1876-CC Coronet $5 Half Eagle
In 1876, as the United States celebrated its 100th birthday, the Carson City Mint was predominantly occupied by the production of subsidiary silver coins to fulfill the mandates of the Specie Resumption Act. Another top priority was the striking of $20 double eagles.(1)
It wasn’t until December of that year when the “CC” mint finally got around to making $5 half eagles. Only 6,887 were struck, the smallest mintage of any half eagle from that famous frontier facility.(2)(3)
Fewer than 120 examples of the 1876-CC are believed extant today.(4) This certainly rates as a rare coin, but the survival percentage of this date is conspicuously higher than most Carson City half eagles.(5)
Researchers speculate the relatively high survivorship is because some examples were saved as keepsakes of the Centennial year. Additionally, the 1876-CC half eagle was released around Christmastime, prompting some gift recipients to set a few aside for posterity.
After decades of respectable price advancements, the 1876-CC has skyrocketed in recent years. Still, with a numismatic inheritance as rich as the 1876-CC has, it’s a mystery why it’s not valued higher.
| Estimated survivors in all grades: 117 ?
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: 7.8 ?
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. |
| Click HERE to check for availability on eBay** |
Preview of eBay selection (don't give up finding one until you try the HERE link above):
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| Trendline Avg = 14.53 | GOOD |
Historic Value Trend Charts:
| Last updated 8-7-24 |  |
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Sources
1. Heritage Auctions. 1876-CC $5 MS66. Aug 2022 Auction.
2. Heritage Auctions. 1876-CC $5 MS66. Aug 2022 Auction.
3. Yeoman, R.S. and Garrett, Jeff, et al. A Guide Book of United States Coins, 75th ed. Pelham, AL: Whitman Publishing, 2021.
4. PCGS. 1876-CC $5 (Regular Strike).
5. Heritage Auctions. 1876-CC $5 MS66. Aug 2022 Auction.
**Many very fine coin dealers sell on eBay. At any point in time, there may be over one million search results for United States coins. This includes quite a few of the recommendations on our Key Date Coin List.
If you’re thinking about purchasing a rare coin, eBay is certainly worth a look. For your convenience, the links from this site to eBay are coded to bring up only coins certified by PCGS and NGC.
As is always, always the case, never buy a valuable coin from a seller whose trustworthiness cannot be verified. Learn more about this at our chapter Best Places to Buy Coins, which also has a section on doing business on eBay.
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Coin images by Stack's Bowers Galleries.
