I had been looking at eBay auctions for PCGS and did not really find anything in my price range. Or if I did, the surfaces were ugly. I've never had an Anacs slab, but people say the old white holders were pretty fair. This coin was slabbed around 1991, before they added the barcode. I really like this coin. The surfaces are nice, no major dings or scratches. Before I reveal ANYTHING, tell me your Op on the grade, and what price you think it is worth.
Nice, original example. Can't say what ANACS might have called it two decades ago, but I bet PCGS would call it no higher than VF30 today. Also - in case you didn't know - it's an O.104a R3, easily indicated by a large and likely fatal die crack circling the reverse devices.
Each and ever die variety in the Capped Bust Half Dollar series (and any series of coin with die varieties documented for that matter) is assigned a "universal rarity scale" (URS) rating, which is a method used to estimate a coin's rarity relative to other die varieties within that same series of coin. Along with this rating, each die variety is assigned a "R" numbering representing the "Rarity" of the die variety on a scale of 1 to 8. These estimates are based on observations, extensive research and census (records) of the coins. The system (in a nutshell); R1 = Common (1000+ examples of that particular die variety known to exist) R2 = Slightly Common (500-1000) R3 = Scarce (201-500) R4 = Very Scarce (81-200) R5 = Rare (31-80) R6 = Very Rare (13-30) R7 = Extremely Rare (4-12) R8 = Unique (or nearly so) (apx. 1-3 examples known to exist)
Nice capped bust, among one of my favorites to collect. (but nowhere near the collection of Brian's or Lance's)
Nice pickup and a nice color to the coin. And usually R3's do not demand a premium, but there are some in demand R1's that command a premium.