Three 1876-CC Twenty Cent Coins Sell in Spring 2009; Less than Twenty are Known! (Part 2 – Rarity, Quality & Condition Rankings)

By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

The 1876-CC (Carson City, Nevada) Twenty Cent piece is the rarest date of this short lived denomination, and it is a famous Great Rarity. In a Sept. 2008 article on CoinLink, I tentatively estimated that between eighteen and twenty-six exist. As a result of further research, I am changing my estimate to a range of fifteen to nineteen, which is in line with estimates put forth by a few other researchers. The facts regarding 1876-CC Twenty Cent pieces in general and the specific sales of three this Spring are put forth in part 1. Here in part 2, discussions involve rarity, quality, pedigrees and tentatively formulated condition rankings.

I have only been able to identify, with a high degree of confidence, fourteen different 1876-CC Twenty Cent pieces, of which I have carefully examined eight. I have asked experts about most of these fourteen. Undoubtedly, there exists at least one other. After considering auction records, published rosters, various rumors, and alternate scenarios in my mind, I just do not believe that there could be as many as twenty.

There is an excellent chance that the Norweb 1876-CC Twenty Cent piece is the finest known. It was auctioned in New York as part of the Norweb I sale in Oct. 1987. At some point in the months that followed, it was NGC graded MS-65. The NGC upgraded it to 66 in the 1990s. For several years, Jay Parrino owned it. In 2001, when it was auctioned by Heritage, it was (and still is) PCGS graded 66. More recently, it is (or was) in the Driftwood collection in the PCGS registry.

Of the fourteen that I know about, I tentatively hypothesize that the Eliasberg piece is the second finest known, assuming that its appearance has not negatively changed since I last saw it. This is a sizeable assumption. I had previously thought that the Emery-Nichols-Lustig-Thomas 1876-CC was the second finest known.

Though I have yet to see the Emery-Nichols-Lustig-Thomas 1876-CC, discussion of its condition with several expert graders, along with recent images, have led me to conclude that it is not the second finest known, though it is an attractive, desirable coin. As discussed in part 1, it is the one that Heritage auctioned in April for $460,000. While I have traced the pedigree of this coin back to the mid 1990s, I am not completely certain that it is the Emery-Nichols piece, which was auctioned by Bowers & Merena (NH) in 1984 and owned by Andy Lustig in the late 1980s. (more…)