Mintage: 16,980

When you reach this grade level for 1872-CC $5 gold pieces you know you are scaling the upper end of all extant specimens. Two or three examples rate AU-58 and only a handful of others qualify for the AU-53 to AU-55 range. We estimate that no more than 140 examples of this date exist in all grades, ranking it as one of the top-eight rarest in the “CC” half eagle series.

The piece offered here exhibits a pleasing golden-orange-grey color, with lots of luster remaining. It appears as if someone dipped this coin at one time, but the effects are not as harsh as those seen on many other high-end circulated “CC” gold coins. Numerous scattered contact marks are visible on the obverse, yet none of them are detractive. The reverse displays only minimal ticks. Both sides have bold details on all raised devices, with the exception of the slight weakness visible on the crown of Ms. Liberty’s head. The reverse is actually AU-58 in quality.

All things considered, there is no reason why the graders at PCGS could not have awarded this coin an AU-55 rating.

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