They are common. Bust halves are one of the most easily obtained coins minted in the early 1800s that there is, probably even THE most easily obtained. They exist in huge numbers. Even 10 years ago NGC and PCGS alone had slabbed over 26,000 of them with grades of AU50 and up. The number of raw coins out there dwarfs the number that have been slabbed.
This would never make it into an undamaged slab if not for the type http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1174&lotNo=4495
Here is another overgraded one, but a nice specimen which is graded AU55 (should be damaged details EF40) http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=1175&lotIdNo=72052#Photo
Here is a VF45 grade which has a harsh cleaning and hair lines http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=131236&lotNo=28127#Photo
Even if you ignor the lines on the obverse, this is a VF 40 graded AU50. http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=131236&lotNo=28128#Photo
Ok, let me ask this. So I can pin down what I'll be paying. For a capped bust in xf45 what should I expect to pay. This for a common example. I've seen everything from 150 to 300. On average what should one expect to pay?
That's a nice coin. PCGS has this priced at 200, ngc at 160? What's the difference in value? I know they have their own style of pricing but 40 difference seems large. Then of course the seller wants 240 to make a little money.
If you want accurate pricing the best thing to do is to waunder to the Heritage Auction archives and see a variety of coin types. You can get a decent consensus of what a coin might cost. SOmetimes to prices will be dramatically wide, and you need to eyeball the coins sold.
Ebay and Heritage prices are high in my experience. I've bought XF-AU capped busts for well under $100 from local shops and shows for years. This series is only popular on the internet, not in B&M's for some reason, and dealers just don't like dealing with them for the most part, which is why the prices are less than half of those we see on auction sites. Guy
The only reason that coin is priced that much is because it is a scarce variety, it's an R4 coin. Same date coin, common varieties, same grade, sell for $110 - $150. You need to stop using the NGC and PCGS price guides, they are worthless. And I wouldn't use ebay either.
Yeah i'm finding they are worthless lol. While they help with ballpark they don't help in the market where coins tend to sell for a prem based on a collectors desire to have it. And coleguy, I've kind of noticed that too. Coin dealers tend to be better prices than the auction houses. However I don't have a good coin community in Tallahassee so Internet searching houses and dealers is my best bet. If y'all have any dealers you recommend that'd be great. With this being my last half in my set I'm a little more particular since my set has already kind of been laid out so i want it to fit that "format". But that specificity makes it harder to find what I'm looking for.
Really That was not what I saw in Philadelphia. I'd like to see those dealers. I also tend to like good busts, not just good grades. Ruben
I bought a few at the Philly show, but I agree they were a bit higher priced than what I've found to be the case in my area. Guy
Your on the other side of the country. I don't even know what country that is over there, a little west of the Hudson (and Delaware, and Ohio, and Mississippi, and Platte, and Snake rivers)