Since I can't afford them for my own type set, I am vicariously living through an acquaintance who is shopping for the following Type Coins: 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dime 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dollar 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar These dates were chosen because they appear to be the least expensive for that type. What makes it more difficult is that he is looking for lower grade, problem-free specimens. On Heritage, for example, there are ample examples (lol, that was fun to say) of high-grade samples (double lol), but he's not looking to take out a second mortgage ;-) We are monitoring Heritage and Great Collections, but what other places should we be watching? Dealer websites or auction sites? Can anyone recommend any dealers that specialize in coins such as these?
Here is a link to a dealer website, Holt Rarities. A little over a year ago I bought a draped bust dime and had good dealings with the owner, Brad Holt. I see he has a straight graded flowing hair dollar for sale. https://holtrarities.com/products/category/dollars
Yeah, nice coin! But 2x-3x more than my buddy can spend. That pretty much puts him in AG-G range... maybe VG8...
USA Coin Book (www.usacoinbook.com) has some listed, but they are probably out of his price range. (I'm surprised this source is not mentioned more when searching for US coins - I've gotten quite a few there over the years & never been disappointed.) Why don't you PM @ToughCOINS to see if he can help you find one. Mike is well connected.
I would check out Northeast Numismatics and David Lawrence. The trouble with the auction houses is that prices have seemed to very high, especially since the pandemic. I did a lot of business with Northeast when I was a dealer. They have a good inventory, and their prices were fair. I have also bought some good coins from David Lawrence as well. The 1795 half dime is common relative to other coins of this era, but finding well used ones that don’t have problems is hard. The little coins were prone to get beaten up over time. The half dollar should be the easiest. The 1795 Flowing Hair Dollar is easy enough to find, but it’s popular and expensive.
I’ve also been noticing some crazy prices for early low grade US type (i.e. the only ones I can afford). For example, I bought the draped bust dime I mentioned earlier, a problem free F12 of the most common variety, for under $1000 pre pandemic. Recently I saw one sell on eBay, same variety, holder and grade, for $1500. Lately I’ve been on the lookout for a low grade draped bust dollar but have had to pass on a couple due to pricing. There is a very thin supply of these coins so it’s no wonder that a few more bidders in the mix drives up prices. Months can go by without one coming up for auction.
eBay is gonna be a lot of work for coins like this, right? Most will be damaged and/or overpriced? What about Facebook coin groups? That's something that neither one of us has delved into... I am monitoring all of the above suggestions, but as noted, there are few coins of these types to begin with... add "problem-free"... then add "lower grade"... and suddenly there aren't a whole lot of them in the mix.
Try Dick Osburn https://www.dickosburn.com/ Although he currently only has the half (VG-10) for sale he specializes in early material.
