Why are MS Barber halves so expensive?

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

What did you say?

 

Another thing to consider is how much exposure you want your collection to have to the collector market vs. the PM (precious metals) market.
I'd argue the PM market is much more stable.. and it's not that stable.. which really tells you what I think of the stability of the collector market.

In any case.
$50 BU Morgan is worth ~30 silver value,, leaving you exposed to only $20 to the numis markete (collector market)..... value can be expressed 60%/40%,, where the 60% is the more stable part of the equation, and where the value of the morgan will likely go up with nearly equal weight as the silver (or) collector market goes up.

The $1000 BU Barber half is worth around ~15 silver value,, leaving you exposed to $985 of numis market.. which is driven primarily by the amount of disposable income in the collector popuations pocket... much less stable than the PM market.

So from a stability perspective.. the morgan is a better deal imo.
From a high risk, high reward perspective.. the barber is a better deal given the obvious attributes which make it attractive to the numis collector base... and when they have money dripping out of their pockets in abundance... then the price could rise quickly and dramatically... anyone giving odds on that happening in this economy ?

 

They are not many around. They are a classic coin series and highly collectible. Competition is high so be ready to pay some good money, depending on the grades..

 

If you think mint state Barber half dollars are expensive, you should check the prices of mint state Canadian Victorian halves, you'd be shocked.

 

I don't buy coins just to have a large, old chunk of silver even if it's a "better value". I buy coins that I think are attractive, and I am a series collector rather than a type collector.
While I do not collect Barbers by series, I do collect most other early and mid 20th century issues by series. When I buy a more expensive coin, the only part that makes it a better value is how the coin is priced in relation to others of the same date, condition, color, mint mark, etc. I would rather pay more for one red ms64 lincoln cent than have a bunch of MS65 1958-D cents for the same amount of money. Why? because I need the early date to fill my collection, and the 1958-D was probably the easiest cent to find and will continue to be for years.