1871-CC Seated Liberty Dollar: What’s It Worth?

Specifications

Denomination: Silver dollar
Designer: Christian Gobrecht
Years of issue: 1871
Weight: 26.73 g
Diameter: 38.1 mm
Mintage: 1,376

The 1871-CC is the lowest-mintage of the four Carson City Seated dollars — just 1,376 struck — and one of the great keys of 19th-century American silver (PCGS).

History

The Carson City Mint struck its first Seated Liberty dollars in 1870; the 1871-CC followed with a mintage of 1,376, the lowest of the four Carson City Seated dollar issues (1870-CC, 1871-CC, 1872-CC, 1873-CC) (PCGS; CoinWeek).
The design is Christian Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty dollar, with the CC mintmark on the reverse below the eagle (PCGS).
PCGS and Q. David Bowers estimate roughly 85–125 circulated survivors, making it genuinely rare in any grade (PCGS).
Despite its lower mintage, the 1871-CC is more available than the 1873-CC, because many 1873-CC dollars were apparently melted (PCGS).
Mint State examples are exceptionally rare: CoinWeek reported just three PCGS-graded Mint State examples as of 2021 (CoinWeek).

What is it worth

PCGS’s price guide opens the issue around $1,600 in Good, with values climbing steeply through every circulated grade (PCGS).
An XF45 brought $102,000 at Heritage in 2018; an AU50 brought $97,750 at Heritage in January 2013 (Heritage).
A 2026 GreatCollections listing described a VF Details example — a reminder that cleaning and surface problems cut deeply into value at this level (GreatCollections).
Uncirculated examples are essentially unavailable: with only a handful graded Mint State, any genuine Mint State 1871-CC is a six-figure coin (CoinWeek; PCGS).

What drives the premium

Mintage: 1,376 is the lowest of the four Carson City Seated dollar issues (PCGS).
Survival: an estimated 85–125 circulated survivors, per PCGS and Bowers (PCGS).
First-generation Carson City: the 1871-CC is a second-year CC issue from the Mint’s first years of silver-dollar production (PCGS).
Condition rarity: Mint State examples are virtually nonexistent, so even low-end uncirculated coins command enormous premiums (CoinWeek).
Originality: cleaned or damaged examples — common in this issue — trade at a fraction of problem-free coins (GreatCollections).

Specifications

Year struck: 1871 (PCGS)
Designer: Christian Gobrecht (PCGS)
Diameter: 38.10 mm (PCGS)
Weight: 26.73 g (PCGS)
Composition: 90% silver, 10% copper (PCGS)
Actual silver weight: 0.77344 oz (PCGS)
Edge: reeded (PCGS)
Mint: Carson City (CC) (PCGS)
Mintage: 1,376 (PCGS)

Collector notes

This is the key to the Carson City Seated dollar set: four coins, 1870-CC through 1873-CC, and the 1871-CC is the lowest-mintage of the group (PCGS).
Because the 1873-CC was heavily melted, the 1871-CC is the more obtainable of the two great CC rarities — relatively speaking (PCGS).
Buy only certified. At these prices, counterfeits and added mintmarks are a serious risk, and details-graded coins need careful discounting (GreatCollections).
The 2021 report of three PCGS Mint State examples is dated; check current population reports before quoting it, since resubmissions move the numbers (CoinWeek).