Something that irks me as a type collector is how expensive a decent condition slabbed Barber half dollar is. Basically anything over VF20-25 is $300+. For that money you can get a nice little piece of 19th century gold! I'm just curious for those who have been in the hobby for awhile (I've only been collecting seriously for 3 years now) what exactly makes this market tick? I almost never hear about people who put a date set of these things together, and it seems like you'd have to have deep pockets to even attempt it in VF or greater. I mean I understand that some are quite scarce, the PCGS survival numbers certainly tell the tale on some but even some of the more common ones are pretty steep in AU.
The buy-it-now prices for AU barber halves on eBay are inflated, I agree. But if you can find one in the occasional auction, you can get it at a sane price, usually. But choice pieces just don't come up very often in auction format.
20th Century Type set demand. Most people who do type sets try the 20th century first. So, the Barbers are typically the most expensive coins in their sets. Look at things like No Arrows dimes, arrows and rays halves, etc to see the effect of type collectors on particular coins. Btw, there sure are quite a few date/mm collectors of barber halves. The halves are probably the easiest of the three barber series to collect the complete set. The quarter set is BRUTAL.
Mid grade Barbers have a large collector base/demand which brings the price up. With some searching you can find a nice AU in the $300 range. On some you won't get close to price guides as there are a few that are undervalued.
Barber half dollar sets are actually incredibly popular and the favorite grade range of most collectors is VF through AU. However, a typical VF should cost much less than $300.
i would say the reason being is that many collectors collect them there for more interest ='s higher prices as a whole. As when they came out they were considered ugly so not to many were saved in nice shape and they got worn to death !!
Although I collected the Barber coin sets over many patient years, when I started collecting Morgan Dollars, I realized the insanity of coin collectors when trying to acquire a mint state 1889cc. I eventually decided that collecting $20 Gold Double Eagles made more sense, when I could acquire a $20 Gold coin of the same date/condition, having a relatively insignificant mintage, for less funds. I'm sorry, but this "Junk Silver" attitude has me occasionally virtually "rolling in the aisles" when I read the pricing complaints about coins as the Century old "Barber" design not being inexpensively available in better grades. It should be interesting when participants start collecting the Barber quarters in the same conditions desired. I came to appreciate the design in an average of Fine condition/grade. LOL JMHO
I understand the point, I just think from a comparative standpoint the coins are overpriced. They are obviously tough to find problem free in decent condition. They circulated hard and were usually cleaned when collected. I just don't understand why an AU barber costs well over $300 when you can find 19th century coins of many types, as well as Seated Halves for the same if not less money in decent circulated grades. I just have never personally known someone in my area who collects Barber halves in higher grade so I was a little curious about where the popularity factor was coming from. Obviously there is a collector base though, as some have indicated. And I have wondered myself if part of the inflated value is a deceptive scarcity especially in grades above F. I have wondered "problem free" pieces that exist are G and VG, and thus a nice piece is quite a bit rarer than mintages and population estimates can suggest.
Mid-grade Barber Half Dollars have quite a following. But if the demand was the same as say Walking Liberty coins, they would be through the roof. There is more demand than supply. There are a few dates that are just downright common, but there are plenty that are a pain to find problem free. When they do surface, knowledgeable collectors of the series rarely hesitate and snatch them up. I have been collecting VF half dollars for the past three years. They are tough. And I'll echo what TomB said. There are many dates you can get under $300. Most later date commons shouldn't cost you more than 100-120 in VF20-25.
I do Barber halves in G-VG. I like having relatively matched sets and know i will never have a full set of high-grade Barbers, so I just do the grade level that leaves the fewest empty holes. The nice thing is that, in contrast to the higher-grade coins, I get most of my Barbers for a little over spot.
I spent about 5 minutes and found a very nice XF45/CAC PCGS one for under $300. They exist without much effort to find IMO. I might consider picking this one up now too.
Yes they exist as a type coin. Quite prevalent actually. Just like any other type coin. It's when you get into they better dates and keys in mid-grade when it gets hard.
