. Ellsberg, Sr., “The Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr. Collection”, Bowers and Merena, April 1997, Lot 1353 – $148,500; “The Eugene H. Gardner Collection of U.S. Coins”, Heritage Auctions, June 23, 2014, Lot 30342 – $470,000.
• PCGS MS64 #18397544: “The Mendelson Collection”, Superior, February 1991, Lot 1297; Stack’s, October 16, 2007, Lot 4941 – $350,750. Small gouge touching the denticles just below the 8. Shallow gouge at the base of the loop of 6. A diagonal hit running parallel to Liberty’s ankle.
• NGC MS64: “The Richmond Sale, Part III”, David Lawrence Rare Coins, March 2005, Lot 1392 – $158,125.
• PCGS MS62: “The Comstock Bonanza Collection”, Superior Galleries, September 2008, Lot 172 – $264,500.
• Uncirculated: William Cutler Atwater Specimen – James A. Stack, Sr. Stack’s, March 1995, Lot 150 – $99,000.
• PCGS AU58: John Seagraves Peck, acquired directly from the Mint in 1876; After 1890, Peck family; Jurgenson. Bowers and Merena, June 2009, Lot 757 – $207,000.
• Example: “R.C. Davis Collection”, New York Coin & Stamp, January 1890, Lot 1506 – $7. First known sale of an 1876-CC twenty-cent piece.
• Example: Kreisberg-Schulman, May 1966 – $12,750; purchased at the preceding sale by Norman H. Biltz; Nevada State Museum, Carson City, Nevada.

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Coin Specifications

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