Well, 2 posts got me thinking (type sets/TPG quality) so i figured I'd ask about a coin or 2 that I bought in my Ebay raw (I don't care about problem coins) days. This Barber Half was sold as "possibly whizzed" which even though it was a problem coin seemed like a good deal for the details/price. Is there any reason to doubt the authenticity of this coin? Nothing jumps out at me (I think it may just be harsh cleaning), but I don't know much about fakes. If it's authentic I still think it was a good deal :whistle:
Looks pretty nice from those angles. I think it's definitely authentic but I'm not an expert on Barber halves. It's probably cleaned, judging from the lack of luster, but I don't see any hairlines from the pictures. By the way, how much did you pay for it?
I'll hold off on that info for a few more posts. Also what would you grade this if real? (details not value)
$60, 3 years ago. They seem to go for $90-200 On HA.com for XF though one in that grade hasn't sold in a few years. http://coins.ha.com/common/auction/...rber+Half+Dollars:&col=Amount&ord=ASC&stage=1 Wow only 1 no-problem XF 1898 philly Barber sold on HA and it was in 2002.
Your coin in XF (which I believe is correct) has a current greysheet Bid of $145. Cleaned (which I also believe is correct) probably(?) makes what you paid for it about right. Therefore, if as you say, "I don't care about problem coins", you did okay.
If it were going into my collection (and I sure wish it was) I would grade it XF also. From the photo, I can't tell if it's been cleaned, BUT - I can tell from what I see in the photo, it would not matter to me in the least. It's a really nice coin. Going out on a limb here, but think you can double your investment??
Coyote Moss: Welcome to the forum. Look at the texture of the coin, you can clearly see that the hair has been 'smoothed' out. On the reverse in the shield, there may have been a scratch that was removed.
Whizzed coins are coins that have had their surfaces gone over with a rotary wire brush to make them appear uncirculated.
Learning New Things On This Forum Everyday Your right.. Thanks for pointing this out. Appreciate your helping me and pointing this out, learning new things everytime I log on to this forum.
It looks to be authentic, so what if it's cleaned! Check to make sure the reeded edge is consistant and the weight is correct (12.5 grams). If those two check out, I think you're pretty safe.
It has a few small (but noticeable) dings that I think they were trying to smooth over. It shows as 13g on my scale, however my scale doesn't do decimals on grams. Here is what I think was "whizzed" also you can see the cleaning/polishing lines.
genuine EF & polished ? It looks EF and polished in the photo. To confirm that it is genuine, inspect the reeding and inspect the denticles. The denticles look OK in the photo but you could inspect these details more closely in hand. Then measure the diameter & weigh the coin. If these details are all in order then you probably have a genuine EF polished Barber. Very best regards, collect89
