Carson City Gold $10 Basic Set, Circulation Strikes (1870-1893)

The Carson City mint holds a special place in the hearts and minds of U.S. numismatists, conjuring up (largely accurate) images of a small "wild west" town where gold and silver were king. In operation from 1870 through 1893, mintages were generally quite modest with only the later (1890 and after) issues being struck in decent quantity. The opening year of 1870 is clearly the key to this fairly short set with fewer than 70 pieces extant, all of which are well-circulated. There really are no "common" dates in this set, with most of the other dates in the 1870s certainly scarce at the very least.