1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Carson City Mint · 350,000 made
- Mintage
- 350,000
- 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 1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1889-CC is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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.
The 1889-CC is the scarcest Carson City Morgan dollar.
Quick answers
- Is the 1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 350,000 were made, 8th lowest of the 96 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1889-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 1889 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 1889 are scarcer?
- The 1885-CC at 228,000. So the 1889-CC is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar coins were made?
- 350,000.
What to check on your 1889-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 1889-S (700,000 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.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- 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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1889-CC
Carson City hadn't struck the Morgan Silver Dollar since 1885. When it came back in 1889, it made 350,000. In 1890 the figure was 2.3 million.
The other mints made far more that year: 1889 alone came to 22 million, roughly 62 for every 1889-CC. If you're checking a pile of 1889 coins, the CC is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1899 (330,000) and the 1893 (378,000).
Only the 1885-CC and the 1881-CC have a lower mintage among Carson City's 13 Morgan Silver Dollars. Within the 1880s it's 3rd smallest of 37, between the 1881-CC (296,000) and the 1880-CC (495,000).
Sherman Act years and the early keys (1886 to 1893)
Philadelphia struck about 20 million dollars a year in the late 1880s, but some branch mint dates were small. The 1889-CC, at 350,000, is a key. San Francisco's 1886-S, 1888-S and 1889-S all fell below one million. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 replaced Bland-Allison with larger silver purchases, though dollar coinage fell once the act stopped requiring it in 1891. Much of the bullion was paid for with Treasury notes rather than coined at once.
Mintages dropped sharply in 1892 and 1893. The 1893-S, with only 100,000 struck, is the key business strike of the series and a common target for altered mint marks and counterfeits. The 1892-S is plentiful in worn grades but rare uncirculated. Carson City stopped coining after 1893, making the 1893-CC its last dollar. The 1893 Philadelphia run of 378,000 is scarce as well.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1889
The last gold dollars, $3 gold pieces and three-cent nickels were struck in 1889. All three were ended by an act of 1890.
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 | 1889 |
| Mint | Carson City Mint |
| Mint mark | "CC" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 350,000 |
| 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 1889 Morgan Silver Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 Morgan Silver Dollar | 21,726,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1889-S Morgan Silver Dollar | 700,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1889-O Morgan Silver Dollar | 11,875,000 | Circulation strike | 0.7735 oz |
| 1889-CC Morgan Silver Dollar | 350,000 | 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.