1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Carson City Mint · 200,000 made
- Mintage
- 200,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.5 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 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 Seated Liberty Dime 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
- 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 1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 200,000 were made, 33rd lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0723 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1878 Seated Liberty Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is CC, for Carson City.
- Which Carson City dates near 1878 are scarcer?
- The 1874-CC at 10,817, the 1873-CC at 12,400, the 1873-CC (With Arrows) at 18,791. So the 1878-CC is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime coins were made?
- 200,000.
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 (1.7 million made).
- 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.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1878 Seated Liberty Dime Proof (800 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. LIBERTY on the shield is the key: a full, readable LIBERTY marks a coin in Fine or better. Then check Liberty's head and knee.
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 1878-CC
Production at Carson City fell off a cliff in 1878. Only 200,000 were made, against 7.7 million the year before. That drop is why the 1878-CC is the one people look for. It turned out to be Carson City's last Seated Liberty Dime for circulation.
The other mint made far more that year: 1878 alone came to 1.7 million, roughly 8.4 for every 1878-CC. If you're checking a pile of 1878 coins, the CC is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1886-S (206,524) and the 1872-S (190,000).
Carson City struck the Seated Liberty Dime in 9 issues between 1871 and 1878. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1874-CC (10,817). Within the 1870s it's 10th smallest of 29, between the 1872-S (190,000) and the 1874-S (240,000).
Millions of dimes to replace paper change (1875 to 1878)
The Specie Resumption Act of 1875 set out to replace the small paper notes of the Civil War with silver coin. The result was the largest dime production the country had yet seen. In 1875 Philadelphia struck 10,350,000, San Francisco 9,070,000 and Carson City 4,645,000. In 1876 the totals were 11,460,000, 10,420,000 and 8,270,000. Carson City struck 7,700,000 in 1877, more than Philadelphia's 7,310,000 that year. The arrows were removed in 1875, but the 2.50 gram weight remained.
The 1875-S and 1875-CC come with the mint mark in two places. On some coins it sits inside the wreath above the bow and on others it is below the bow, so check where yours falls. An 1876-CC doubled die obverse is also known to specialists. These huge runs make 1875 to 1877 the most common Seated dimes, including the Carson City dates. Carson City's 8,270,000 dimes of 1876 were its largest dime coinage of any year. Most of the small paper notes were exchanged for silver in these years.
By 1878 the demand had been met. Philadelphia struck 1,677,200 and Carson City only 200,000, its last dimes. San Francisco made none. If you have a dime from these years, it is likely a common date, but look closely at the mint mark for the scarcer positions and at the date and lettering for doubling.
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
Liberty sits on a rock, her right hand resting on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a liberty cap and the date is below. The 1837 and 1838-O coins have nothing else on the obverse. From 1838 to 1860 thirteen stars surround her and from 1860 the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA take their place. Drapery hangs from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows flank the date on most dimes of 1853 to 1855 and of 1873 to 1874. The reverse shows ONE DIME inside a laurel wreath ringed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA until 1860. After that a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds the words. Branch mint marks are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Dime (1837–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
| Mint | Carson City Mint |
| Mint mark | "CC" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 200,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.5 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0723 troy oz (2.250 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1878 Seated Liberty Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1878 Seated Liberty Dime | 1,677,200 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
| 1878 Seated Liberty Dime Proof | 800 | Proof | 0.0723 oz |
| 1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime | 200,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0723 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.