1878-CC 25C MS(PCGS#5509)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2064

Grade

AU55

Price

1,050

Lot Description

Elegant golden-copper iridescence on both sides, the surfaces of which are sharply defined overall with plenty of mint luster in evidence. 1878 proved to be the final year the Carson City Mint struck quarters as it increasingly directed its focus towards silver dollars. A total of 996,000 quarters were struck there, roughly one-fourth the annual production in the previous couple of years. This may have proven too generous for the Treasury's needs, as there is some thought that many were not released for use but were rather destroyed to meet a legally mandated limit of $50 million in circulating coins and fractional currency. Three obverse and reverse dies matched in four pairings have been identified, including one with a long thin die gouge running through Liberty, as here, that accounts for nearly a third of the examples. Most coins originating from Carson City entered commerce and remained mostly in the West where they served a community distrustful of paper money. As such, this issue is typically encountered well worn, and a CAC-approved Choice AU such as this represents a fleeting find in today's market.