The Carson City Mint was a

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk (botany), trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' ...

of the

United States Mint The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coinage for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion. It does not produce paper money; tha ...

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

. It primarily minted

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

coins A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to ...

; however, it also minted gold coins, with a total face value in dollars nearly equal to that of its silver coins. The mint minted coins in 21 different years. The Carson City Mint was created in 1863 but was not put into operation until 1870. It ran until 1885, went on a hiatus, and resumed operations in 1889, after which it ran until 1893, when it closed permanently. It is now the

Nevada State Museum, Carson City The Nevada State Museum in Carson City is one of seven Nevada State Museums operated by the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. The primary building of the museum is the former Carson City Mint. The exhibits include: * The world's ...

History

Built at the peak of the silver boom conveniently near a local silver mine, 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins minted here between 1870 and 1893 bore the "CC"

mint mark A mint mark is a letter, symbol or an inscription on a coin indicating the mint where the coin was produced. It should not be confused with a mintmaster mark which is the mark of the mintmaster. History Mint marks were first developed to locate ...

. The mint was established in Carson City to facilitate minting of silver coins from silver in the

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United ...

, much as the

San Francisco Mint The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint. Opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush, in twenty years its operations exceeded the capacity of the first building. It moved into a new one in 1874, now kno ...

was established to facilitate minting gold coins from the gold of the

California gold rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

. From 1895 to 1933, the building served as the U.S.

Assay Office Assay offices are institutions set up to Metallurgical assay, assay (test the purity of) precious metals. This is often done to protect consumers from buying fake items. Upon successful completion of an assay (i.e. if the metallurgical content is fo ...

for gold and silver. The federal government sold the building to the state of Nevada in 1939. Coins struck here, especially

Morgan dollar The Morgan dollar is a United States dollar coin minted from 1878 to 1904, in 1921, and beginning again in 2021. It was the first standard silver dollar minted since the passage of the Coinage Act of 1873, which ended the free coining of silver ...

s, are generally rare and command a high premium among collectors. The building that housed the mint was the first designed by

Alfred B. Mullett Alfred Bult Mullett (April 7, 1834 – October 20, 1890) was a British-American architect who served from 1866 to 1874 as Supervising Architect, head of the agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government build ...

after becoming

Supervising Architect The Office of the Supervising Architect was an agency of the United States Treasury Department that designed federal government buildings from 1852 to 1939. The office handled some of the most important architectural commissions of the nineteenth ...

of the Department of the Treasury. The construction supervisor was

Abraham Curry Abraham (or Abram or Abe) Van Santvoord Curry (February 19, 1815 October 19, 1873) is considered the founding father of Carson City, Nevada. A native of the state of New York, he traveled to the West Coast during the California Gold Rush an ...

, also known as the "Father of Carson City." The simple

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

Revival-style stone facade has pairs of round-headed windows and a center

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. It is now the home of the Nevada State Museum. Although the mint has not struck United States coins since 1893, Coin Press No. 1 (the original coin press from the mint) is still in the building and used to strike commemorative medallions with the "CC" mint mark. The most recent of these are medallions commemorating the 75th anniversary of the museum.

Proposed commemorative coin production

On July 16, 2019, a bill was introduced proposing to strike commemorative Morgan and

Peace dollar The Peace dollar is a United States dollar coin minted for circulation from 1921 to 1928 and in 1934 and 1935, and beginning again in 2021. Designed by Anthony de Francisci, the coin was the result of a competition to find designs emblematic of ...

s on the premises of the Nevada State Museum in 2021. If passed, the coins will feature the "CC" mint mark, becoming the first legal tender coins to do so in 128 years. Aside from adding a new date to both the Morgan and Peace dollar series, it would be the first time the Peace dollar is struck with the mint mark. The bill has received support from many coin collectors, with the

American Numismatic Association The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is an organization founded in 1891 by George Francis Heath. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it was formed to advance the knowledge of numismatics (the study of coins) along educational, histori ...

encouraging collectors to express their support. However, some collectors have voiced their concerns about the mintage limit of 500,000 pieces. Though 2021 Morgan commemorative dollars were struck with a 'CC' privy mark, they were not struck at the former Carson City Mint.

Denominations minted

Silver denominations

Seated Liberty dime The Seated Liberty portrait designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Goddess of Liberty in a Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the qua ...

(1871–1878) : Twenty-cent piece (1875–76) :

Seated Liberty quarter The Seated Liberty portrait designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Goddess of Liberty in a Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the qua ...

(1870–1878) :

Seated Liberty half dollar The Seated Liberty portrait designs appeared on most regular-issue silver United States coinage from 1836 through 1891. The denominations which featured the Goddess of Liberty in a Seated Liberty design included the half dime, the dime, the qua ...

(1870–1878) :

Seated Liberty dollar The Seated Liberty dollar was a dollar coin struck by the United States Mint from 1840 to 1873 and designed by its chief engraver, Christian Gobrecht. It was the last silver coin of that denomination to be struck before passage of the Coinage Ac ...

(1870–1873) :

Trade dollar Trade dollars are silver coins minted as trade coins by various countries to facilitate trade with China and the Orient. They all approximated in weight and fineness to the Spanish dollar, which had set the standard for a de facto common currency ...

(1873–1878) :

(1878–1885 and 1889-1893) Note: A Seated Liberty dollar was the first coin to be struck at Carson City.

Gold denominations

: Half eagle or $5.00 gold (1870–1884 and 1890–1893) : Eagle or $10.00 gold (1870–1884 and 1890–1893) : Double eagle or $20.00 gold (1870–1879, 1882-1885, and 1889–1893)Goe, Rusty (2020), The Confident Carson City Coin Collector – 3-Volume Set: Reno, NV: Southgate Coins Publishing: ISBN 978-0974616940

Photos

1873-CC-Without-Arrows-Dime-PCGS-MS-65-Rarest-CC-Coin-The-Confident-Carson-City-Coin-Collector

File:Carsoncitymint.jpg, Nevada State Museum (old Carson City Mint), as seen from across Carson Street in 2007 File:Nevada State Museum.jpg, Nevada State Museum (old Carson City Mint) at night File:LibertyHalfEagleReverse.jpg, The CC mint mark on Liberty Head (Coronet) gold half eagle File:1877-CC Seated Liberty quarter reverse.jpg, A Seated Liberty quarter minted at Carson City File:1873-CC Without Arrows Dime PCGS MS-65 Unique CC Coin.png, alt=1873-CC Without Arrows Dime PCGS-MS-65 Rarest CC Coin – Only one specimen is known to exist, 1873-CC Without Arrows Dime PCGS MS-65 Rarest CC Coin

References

External links

U.S. Mint

National Archives and Records Administration The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

* {{s-end United States Mint Buildings and structures in Carson City, Nevada Mints of the United States Industrial buildings completed in 1870 Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Carson City, Nevada Nevada State Register of Historic Places Nevada historical markers Historic American Buildings Survey in Nevada 1870s architecture in the United States Alfred B. Mullett buildings Neoclassical architecture in Nevada 1870 establishments in Nevada