I'm looking at these worn Barber halves, and I can't tell if they're fake or real. I tested to see if they're magnetic and they're not. I don't have a scale so I can't test its weight. Judging by the pictures, can you tell if they're real or fake? One is an 1898 P and the other is a 1913 S. Thanks in advance.
Those pieces belonged to a professional tap dancer, who pried off the coins when he hung up his shoes. I can't recall ever seeing a fake Barber half; I have seen a fake 1913-S Barber quarter, not very deceptive.
I sure have. The coins posted in this thread, though, look like genuine formerly-Good halves that have been polished down to spot silver value. I've got quite a few of those myself.
Were the fake Barbers you saw, key dates (meant to fool numismatists) or just junk silver grade? The 1913-S quarter I mentioned, obviously to fool collectors.
The fake in the linked thread was an 1898-S, a middle-of-the-road date, but quite valuable if actually in XF/AU as the coin originally appeared. Our Friends to the East list nearly every Barber half date/mint-mark as high-grade "copies to perfect your collection". The one I got didn't appear to be one of theirs, but I'm sure there are a number of different industrious trading partners cranking them out.
I agree with all prior assessments but I will say I once bought a huge pile of Barber Quarters off eBay and one of them was a common date fake that looked basically just like these, it was one of the most head scratching fakes I've ever seen. I would assume they are just victims of of a time when people thought this was doing a favor for a coin.
This will open your eyes. It's 1901...salaries in 1901, Buffalo, New York: Source - http://panam1901.org In 1901, there are only 4,000 millionaires in the world, an unknown number of whom live in Buffalo. Although the records show that unions in Buffalo are flexing their "muscle", only 4.3% of the American workforce are unionized. Of those women who work at a paying job, half are farmhands or domestic servants. Most people work six days per week for 9 hours a day. They have no retirement benefits which means they work until they have saved enough money to stop working, or they work until they die. (The average life expectancy for men is 47 years, for women it is 50.) They pay no income tax. There is no health insurance. The vast majority of Buffalonians get around town by walking, bicycling, or taking the trolley cars. Well-to-do people own horses and a buggy or two; anyone can rent a horse and buggy for an occasion, with or without a driver. People visiting relatives in the country or taking a trip travel by train. >>>>>Let's figure 2,700 hours per year, salary $450. That's 17c per hour. A counterfeit Barber quarter is an hour and a half's pay. Occupation Annual Salary 1900 Census Average Salary $449.80 $8,973 [BOLD - Year 2000 $] Unskilled Female $120 $2,394 African-American male laborer $150 $2,992 African-American Female laundress $180 $3,591 Nurses after two years $193 $3,850 Factory women (Boston) $295.44 $5,885 Retail Women (Boston) $303.84 $6,045 National average female teachers $381.50 $7,601 Lynn, MA factory seamstresses $384 $7,660 Male Stenographer $400 $7,980 Eden, NY Union Free School female teacher $400 $7,980 National average male teachers $452 $9,017 Nurse Supervisors $463 $9,237 Western U.S. female teachers $505 $10,074 Buffalo Railway Company trolley conductors $533 $10,663 NYC Female teachers $600 $11,970 Buffalo teacher after 4 years $600 $11,970 Western U.S. male teachers $610 $12,169 Buffalo NY factory planers $624 $12,449 Buffalo School "department principal" $750 $14,902 NYC male teachers $900 $17,955
Those are not wages for the year 2000 -- it is the equivalent amount of 1900 dollars. I don't have 2012-13 data handy, but it appears real wages have increased by a factor of (about) 4 since 1900.
