1914 Barber Half - good buy?

Picked this one up for $283. Wholesale price for XF40 is $535, so it seems like a decent price, no? I suspect it's been cleaned, and there are a couple of minor nicks on the rim. With 20 bids, there obviously was strong demand at slightly lower prices, so I'm thinking I got a decent buy for a key date coin in pretty decent condition. Besides, I needed this coin as I am working on completing the set and currently have a VG8-10 for this key date - only 124K minted. Any opinions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180445307545

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Cleaned. I would have to agree.
I'd say XF40 on this coin but it does have some rim nicks on it. Maybe a Net grade of VF30 or 35 would be my guess. There appears to be light wear in some spots.

Obverse: Wear on Hair and Leaves and parts of Liberty. Could be wear on the cap, but there is a hot spot from lighting, flash, or editing of the photo. The neck bothers me, it's probably the effect of cleaning.

Reverse: I can see wear on the eagle's head, and on the wings for sure! The tail feathers have some wear, and none of them are that well defined. The shield appears to be in pretty good shape, but once again, a hot spot from keeping us from seeing one area.


I'd be interested in seeing your pictures, to find out what the actual surfaces of this coin look like, and what the color is.

 

Thanks for the opinion. Even if it net grades at VF30, the wholesale price is $440, so I'm content with this key date purchase. Of course I'd rather have a perfect uncleaned XF40, but that might have cost me double. And it's still an upgrade from my uncleaned VG8-10 for that date (which I'll keep for now).

I'll post some photos in a couple of weeks when I get back from vacation.

 

FMP, The coin is not worth what you paid, IMO. Cleaned coins, as a general rule, are worth roughly half their details grade. So, I'd guess the value is between 200 and 250. So 283 + shipping isn't tooooo bad. Respectfully...Mike

 

I assume, you acquired this coin to complete your collection, not to resell? If you got it to complete your set, then this is an awesome deal, as you were able to get a very nice key date for a great price. But if you're building the set to sell one day, then the price you paid is about right for a cleaned key date coin. Either way, you did very well on your purchase.

-LTB

 

Yes, I bought the coin as I am in the process of putting together a set and plan to keep it. I am not looking to turn around and sell it at a profit. Most of the 1914's around are in lower grades, including the one I already have in my collection, so for me, this was an upgrade.

Thanks for your opinions.

 

Heritage prices tend to disagree with you;
1914 50C --Cleaned--ANACS. XF45 Details. Nov 29, 2007 Sold For: $632.50
1914 50C --Cleaned--ANACS. XF45 Details. Jul 17, 2007 Sold For: $575.00
And even;
1914 50C --Improperly Cleaned--NCS. VF Details. May 31, 2009 Sold For: $517.50

I do not think $500+ is out of line and $283 seems to me to be a real bargain.

 

I wonder if it is even authentic. Those fields and that toning don't look right to me...

Bun, no matter what, even if genuine, you paid too much. Sorry

 

I agree that in general for a key date, cleaning doesn't affect the value as much as it would for a common date. Maybe a 25% reduction or so. Regardless, I believe the reason it went so much cheaper that the certified "cleaned" barbers is due to the risk factor in buying a raw key date coin in that it may be a removed mint mark or some other form of counterfeit. I'm not saying that it is, but there is always that possibility. As long as it is genuine, I say you got a great deal as it looks like 45 details to me; but I'm not experienced enough with barbers to know for sure whether or not it is a genuine 1914-P.

 

So these cleaned coins are selling for, essentially, wholesale prices?

That just doesn't sound right.

Not disputing what they've sold on at Heritage, but presuming that's correct, I would wager the wholesale price is much higher than $585 quoted by OP.

For most coins I've seen over the years, half price for a cleaned example is the rule of thumb that I use.

Something doesn't make sense here.....

 

FWIW, the PCGS price guide quote $1000 for a 40, and I'd estimate $1250 for a 45 -- which seems to support the 1/2 rule I suggested above against the Heritage auction prices.

What's greysheet?

 

1914 Barber Half - good buy?

I believe the only thing that went goodbye was your $$$

 

Well if worse comes to worse, I can always carry it around in my golf bag and use it as a ball marker!

 

Maybe that is why I always use Heritage or other past sale in stead of guides.

FWIW, current price guide for XF-40 prices
PCGS = $1,000
Numismedia retail = $680
Numismedia whiolesale = $561

 

What's greysheet?

 

All I have is Sept/08 (no typo, that is 08). It lists it as $575 bid, $625 ask.

 

I registered on this forum just to say that this coin in question is THE MOST OBVIOUS COUNTERFEIT BARBER HALF YOU'LL EVER SEE.

Just a glance at the date and you know it is a fake. Frankly I'm disgusted that not one of you noticed this. Here you are arguing over whether it's cleaned or not, when it's not even genuine.

A shame, it should be obvious to anyone that's ever looked at a barber half before.

 

I think you are right. I just went to Heritage and viewed several 1914 certified coins from past auctions. It is quite obvious the font on the 9 is different than the coin I purchased. The real coins have a 9 that ends with a dot at the tip. The one I purchased does not.

Here is a link to the real coin: http://coins.ha.com/common/view_ima...'global.source.error')]&sink=preservemd[true]

Here's a link to the coin I bought:

http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages...ages=330330563,330330623&formats=0,0&format=0



Now I've got to try and stop the sale. Thanks very much for the advice! I've learned a great lesson.

 

WOW! Didn't even realize the possibility that it is a fake! You can see some very odd placement of the numbers, along with both ones on the coin looking different, and what has been already stated about the 9.

Oh, BTW,

Welcome to Cointalk. I guess we will only be seeing you, when you feel the need to tell us how disgusted you are?

 

Now that you point out the date, it does look to be fake in comparison to other barber halves. Buying raw keys on ebay is always risky.

However, you can let us know without insulting everyone and telling us how "disgusted" you are with everyone....as if you really know anyone. Did any of us profess to be Barber experts?? No. And it certainly isn't the most obvious counterfeit out there by any stretch of the imagination.