1892-CC $1 Morgan Dollar Carson City During a Lean Year
According to Q. David Bowers in “Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia” (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993): When the Carson City Mint closed down, quantities of 1892-CC dollars were shipped for storage to the San Francisco Mint and, to a lesser extent, to the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. From the San Francisco Mint, quantities were paid out over a period of years, including 1925-1926, but particularly in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Some bags, but probably not many, were dispersed from the Cash Room at the Treasury Department in Washington during the same time frame, up through 1950-1953. Then came a quantity dispersal. Dealer Steve Ruddel stated that about 50 bags (50,000 coins) of 1892-CC dollars were released from the Treasury Building in 1955 alone. (Reference: His advertisement in The Numismatist, January 1964.)
Few if any 1892-CCs were part of the Treasury release of 1962-1964. When the government took stock of the situation in March 1964 and stopped paying out Morgan and Peace dollars of any and all dates, just a single Uncirculated 1992-CC dollar remained! The news of the non-availability of the 1892-CC in the surviving Treasury cache caused a run-up in prices in the 1960s and 1970s.
