Okay, I'm baffled. How on Earth is this coin graded any higher than VF30? Better yet, how did it go for more than 25% over FMV for the claimed grade, closer to AU-50 money? 1910-S 50C NGC XF40 Graded Barber Half Dollar The lower right of B, E and R in the headband are partially effaced, and I see almost no trace of the band's lower border. The leaves of the wreath are nothing special, and the reverse looks low VF to me. What am I missing? I've been buying mixed lots of Barber coins, mostly halves, because they're available for near melt, there are a wide range of key and semi-key dates, and I thought I had some prayer of learning to grade them consistently. This one's really throwing me for a loop, though. Help?
Well - first I have never really tried to grade barber coinage. Second just because it has XF on it does not mean I agree - it would not matter who had graded the coin. I also understand that just because they put a grade on a coin and I disagree - I do not assume they are wrong. I think they know more than me - but sometimes I disagree. I also think they sometimes just flat out miss the boat on some grades. Now having said that - this coin was sold on ebay so anything goes for the price. Maybe a bidding war or maybe someone just wanted really bad to fill a hole for a matching set. I don't know - I check ebay sold auctions, but I do not put a lot of stock in the prices. Just my humble opinion on how I look at graded coins and ebay.
This grading thing is really tough. I've spent a lot of time trying to grade my own raw coins fairly in my records - and I do tend to agree with most of the graded coins I see - only those I have familiar with of course (particularly Morgan dollars and double eagles). It seems like you win some and you lose some. I recently purchased from a dealer the key date 1889 CC Morgan, VF30 graded by NGC and I think if I cracked it and had it regraded there's a good chance it would go XF40 - which would double it's hypothetical value. But I've also seen things like this Barber that sure look like VF 20 to 30 to me (although I don't have much experience with Barber's either, but eagle's wings are eagle's wings, aren't they? These aren't too sharp). What's a collector to do? Buy the coin not the grading service, I guess. On Ebay, I notice that some, but not all sellers tend to inflate the likely grade of their raw coins - I recently saw one that was advertised as XF+ that was definitely not (and even it was, would be details due to damage) but it brought XF money - even though on the same day there was another coin being sold by a dealer that was a lot closer to a true XF coin with a Buy it now price of less than what the bogus XF went for. Go figure!
I think it is more of a 35. At the same time though, the Barber coinage is hard to find in the middle grades, specifically the half dollar which was kinda the workhorse back then. It is not uncommon to see VF-XF coinage to go for much higher than the FMV, especially when dealing with lower mintage or well struck/attractive issues. it is often times easier to find mint state Barber Halves than it is to find nice honest VF-AU coins. The 1910S hasd a mintage of just under 2 million which is just about average. I wouldn't have expected it to get as high as it did but I am not totally shocked.
Yeah, I agree about demand and availability -- but if it's "not uncommon to see VF-XF coinage to go for much higher than the FMV", then it isn't actually a "fair market value", is it? Besides, there's already an inordinate jump in FMV between F and VF for the Barber halves anyhow. I'll keep looking for photos of slabbed, graded Barber halves to try to tune up my grading ability. I have to think this one is a real clinker, though.
NGC just plain over-graded that coin, bout all there is to it. And as for whoever bought it, well they stuck right with the program and over-paid for it. Here's the same date/mint/grade and TPG on Heritage back about the time that prices peaked in 2008 (they have dropped considerably since) - http://coins.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=28051&lotNo=21421 The coin is is in much better condition and sold for about 60% of what this one did - when prices were high ! The ebay coin should have sold for less than half of what it did. Yet another good example as to why you should ignore the prices paid on ebay as any indicator of value.
I'll have to go the other way. The OP coin looks EF to me. Not a good image. The Heritage coin looks like it was worked on.
Yeah, I think the one Doug posted has better details -- but even there, at least in the HA photos, I'm having a hard time discerning all of the headband's lower margin. If I'd seen that coin raw, I would've been timid to guess higher than 35. More practice, more practice, more practice. If I'm consistently undergrading, at least it'll help prevent me from overpaying.
Just saw this Thread. Otherwise I would have commented sooner. The eBay coin is a nice coin and the OBV is actually a finer grade than its REV. I grade the OBV 35 and the REV 30. I also can't figure out how its in a NGC 40 holder either; with regards to the HA coin [also in an NGC 40 holder] that coin is actually a OBV 50 and REV 45. Its market graded - and I agree with the grade - at XF 45. Now with regards to the "high value date" of 2008 - and the current depressed prices of 2011 - do not for one second believe that Barber Halves are depressed in mid grade circulated condition. There is a large group of collectors who are chasing coins in VF - XF because they are so hard to find. When was the last time you saw a nice display of these coins at a coin show in acceptable condition [ VF - XF ]. Maybe you will see one or two at a dealers table, but unless the dealer specializes in them, you're lucky if you do see one or two. I specialize in them, I buy nice coins, complate a set one a year, sell the set, and start again. Every year, I seem to have more and more difficulty locating certain dates - sometimes, I just get lucky and locate the sleepers first, and I am always on the look out for the dates I know are non existant when you're looking for them. Its a hobby and I enjoy it - because the "fun of coin collecting is in the hunt". Happy hunting everyone !! Here's a 1910-S that's currently in the set I'm working on... [ nothing too special...] One of the few raw coins I have bought off of eBay. I grade the coin VF 20... and on a good day, I think a TPG would call it a VF 25. Its got a nice circulated cameo look to it which I know only too well is original.
Make no mistake about it, this coin is not an XF coin. You know how to grade better than the individuals at NGC who graded this piece. For all we know, the coin was switched.
My first observation is the coin is wonderfully original looking. My second observation is the coin is not photographed but scanned and I suspect there's luster there we are not seeing. I have no issue purchasing that coin at XF 40 prices, provided the coin looks more lustrous in hand. Original looking Barber halves don't grow on trees and virtually always sell for a premium -- and the high auction price confirms this.
Maybe, but that's a pretty big assumption. It's also quite possible that the coin looks exactly like that in hand. And if it doesn't ? Then what ? Then explain the one I posted a link to. That is no scan. And the pictures even show traces of mint luster, and the coin looks quite original. It also has more detail remaining than the OP's coin. And sold, when prices were higher than they are now, for about 60% of what the OP's coin sold for. Add it all up Mike and the buyer of the OP's coin over-paid. 'Bout all there is to it.
It may be a big assumption, but it certainly would explain the NGC grade (which is why I offered it). And if the coin isn't more lustrous in hand, I wouldn't buy it -- obviously. As for the HA coin you posted, that's an ugly dipped POS, and doesn't have, at all, the look that garners a premium among collectors of the series. That's a coin I would dismiss upon first glance, yet the coin posted by the OP appears quite different -- more wholesome and original looking to my eye -- and thus my comments in this thread. Bottom line: Original-looking barber coinage is extremely difficult to find in mid grades in original condition. This coin has that look. Call it whatever grade you want, I see no issue at all with paying a premium for the coin with this look (or net grading it up for it) provided there is luster hiding underneath the toning. As always, you are free to disagree.
