Walking Liberty Halves

I am thinking about doing a Walking Liberty Half Dollar Short Set. Who is better interms of grading this series, PCGS or NGC.

Any info or comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

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I'd say they're about even on Walkers . But if you look at enough of them for each date and MM you'll soon be able to grade them fairly well yourself . I'd buy a specialty book on Walkers before you buy any coins 1st . There's some good starter books here .
http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/products/half-dollars-coin-books/

 

Late Walkers are pretty common in nice grades, but graded coins will always cost a premium. I feel that you can complete a set that goes back to '38 with the same scratch and with higher quality if you learned how to grade on your own. Of course this is just a hardheaded and old school opinion.

 

Do this.....AND get the book first.

 

I feel they grade Walkers about the same but think they look better in the NGC slab. Just my opinion.

 

The biggest problem I've had is telling if they were cleaned at some time. For me its hard to tell if a Walker was cleaned 40, 50, 60 or more years ago...I've only been collecting them for about 1 1/2 years. I'm getting better.(I think) JMO But if I've learned one thing on here, (CT) All together now: But the book before the coin!!! LOL

 

In this series gentle cleaning is generally accepted.

 

Which book do the members here recommend? I have the Fox book, but it is expensive, hard to find, and out of date. I hesitate to buy the Bowers books, just because he has written so many books and does not seem to be a specialist in anything (I would much rather have a specialist's perspective on a series rather than a generalist, even if he is extremely knowledgeable). The Ambio book is slightly more up-to-date, and probably is the best choice it seems.

Also - for the Walkers, both NGC and PCGS are fairly equivalent. Search for well struck pieces, as these can be hard to find for some issues (and so-called "full thumb" examples will garner a premium, although they are not yet designated by the TPGs).

 

The Bowers book is ok for striking characteristics but it is geared toward the high end collector. The Fox book is old, but I learned a great deal from it about conditional rarities.

 

I agree with Idhair...the new NGC slab. What denotes a "short set"?

 

1941-47...

 

So you use the dates '41 thru '47 as the "short set". Should the purchase be MS63 and above ? If so someone could easily spend $60 to $70 each if you go by PCGS standards, correct ?

 

Bear, that is the definition that I got on line...I am a "Still Learning" guy as well, but I am collecting all dates...so far, it has been fun! I actually passed up a bid last night on a 1939 S MS63 that sold for 132.00...Greysheet bid on it is 152.00...but I just didn't like the way it looked.

 

Just a few days ago, I grabbed up a '43 D and a '44 D both MS63 for 42.30 each. It felt great!!

 

Understand this completely. For someone like myself, I can't buy everything, would like to, but I have to spend wisely and at the same time and be frugal about it. Stinks.

 

WOW !

 

Roger that.

 

I've been collecting Walkers for a year and a half, never heard of "Full Thump". Please tell me more about this and if anyone has an example, I would love to see it. Thank you,
Coop

 

Good question about "full thump".....

 

Walkers are notorious for weak strikes of the head, left hand, and skirt lines of the obverse and feathers on the leg of the eagle of the reverse. A full thumb example is a well struck coin that shows the thumb of the left hand.