About to start collecting my first series

I've been a pretty casual collector for about 10 years now, and just recently became interested in bullion.

I've been wanting to collect a complete series for a little while now and have been thinking either Franklin or barber halves. I have decided finally that I'm going to go with barbers.

Is there any advice you all have for me before I dive in?

 

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Have fun & don't be in too much of a hurry to complete the set.

It would be nice to learn what grade you plan to collect & whether you are filling an album. I'd ike to see photos.

 

Thats something I'm not sure of yet, is the grades to look for. I did a little research last night about the series and found that not many survived in higher grades and that fine is sort of a bench mark for condition and that prices shoot way up at that point. So because of that id like to start out going for G8 or G10.

I would like uniformity in my collection. So would it be best to go with grades or rarity. Say all R1 or R2?

 

Get the highest grade coins you can afford.
Coins graded Fine should be your target.
Most of the series is affordable in that grade.
Glancing at my Red Book shows me about 8 or 9 coins in the series are pricey - try to get those first.
Take it slow, no collection was built in a day.

 

At this point, you probably know more about the Barber half series than I do. I've got a couple Whitman folders with about 30 GD & VG coins in them. I even have a couple of the really tough dates. It is easy to find Barber half dollars in grades VG & below. A collection in Fine condition would really be sweet IMHO. If you can be patient & are willing to spend a little money for quality problem free coins, you will be rewarded someday when you have the set completed.

I really like looking at problem free Barber half dollars that are in Fine condition. They are tough to find I think.

 

Why should I go for the scarcer ones first?

 

Some AU63 examples

 

You should probably buy a book describing the series first. Then you will know what to look for in the series & key dates.

 

They are the ones most likely to appreciate in value and the longer you wait to acquire them, the more they will cost.
Just my 2¢

 

I have found through my own series that I enjoy similar grade even if the lower grade is fairly cheaper than the best coin I could afford. My Mercs for example...you can tell with the "buy the best coin you can afford" policy how I start out the set in VF/XF but by the end it turns to MS. Not that it's a bad thing but I know it looks ununiformed. Then again, collect as you wish and have fun with it. It's your collection!

 

Honestly, get the key dates first.

 

When you are picking your coins for this collection pay attention to both the obverse & the reverse. You may find some that are lacking in strike on one side or the other. A VG obverse with a GD reverse (or a Fine obverse with a VG reverse) is not uncommon.

Happy hunting.

 

I'm glad you posted about the Barber half dollar set. It prompted me to look through my own Barber half dollar set. It's cool that the old Whitman folders are titled “Barber, Liberty Head or Morgan Half Dollars”.

 

Hello bsowa1029

IMO you might consider collecting the coins grading like this 1906 with a minimum grade like this 1892-S.

 

Obverse appears better than the reverse

This 1892-S is a semi key date & also an example of where the obverse appears better than the reverse.

 

I agree with taking the time to get the key dates first. They'll likely only get more scarce or harder (at least in a grade/condition you find appealing for the collection) to find while value goes up.

 

Even though you have decided to go with the Barbers, the Franklins are much more affordable even in higher grades like EF-40 and higher. I do agree that uniformity of grades is best in that having a few EFs and MSs mixed in with VGs and Gs make the lower grade coins look even worse. I started several series by filling as many holes as I could as fast as I could and found later that I was constantly upgrading my less desireable specimines. It would probably be best to look at the key date(s) of a particular series and see what the best grade is that you can afford whether it is G-4 or clear up to mid to high MSs. That will help you establish a uniform collection that is the most affordable for your budget.

 

Thanks for all the input everyone.

I went out today and picked up a couple halves. Unfortunately, the only place that had any worth getting didn't have much that was in at least fine condition, and of those in fine condition there weren't any really good dates.

The two that I picked up are a 1911 S and a 1912 S.

They both have all 7 letters in LIBERTY showing. The BER on the 11 S is about 25% worn, all other letters are full, and there is some decent detail in the wreath.
Almost all 7 letters in LIBERTY on the 12 S are full, the only one that isn't is the R, which has about 20% worn, maybe a little less. And the 12 S has pretty nice detail in the wreath.


Ill post some pictures later tonight when I get a chance.

 

Also, I went to Barnes & Nobel last night to see if they had any books about the Barber half series but they didn't have anything.

Does anyone know where I could find one?

Collect, that is interesting that the folder has Morgan in the title. Were Barber halves really referred to as Morgan halves at one point?

 

Hey, just adding to what coinhead said. I'm currently doing a peace dollar set and like you I want uniformity, I'm keep 95% ms/all the same grade while ones that are key and thus have a grade/price threshold I'm picking a good/even grade, say XF and buying all the keys in that grade. Thus I keep uniformity as best I can. Hope this helps.