1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Carson City Mint · 2,212,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,212,000
- 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 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.7735 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- Prooflike or deep mirror fields (PL, DMPL)
- A known variety for the date: 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 2.2 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1878-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 1878 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 1878 are scarcer?
- The 1881-CC at 296,000, the 1880-CC at 495,000, the 1879-CC at 756,000, plus 2 more. So the 1878-CC is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 2,212,000.
What to check on your 1878-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 1878-S (9.8 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.
- Look for the 1878 Morgan Dollar: 8 vs 7 Tail Feathers (it's on Philadelphia coins, not this one).
- 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.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value. 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 1878-CC
1878 was the first year of the Morgan Silver Dollar. Carson City struck 2,212,000 of them. In 1879 the figure was 756,000.
1878-S came to 9.8 million and 1878 came to 11 million, so neither mint's 1878 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across Carson City's 13 Morgan Silver Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1885-CC with 228,000 made. The 1878-CC is one of the easier ones. Among the 1870s issues, only the 1879-CC 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 1878
The Bland-Allison Act required the Treasury to buy millions of dollars' worth of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's new silver dollar was the result and the twenty-cent piece was struck for the last time, as proofs only.
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 | 1878 |
| Mint | Carson City Mint |
| Mint mark | "CC" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,212,000 |
| 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 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 Morgan Silver Dollar | 10,508,800 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1878-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 9,774,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar | 2,212,000 | 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.