1874-CC Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Arrows. WB-3. Rarity-4. AU-58 (PCGS).

1874-CC Liberty Seated Half Dollar. Arrows. WB-3. Rarity-4. AU-58 (PCGS).，This is a lovely example of a prime rarity in both the Liberty Seated half dollar and Carson City Mint coinage series. Brilliant centers are framed by halos of iridescent steel-lilac and pale rose peripheral toning. With a virtually full strike and nearly complete satin luster, this coin is at the threshold of Mint State.<p>The 1874-CC is one of only two Carson City Mint issues for the brief Arrows, Motto half dollar type of 1873 to 1874. It is rarer than the 1873-CC Arrows in all grades and, with a mintage of 59,000 pieces, it is one of the key issues among Liberty Seated half dollars. According to Bill Bugert in the 2010 reference <em>A Register of Liberty Seated Half Dollar Varieties, Volume II: Carson City Branch Mint</em>, only 300 to 350 examples of the 1874-CC are extant in all grades. Most survivors are of the WB-3 variety, as here, and the vast majority are in low grades with heavily worn, if not also impaired surfaces. Locating an attractive Choice AU such as this is by no means an easy task, a fact that underscores the important bidding opportunity that this lot represents.<p>The Carson City Mint employed three obverse dies and a single reverse die in three marriages to strike all known 1874-CC half dollars. As previously stated, most survivors are from the WB-3 die pairing, the reverse in a later state than in the WB-1 and WB-2 marriages, with a small raised die defect at the back of the eagles head below the letter T in TRUST. Bill Bugert refers to this curious feature as a "cowlick." An even later state of this reverse die is known, attributed as WB-3a and referred to as the "Railroad Track Reverse" due to prominent die damage from the rim through the letters TE in STATES.<p>，From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier from our (Stacks) sale of the Reed Hawn Collection, August 1973, lot 267. Lot tag included.，