Carson City Mint

Carson City Mint was a branch of the United States Mint in Carson City, Nevada. Built at the peak of the silver boom, 50 issues of silver coins and 57 issues of gold coins minted here between 1870 and 1893 bore the "CC" mint mark. The mint was established in Carson City to facilitate minting of silver coins from silver in the Comstock Lode, somewhat like how the San Francisco Mint was established to facilitate minting gold coins from the gold of the California gold rush. From 1895 to 1933, the building served as the U.S. Assay Office for gold and silver. The Federal Government sold the building to the state of Nevada in 1939.

The building that housed the mint was the first designed by Alfred B. Mullett after he became Supervising Architect of the Department of the Treasury. The simple Renaissance Revival style stone facade has pairs of round-headed windows and a center portico. Today, it is the home of the Nevada State Museum.

1884 Carson City Morgan Silver Dollar MS 65 ANACS

1884 Carson City GSA, Box and Papers

The GSA Carson City Silver Dollar is a true symbol of the American West. The Carson City Mint in Nevada supplied Morgan dollars to Federal Reserve Banks across the country. It is also the only mint to use more than one letter on its coins—the unique “CC” mint mark.

An overabundance of silver dollars and the increased popularity of the dollar bills caused the Carson City Mint to close in 1893 after only 23 years of business. No coins have been minted there since.

Demands for silver in the early 1900s to support the war effort led to massive coin melts, and the stored CC dollars were believed to be lost. However, in 1964, the General Accounting Office discovered nearly three million uncirculated silver dollars from the Carson City Mint.

Denver Coin Store | About Us | Search Denver Coins