1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Carson City Mint · 756,000 made
- Mintage
- 756,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 26.73 g
- Diameter
- 38.1 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Prooflike or deep mirror fields (PL, DMPL)
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 756,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.7735 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the wreath and above the letters "DO" in DOLLAR. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is CC, for Carson City.
- Which Carson City dates near 1879 are scarcer?
- The 1881-CC at 296,000, the 1880-CC at 495,000. So the 1879-CC is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 756,000.
What to check on your 1879-CC
- Make sure the mint mark really is a CC. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1879-O (2.9 million made).
- Make sure the CC mint mark is original. Carson City dollars are a favorite target for altered mint marks, so look at the letters under magnification or buy certified coins.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair above Liberty's ear, the cheek and the breast feathers on the eagle. Prooflike (PL) and Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL) surfaces add large premiums.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Coins from Carson City carry a premium over the same date from other mints because of the mint's short history and the popularity of its "CC" mark.
The story of the 1879-CC
Carson City made 756,000 in 1879, down from 2.2 million in 1878. The next year it made 495,000 (1880-CC).
The other mints made far more that year: 1879 alone came to 15 million, roughly 20 for every 1879-CC. If you're checking a pile of 1879 coins, the CC is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1886-S (750,000) and the 1889-S (700,000).
Carson City struck the Morgan Silver Dollar in 13 issues between 1878 and 1893. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1885-CC (228,000). No Morgan Silver Dollar of the 1870s had a smaller run.
Bland-Allison dollars (1878 to 1885)
The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 required the Treasury to buy a minimum value of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's design went into production within weeks. The first Philadelphia coins show eight tail feathers on the eagle. The count was soon cut to seven. Some dies show seven feathers punched over eight.
Carson City struck its first Morgans in 1878. New Orleans began in 1879. Most of these dollars never circulated and sat in bags in Treasury vaults for decades. When the government sold its remaining Carson City dollars by mail between 1972 and 1980, many CC coins of the early 1880s reached collectors in uncirculated condition, including the scarce 1881-CC and 1885-CC. Bag marks from that long storage are common.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1879
The New Orleans Mint reopened for coinage, striking Morgan dollars. Many Morgan dollars from this period sat in Treasury vaults for decades.
How to recognize it
George T. Morgan's Liberty faces left wearing a cap with wheat and cotton and a band inscribed LIBERTY, with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with outstretched wings holding arrows and an olive branch above a wreath, with IN GOD WE TRUST above it. The mint mark is below the wreath, above the DO of DOLLAR.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Morgan Silver Dollar (1878–present) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1879 |
| Mint | Carson City Mint |
| Mint mark | "CC" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 756,000 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 26.73 grams |
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.7735 troy oz (24.057 g) |
| Designer | George T. Morgan |
Other 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1879 Morgan Silver Dollar | 14,806,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1879-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 9,110,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1879-O Morgan Silver Dollar | 2,887,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1879-CC Morgan Silver Dollar | 756,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
Mintage: Morgan dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.