Good deal? I know it may be hard to say if it's a good deal, but I found a very nice looking 1904p barber 1/2 in a "bargain" tray for $10. I was surprised because it was marked at $65 and looked to be in pretty good shape to my untrained eye. What specific areas do I look at to grade the coin? I did notice you can almost make out all the letters on Liberty on the headband? Anyways I think I found a new way to "hunt" for coins. I didn't realize there could be undervalued coins in coin shops.
You can cherrypick lots of nice coins in shops, and at shows. If it was marked $65 and thrown in the bin for $10, though, there may be something wrong with it. Perhaps it has a rim bump or has been cleaned. To grade a coin, you have to look at the whole coin. If you post pictures here of the obverse and reverse, we can help you. In the meantime, you might want to pick up a book on grading. If you don't want to lay out the cash, you can probably pick up some books at your local library. I recommend to all new collectors that they get some knowledge before buying too many coins. The more you know, the fewer mistakes you'll make. Happy collecting!
I would love to see pics. As Borgovan says, there are many reasons it may have ended in the bargain bin, but it sounds like you did pretty good, especially if it has full Liberty or close to.
I don't know really how to grade these, but I'll say it is a F coin. However, I do believe it has been cleaned, and it appears to have some yellow "gunk" on the reverse. Phoenix
Cranman Looks like a nice VF to me. I can't see any real cleaning evidence, and I assume the yellow is toning. I think it is rather a nice circulated coin and I don't really like Barbers in general:smile . I can believe it was priced as such and you got a good deal in my view. I would be very happy! Jim
Based on some graded coins with good pictures on e-bay I would say this is between F and VF but closer to VF. So it does appear that I got a good deal! I do not think it has been cleaned, the surface and overall toning look natural to me, but I could be wrong. Thanks for giving your opinions! Now should I have ti graded? If it's VF my price guide says about $85. I've only got $10 in it now....
I'm leaning with the cleaned group. If those photos show what the coin realy looks like, and it has that shine on the front, as your photos show, then I would lean to cleaned. Also, it looks like around the letters and face, there is also a dark line of crud. Speedy
I'd say VF. Even if it's cleaned, it's a good buy for $10. I wouldn't consider having it certified, though. Why spend another $25+ and put yourself into the coin for $35? It's nice as is. If you want it for your own collection, you don't need a slab. If you want to sell it, you should have no problem turning a profit as a raw coin. That being said, it's your cash!
Nice pickup! I would say its at the higher end of the VF spectrum. Almost XF. Notice the wings in the back are nearly separated all the way out to the tips(requirement for XF)Just a touch of wear keeps it in VF. Also, the band under liberty is complete, which puts it into the VF-30 range. To be honest, I've seen coins in pcgs and ngc XF slabs that don't have any more detail than this one. I'd go with a strong VF-30 or 35, but that's just my opinion. However, I agree with the others that the surface is not original. Looks cleaned. Not worth certifying. Still AWESOME pickup for $10!! Congrats!
Wow you guys are a good resource for info. The link to grading the barber 1/2s is perfect. The shine on the coin is not as much as the picture shows due to the flash. It may be cleaned but the tone looks natural to me, but I am not a good judge yet. All in all I'm very pleased with the coin and I think I may start collecting Barber 1/2's/
That is a definite VF40 to me. Barbara's are some of the easiest to grade because the design was very circulation freindly. Ruben
They were? Man, I think the Barbers are one of the worst, most worn, beat up series' out there. I hardly ever see them with Liberty remaining in the head band. Most I see are very heavily worn down compared to the typical coin of many other series'.
I agree. That's why the OPs barber has so much value IMO. Even if cleaned(which is light if it is), I see raw barbers like that go for $50-$60 on ebay when they do appear. As long as there isnt some hidden damage I'm not seeing, He got a steal imo.
Well, they didn't use harder metal. But the design itself wears well. Dates remain clear and outlines remain recognizable. It wears well, not wears less Compare it to a SLQ or a Buffalo Nickel. Ruben
