Talking about type sets the other day got me goin... I have always wanted a bust half, but being no expert, I'll ask for help tonight. 1 seller has a bunch of slabbed NGC bust halfs ending tonight, which would make the best type date / value? I will be looking to spend up to $200 maybe? Condition more than rarity of course.
As a general rule, slabbed coins tend to sell for what they are worth give or take. So whichever one is in the nicest condition and has the lowest price - that's the one that will be your answer.
Thanks guys...I feel more comfortable with the slabbed coin. It will most likely be original and undamaged, and with NGC , pretty sure I can bank on the grade being there. :thumb:
As an old-timey Bust Half collector from back in the day, ( I have my original 1970, revised, Overton book.), I recently posted, last month or two ago, about the cleanings that were done sometime in the mid last century. So many of these bust halves were cleaned somewhere between 50-70 years ago. You kind of have to have seen or handled these bust halves to have gotten a feel for an original vs cleaned. A typical original circulated bust half has a dull gunmetal grey field, with the higher wear points a lighter , more silvery but still dull looking look. Hard to explain, but if you go look at a few dozen at a coin show, you will soon learn what to look for. The cleaned ones look a bit shinier and "just don`t quite look right" once you have seen a few. The cleaned coins are maybe 30-50% of bust halves on the market. As a fan of graded Morgans, unless you are going for an MS or close Bust half, I don`t see the need for a graded circulated Bust half in the $200 range,. If you just want one common Bust Half just to have one, then it doesn`t much matter. But if you are going to pursue the bust half series, or want to buy a better one, then you should do some homework.
Bust half are something you can take your time on. They're not too popular in most collecting circles, so you can usually pick up some really nice pieces for really nice prices, simply because they just don't move in shops well. I recently picked up an XF 1818 half for under $100 the other day. They said they'd had it for a year and funally slashed the price just to be rid of it. Enjoy...it's a great set to persue! Guy~
Bzcollector and Coleguy both had good points. Tons of bust halves have been cleaned. A nice darker grey coin is the way to go for circulated if unslabbed. These coins will sit in shops for a long time as Guy noted. My dealer is so disorganized at times. I was sorting through a box of stuff at his store one day and found a SHARP 1813 with strong die clashes. Positive it's original and should EASILY grade AU53 or better. He put it in his case for $600. It sat for about six months (I watch this at his shop) and asked him lowest amount he'd take. Walked away with a beauty for $425. For $200 or so you can really pick up a nice example if you're patient.
Many of the early dates have very soft strikes, you would want to find one where the motto isn't weak. Of course there are also two different major designs, with two different sizes. You may want one of each!!
Thank You all, you all have good points. The main reason I wanted to buy last night was the large run of NGC and PCGS slabs up for auction. I did not win any, lost 2 as next highest bidder, so I know I was close. I will keep any eye out, I'm starting a type set. My 1794 - current cent collection is pretty full now except for just a cpl keys, time to move on to something else.
Guys, bust halves are inexpensive because there are so many of them, not because they aren't popular. And the ones that sit in dealer's shops usually do so because it is so easy to find nicer examples. They are actually quite popular coins. Just to give you an idea of how many are out there, NGC and PCGS alone have slabbed over 30,000 of them in grades AU53 and higher.
Only 30,000? Think of those number if SGS got into the mix! Yes, they did make a lot of them and why are they popular? Wonderful coins that wore well,
Behind Morgans, I would guess there's more extant bust half dollars than any type of our major (excluding cent and nickel) coinage pre 1900. Part of their popularity is that the vast amount of them keep the prices down -- just like Morgans. However, this is probably one of the more challenging to try and find original yet attractive coins. You can be VERY patient with this series -- you'll have no trouble finding examples of the common dates for your typeset. For $200 you should be able to get a superb XF example. All IMHO...Mike
