Lot 1263
1877-CC $10 Liberty. PCGS graded AU-53. Well struck with light golden toning on both sides. A beautifully preserved example of this difficult CC-mint date. Pop 5; 1 in 55; 1 in 58.
Nobody had the means to collect gold coins in 1877. By this, the third year of a Great Depression, roughly 3 million people were unemployed -- an astonishing 27 percent of the working population. Those who were able to keep a job worked six months a year and their wages were cut by about 45 percent, which calculates to be roughly 1 dollar a day. In light of profitless conditions, the Pennsylvania railroad began slashing wages, first 10 percent at the start of the year, then another 10 percent in June 1877. The management of the railroad laid off workers, cut wages, and then announced they would increase their eastbound trains to Pittsburgh without hiring more crew. Furious workers took control of the switches and blocked the trains, igniting the spark to a violet series of strikes that spread throughout the eastern half of the country. All in all, 100,000 workers went on strike in 1877 joined by countless unemployed and homeless, which simply added to the misery everyone was experience. Is it any wonder why so few $10 gold pieces were made in 1877? (PCGS # 8678) .
Estimated Value $13,000 - 16,000.
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| Realized $13,225 |
