by Ray Fauteux

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: July 26, 2009

When you hear the name "Carson City Mint" it might well conjure up images of bearded, grizzled prospectors, gun 'totin' cowboys, and overnight millionaires. What a history there is behind the "double c" mint. Of all the United States mint-mark's "CC" is the only one issued with dual characters.

The era that saw the Carson City Mint produce coins was probably the most fascinating in American history. Carson City might be the capital of Nevada, but nowhere in it's past was it ever considered a large city. At times there was even doubt that the territory of Nevada would even become a state because there were so few people living there. Actually, statehood was rushed through during the Civil War just to keep the people who did live there loyal to the North.

It was a New Yorker named Abraham Curry who along with a few associates purchased a large tract of land in Eagle Valley Nevada. At first the group meant to establish a trading post, but Curry had bigger aspirations and wanted to build a town. Sure enough, in 1858 he founded Carson City that was named after Kit Carson, the famous mountaineer of the day.

The rest as they say, is history. In 1859 huge deposits of silver were found in the Comstock Lode. That's all it took to assure the success of Carson City and it was soon named capital of the state. For some time the silver was shipped to the San Fransisco Mint, but this was costly and there was always the threat of bandits intercepting shipments. It was the mine owners who petitioned for a mint in Nevada and it was Curry who sold the idea of the mint being in Carson City. It seemed a natural choice because it was central to all the biggest mining operations.

It was September, 1866 when the ground was finally broken for the mint. It went though many growing pains involving cost over-runs and the eventual hiring of Chinese laborers that seemed to stir the ire of the local people. It was two years before the bulk of the coin presses, blanking presses, and rolling mills showed up in Carson City. The shipments of course were by sea and had to come "around the horn."

Finally on January 10, 1870 the dies arrived via Wells Fargo Express and finally, the first coins could now be minted. The first coin that was struck was the silver dollar. The silver dollars were followed three days later by ten-dollar gold pieces. Both pieces were stamped with the "cc" brand. Half Eagles and Double Eagles followed close behind, but no dimes were minted at Carson City until 1871.

The mint was closed on September 11, 1885 and re-opened over a year later. Even then it only opened as as assay office. The election 1888 sent Republican Benjamin Harrison to the White House and new life was given to the mint and in 1889 it began coining operations once again.

In 1899 a bill was passed in Congress that officially deemed the Carson City Mint an Assay Office and it would never mint another coin after that. All the coining equipment was eventually taken apart and sent to several other facilities across the country.

The story did not end there however, as Carson City continued to refine raw gold and silver ore for 34 more years. It was finally the Great Depression that signaled the end for the Carson City Mint, and cut-backs forced it to close it's doors. It became the Nevada State Museum and to this day numismatists everywhere are fascinated when they get to hold a gold or silver coin with the letters "CC" stamped on it.

Learn more about this author, Ray Fauteux.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.