Jeff Ambio: There are two known obverse dies of the 1892-CC eagle, with Winter 2 exhibiting a "perfect" (i.e., not repunched) date. The entire date logotype is set relatively far to the left between the base of Liberty's portrait and the denticles. The only known reverse die of this issue (per Winter and Halperin, Gold Coins of the Carson Mint, 2001) exhibits an evenly spaced, medium size CC mintmark with the first C over the left edge of the letter N in TEN and the second C over the left serif of the right upright of the letter N. In the Winter 2-A marriage this reverse also displays a fairly prominent clash mark from the top of the eagle's left (facing) wing to its beak. This is a Tripled Die Reverse, but it has not been widely published as such and is a fairly recent discovery. It requires magnification, but is most prominent at the letters in the words IN GOD WE on the scroll above the eagle.

Rusty Goe: In 1892 all four of the nation's coining facilities took part in the minting of eagles. Philadelphia led the way with its output of nearly 800,000 pieces. The New Orleans branch struck $10 gold pieces for the first time since 1888, and the coiner at San Francisco, who had not produced any for two years, contributed more than 115,000 eagles, to supplement that facility's as-usual heavy yield of double eagles. The Carson Mint, while cutting its emission by more than 60 percent from 1891's figure, still delivered the second highest quantity of $10 gold pieces in its history.

Mint Director Edward O. Leech said in his 1892 annual report, "that the disturbance to the natural balance of trade" in gold with European nations had continued into 1892. This may explain why the Philadelphia Mint had increased its production of half eagles and eagles tenfold or more. One thing that the director did not mention was the death of Carson Mint Superintendent Samuel C. Wright, who had passed away in August 1892.

What the press referred to as the "Hale and Norcross Suit" all year, once again impugned the mint's reputation. The Daily Nevada State Journal of April 1, 1892 said, "Ugly rumors relating to crookedness in the Carson Mint have been afloat for years." It went on to say that, in the past, people had charged that mint employees had had access to the plant "at all hours, and that bullion was repeatedly taken to the Mint all night." In reference to the scandal that had surfaced ten years earlier, when James Crawford was the superintendent, the Journal said, "Some years ago a pretence of investigating some of the charges was made, and a certificate of good character [was] given the officials." Likewise, at the end of the Hale and Norcross investigation, the Carson Mint received absolution.

Coiner Colburn kept his crew busy practically all year, with only the usual break in June for annual cleanup, and the two and a half week hiatus after Wright died as down times. Colburn stamped out the same assortment of coinage denominations as he had in the previous two years: silver dollars, and gold double eagles, eagles, and half eagles.

Coiner Colburn ran 22,000 $10 pieces through his press from January to June, and added 18,000 more in the second half of the year. From the original mintage of 40,000 1892-CC eagles, we might have three percent extant today.

Q. David Bowers: In 1892 the Carson City Mint struck 40,000 eagles, of which Rusty Goe estimates 850 to 1,200 survive, with 39 to 50 Uncirculated. My estimate/guess is in the same ballpark, but with slightly lower numbers. The 1892-CC is very scarce in Mint State. Most are at lower levels, MS-60 to MS-62, but upon occasion MS-63 and, less often, MS-64 coins are encountered as noted above.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Fairmont Collection, JBR Set, where it realized $45,600.