Half-million-dollar Carson City coin returns to Nevada

A rare 20 cent silver coin minted in Carson City was recently purchased by Reno coin dealer Rusty Goe for $500,000.

The Carson City Mint struck 10,000 of these 1876-CC 20-cent pieces, but workers melted all but 18 or 20 of them.

The mint released the first 20 cent pieces, each containing less than a sixth of an ounce of pure silver, in 1875. The following year, the Treasury Department discontinued the denomination, making it the shortest-lived series in U.S. coin history. Goe says that this is the fifth specimen of an 1876-CC 20-cent piece that he has owned. Goe purchased a dime, also from the Carson City Mint, in 2004 for just under $1 million, which he claims today is worth $3.5 million.

The Carson City Mint produced coins between 1870 and 1893. Today, the old mint building is home to the Nevada State Museum, which displays one of the finest collections of Carson City coins ever assembled.