1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Carson City Mint · 153,950 made
- Mintage
- 153,950
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.44 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 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 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar worth?
Few coins in the series are harder to find. Even a worn 1871-CC sells well above face value. The flip side is that counterfeits and altered dates are common, so authentication matters.
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 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 153,950 were made, 25th lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3600 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1871 Seated Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is CC, for Carson City.
- Which Carson City dates near 1871 are scarcer?
- The 1870-CC at 54,617, the 1874-CC at 59,000, the 1873-CC, No Arrows at 122,500. So the 1871-CC is on the scarcer side for those years.
- How many 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 153,950.
What to check on your 1871-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 1871 (1.2 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.
- 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 benchmark for Fine. Check the high points of Liberty's knees and breast.
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 1871-CC
Output at Carson City climbed to 153,950 in 1871, from 54,617 the year before. The next year it made 257,000 (1872-CC).
The other mints made far more that year: 1871-S alone came to 2.2 million, roughly 14 for every 1871-CC. If you're checking a pile of 1871 coins, the CC is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1857-S (158,000) and the 1852-O (144,000).
Carson City struck the Seated Liberty Half Dollar in 10 issues between 1870 and 1878. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1870-CC (54,617). Within the 1870s it's 8th smallest of 32, between the 1873-CC, No Arrows (122,500) and the 1873, No Arrows (Open 3) (214,200).
Motto above the eagle and Carson City (1866 to 1872)
IN GOD WE TRUST was added on a scroll above the eagle in 1866. San Francisco struck both the old and new reverses that year. The 1866-S without motto, with 60,000 made, is scarce. Philadelphia mintages ran from about 418,000 to 1.2 million a year, while San Francisco often struck more than one million.
The Carson City Mint struck its first halves in 1870. The 1870-CC, with 54,617 made, is the key. Carson City halves of 1871 and 1872 are scarce in all grades. Many Nevada-struck halves circulated in the mining West and survive heavily worn, scratched or cleaned. Mint state CC halves of these years are major rarities, so most collectors settle for a sound Fine or Very Fine coin.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with HALF DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes and IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dollar (1839–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1871 |
| Mint | Carson City Mint |
| Mint mark | "CC" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 153,950 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.44 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3600 troy oz (11.196 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1871 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 1,204,560 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 2,178,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 153,950 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.