Why are MS Barber halves so expensive?

Probably just a function of usage, but why are MS Barber halves so expensive? I am trying to put together a MS type set, and Barber coins in particular are difficult to find in Mint State.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

It was also a WWI and depression era coin that received much circulation. Bags of Morgan dollars were stored away in treasury vaults in uncirculated condition because they were not needed for circulation. Barber coins were not stored away like Morgans & were used.

 

I'm trying to do the same thing. My dad gave NGC graded ms61 barber half. He bought it 30 years ago for $300.

 

I went to an inflation calculator and in 1982 $300 equals $707.76 of today's dollar

 

Rarity + Demand = Price

 

Although good points have been made, I think you can also relate it to the relative scarcity of problem free coins in F-AU that help drive the price up.

 

I was actually going to start a thread on this subject until I found this and got my info.

Sad to see so many barber halves got used and abused.

Although I don't think the design has to do a whole bunch with the price. Most old US coins are expensive in high grades.

1911 Cent- 101.2 Million Minted- $21 In MS-60
1912 Nickel- 26.2 Million Minted. $70 in MS-60
1913 Dime- 19.7 Million Minted $110 in MS-60
1914 Quarter- 6.2 Million Minted $225 in MS-60
1899 Half Dollar- 5.5 Million Minted $500 in MS-60

Most old Morgans sat around uncirculated for years in bags. Some can be had for $50 or a little more/less in MS grades.

So really the morgan dollar is a good buy. Although not rare in high grades, it's a big silver coin, it's old, and it's high grade. Spending $50 on a MS-60 Morgan beats spending $500 on a MS-60 Barber Half.

 

You really have no idea what you are talking about. You do realize that, right? Your post in no way gives any insight to the price of MS Barber halves. Which is typical from your train of thoughts.

 

Many segments of the coin market peaked during the 1980s. I've regretted for a long time not selling my meager silver holdings during the 1980 run-up, but I'm grateful that I wasn't buying during the following decade or so.

 

They are expensive because not many of them survived in high grades. Many old coins did not survive in high grades, save for morgans. Many Morgan dollars survived in high grades. That's because they sat in bags for years. There are over 24,000 NGC slabbed morgan dollars, for the year 1900 alone.

Here is what makes up the price of a coin in MS+ grades.

1. How many survived in high grades.

(Note the following is hypothetical) I do not care if 10 million barber halves were minted for 1899, and then only 500,000 for 1900.

If only 20 1899 barber halves in Grade MS+ are surviving from the population reports from PCGS, ANACS, and NGC, yet 3,000 1900 from the same 3 tpg's we can ascertain that the 1899 BH is more valuable (until someone finds a cigar box full of them. Note none of these numbers are real, just proving my point.

2. The Denomination. Ignoring dollar coins, and using coins with the same mintage numbers, the half dollar is usually worth more than the quarter, the quarter more than the dime, and so on. This is not the case all the time, but a majority of the time.

3. Demand. If people REALLY want the coin, then prices go up. Toss the redbook or greysheet price out the window as this point. If a sudden urge became for a certain coin, this will increase the price as people compete to own them.

4. Supply. If there are 200 1900 barber halves in MS-60 (again made up number)...and construction crews unearth a big jar sealed full of MS-60+ barber halves, the price will go down. This is because there are more to go around, so demand is broadened lowering price.

If someone was hoarding 100 of the 200 1900 barber halves in MS-60 (again just made up #s) and a meteorite hit their entire house, then demand is narrowed, there is less to go around, driving price up.

Mintage numbers mean nothing. #1 is most important.

This is why most modern coins will be worth zilch 100 years from now, even in high grades. There are more collectors than ever. More high grade coins being saved than ever.

 

So out of all of that, please tell me how a common MS63 Morgan is a better deal than a MS barber half. All you proved is why common MS morgans are worth very little.

 

From what I've read 90% of Barber halves are in the grade Good or under , translates into heavey usage with hardly any saved . Though they are somewhat easy to find in MS grades the # of MS coins is quite low compared to WLH and Franklin halves . So the price will be relatively high .

 

Oh my lord.

Two steps forward, six steps back!

 

I don't really know what you mean by "better deal".

A better deal as in which will be worth more in 50 years? I cannot say for certain. Some may argue that they are underpriced. Some common years like 1900 only have around 268 slabbed by NGC. Whereas there are over 26,000 NGC slabbed morgan dollars on year 1900, P mint alone.

There are ONLY 9 1900 P MS-64 Barber Halves slabbed by NGC. Out of the 4.7 MILLION barber halves minted in year 1900, at the P mint, only 9 exist by NGC @ MS-64.

MS-61 is not the best grade. 2.99 Million Barber halves were minted year 1904. Only 12 in MS-61 Grade slabbed by NGC.



Let's compare...

12,841 1900-P Morgan Dollars graded MS64 by NGC.
9 1900-P Barber halves graded MS64 by NGC.

So, is the Barber Half a "good deal" as far as getting a coin that has a really low population in MS grades? Yes.

But...for those who do not have much money, or they want to "impress" people with a bunch of large, old silver coins in high grade, than the Morgan Dollar is a good deal. It all boils down to how much money you have, and what you want to do with it.

It would cost $5000-$6500 to have about 10 MS Barber halves. For 5000 dollars you could have around 100 MS Morgan Dollars.

So the choice is...do you want quantity, or quality?

If I were a "rich man" then I would be collecting as many MS barber halves I could get my hands on. I do think they are undervalued, but that's just my opinion.

 

The prices are really up there on Barbers. For some years you can buy the proof for less than the MS. Many folks are shocked at the cost of building a set in even VF. We are all too young (except Doug) to have known.
I went with an AU and a proof 64 for my type set.

 

:too-funny:

 

Dude, he was responding directly by your notion that you said yourself:

Right there, you basically said the Morgan is the "better deal".