Are coins with CC on the back counterfeit? 0

[RWB]

To us, the answer is an obvious "No." But 140 years ago coins with small differences - extra tail feathers, rays or no rays, mintmarks - were suspicious. Here's a letter from 1876 on the subject. The Mint response, if any, has not been found.

Anderson, Nevius & Co.

Dry Goods, Groceries, Clothing, Carpets

Flemington, NY

 July 17, 1876

Gentlemen,

            We have 3 silver quarter dollar pieces all bearing the date 1876; 1 marked CC under the eagle, 1 marked S under the eagle, and 1 with no mark under the eagle. We have heard it repeated that those with CC were counterfeit. If it is not too much trouble would you please give us an explanation of the matter and oblige.

            Yours Respectfully,

            Anderson, Nevius & Co.

[RG104 E-1 Box 104. NNP Collection.]

Edited November 17, 2020 by RWB
Fix formatting - as usual

[scopru]

That is interesting.  

[RWB]

Note that quarters from all three operating mints were in New York state circulation by mid-1876.

[scopru]

Indeed.  And that is even more curious. It often takes me months and months to see a current year coin from Philly or San Francisco. 

[physics-fan3.14]

It wasn't until 1893, with AG Heaton's "Treatise on the Coinage of the US Branch Mints" that people really began looking at or for mintmarks. His book is obviously quite outdated and has many inaccuracies, but it really did influence collectors at the time. You can read it on the Newman Numismatic Portal, here: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/512404

[RWB]

Collection of mintmarked coins don't seem to pop up until opening of the Carson Mint. The Southern gold mints were too far from collector pocketbooks to matter, and New Orleans produced more localized silver issues. Following the Civil War, with only three active mints, Treasury moved coins around more via rail and that likely brought more mintmarked silver coins into common circulation. Much like the 1876 letter - local coinage became a mixture of pieces from all three mints.

Edited November 18, 2020 by RWB

[James_OldeTowne]

"CC" = "counterfeit coin" ?? 

[James_OldeTowne]

Here is a 1969-B $20 bill with a somewhat comparable backstory from 1973, except that it did receive a reply from the Department of the Treasury - enjoy.

[RWB]

3 hours ago, James_OldeTowne said:

Here is a 1969-B $20 bill with a somewhat comparable backstory from 1973, except that it did receive a reply from the Department of the Treasury - enjoy.

Very nice! When the Mint received an "error" coin, they normally replaced it with a shiny new one. Treasury was awfully tolerant to return the note to the finder.

[Conder101]

Lot description wasn't quite right, the bank did not reply on Treasury DeptSsecret Service Letterhead, the letter is from the SS to the Bank Cashier.  Not from the bank to the customer.

[DWLange]

Rusty Goe's fine books about CC coinage reveal that most of that mint's output was shipped to the East. There was little need for it locally.

[RWB]

Nothing that Carson Mint produced was of local use. It was supposed to process all the new Nevada silver but transportation expenses made it cheaper to ship silver to San Francisco. Bullion owners could also get a draft on New York, which was not available at Carson. Supplies could be bought in Philadelphia and New York, then shipped to Carson a lot cheaper than buying them on the west coast. (Army Quartermaster Corps handled a lot of this to Carson and the small assay offices.)

Carson coins came East under two slightly different circumstances. The first, was to increase the supply of subsidiary silver to the Mississippi Valley and mid-west. With the New Orleans Mint closed after 1861, Carson was able to supplement infrequent coin shipments from Philadelphia a little more efficiently (depending on season). The second, and more costly approach, was to use Carson and SF coins to fill-in when the Philadelphia Mint was overworked with deposits from the New York Assay Office, the burden of minor coinage, and massive redemption transfers from the various Assistant Treasurers. (The latter should not be underestimated for the amount of labor required to sort, remove fakes, count, credit/debit and then store until Treasury decided it was OK to recoin the stuff.) Treasury felt it had to supply new coins to eastern commercial centers, and they paid as much as 2% of value just for shipping to Philadelphia Mint for distribution (at additional cost) to Sub-treasuries.

Edited November 20, 2020 by RWB