1874-CC T$1 U.S. Trade Silver Dollar Carson City Mint
Q. David Bowers and Mike Sherman write that the Trade dollar was first minted in 1873 in response to the need for a coin to compete with the Mexican “dollar” (actually the 8 Reales or Peso) in the Orient. Weighing 420 grains, or slightly heavier (1.8%) than a standard silver dollar, the Trade dollar was intended for export only. Despite this, they were legal tender in the United States until 1876, at which time Congress revoked their status. Quantity production continued through 1878, after which point only token quantities were made for proof sets through 1883 (the few pieces dated 1884 and 1885 are of dubious origin). In 1887, the law authorizing the Trade dollar was repealed, and the treasury officially redeemed all un-mutilated pieces.
The obverse depicts Miss Liberty seated on a bale of merchandise, her right hand holding a branch, her left hand holding a ribbon inscribed “LIBERTY, a sheaf of wheat behind, and the sea in front. IN GOD WE TRUST appears at the bottom just above the date. Stars surround the upper portion. The reverse depicts an eagle holding three arrows and a branch, with E PLURBUS UNUM on a ribbon above, 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE, below. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and TRADE DOLLAR surrounds.
Mintage of the 1874-CC trade dollar got off to a slow start, with just 9,600 pieces struck in January. Monthly production figures (given in the Summary of Characteristics) stayed below the 100,000 mark until August, when 145,500 were made. The peak of production was in December, when some 240,000 pieces left the press. When figures were totaled, 1,373,200 were struck for the year.
Most of the mintage went to China, where, apparently, many were saved from the melting pot and, instead, were subjected to the imprint of chop-markers. 1874-CC trade dollars were a familiar sight in Oriental commerce as late as the 1940s (as were most other trade dollar varieties of relatively high mintage).
