I can’t believe how difficult it is to find this coin in high VF or XF. I’ve looked for years and no luck...
This looks better than a VF to me... https://www.ebay.com/itm/234017872299?hash=item367c8d59ab:g:4uYAAOSw075gpzq4 Here's one graded in AU55 https://www.ebay.com/itm/164867047562?hash=item2662d7808a:g:oWgAAOSw9YVgnx56 Graded AU58 https://www.ebay.com/itm/373585958684?hash=item56fb75571c:g:sHEAAOSwMpJgffp5 XF or slightly better https://www.ebay.com/itm/114364943551?_trkparms=ispr=1&hash=item1aa0ae8cbf:g:ILIAAOSw23JgiZJn&amdata=enc:AQAFAAACkBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4Imu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkAgU0umhwUTmgTFbE5cu7zY5s4z5%2FxlIddzL4XnrAJYeeQ%2FPwyvPNBukQLRrFdmSfCNcnqUIvDyt3rBHU6c1sh80cPrWtFdPg4ztcdvmiKgmUPBeWKtdQSrDQqzuDN3RZJcJ%2F5%2FNp1e2AfrM0OQ8zfUWlD%2BH9hbr25QHjGilXYzYPr%2FdD9lN9wp%2BWgcoQAYLxUv6YOo2n%2FeFh4g%2Br3kIZvFnwFyCv4u0rfipuvVBLk4dzbTzl%2FVJ0RUbJJLFqfgYGsXn2iYidO3PYvRMg6a1OHpUJLCdsb36dF4c%2BLlyV581QrIEitjXDysYiozaL7MwqIUAdCAtw0YtfQlunS9DgnU9ypywPphJTAYsQc4x6OHrlklW58o4lg7lHYYnNWCz6u%2FDV4gm4rDue1PtuhD8rvqBhfpzcS6HPdgVLAek%2BwNJq8PLH5gk76cqD05VXz%2FPsALbtOGSBHwYB%2FW4jO4QqTjoxL5Bq%2Ffoxa0uEUEzq14JiXE9wmdkPxWa3r4wsop%2BfZkEtlLcbyXbVRfoDxR2GzYxz4Lvj5yGZAZ6rueFRAnFT12IN3PsaV8L7NhUFKXsMr6wCZ1PbUro7DCJ%2BOOonHrOON5y7%2Bbs7NENc7%2FMDtedSa17ixKaG9u6%2Fz2HGzpUsLmaXpfEPtz4RAnI1bvYcJrYljCrr6JdSt15X0qXUQTP1WXrRUN4OQQ%2F0LXkl9HUAjq4XBYv6QPGomjbQ07VML8RVF97aD2sNxnzgOUwvIdTDlqh7hSt344rMJ9PxvB5tD6G%2FhFs9ai67TC5TPUrH89ka700qLU0xklGq0XtO2LdqvU4lCBrIbFgR11uT4pTZ|cksum:11436494355174dd5301b6ca4c64a0192b0df5265b60|ampidL_CLK|clp:2334524 AU or better https://www.ebay.com/itm/234014096091?hash=item367c53badb:g:SKoAAOSwARhgh5-G MS64!!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/324424219165?hash=item4b8930ba1d:g:iRIAAOSwqqdf3kZN MS66!!!!! https://www.ebay.com/itm/372600764733?hash=item56c0bc793d:g:RREAAOSwBZ5cZe5N I apologize that it only took me 5 minutes vs. your years of searching
He probably means in person at a coin shop or show or something. You can find coins on eBay very easily but some people don't want to pay such high prices. When you buy a coin (or anything!) online, you are also paying for convenience of simply ordering and having it shipped directly to you.
I don't think he means that any coin will do at any price. I'm pretty sure Dimedude is looking for one with good eye appeal at a good price, which on 27-S Walkers is not an easy feat. As with most branch mint coins from the 1920s, many coins were poorly struck, and very few were saved which results in the vast majority of coins known today being well-worn. As such, numerous Walker dates truly do become tough in VF-30 and better.
Yes, I saw some 27s coins at the show, but looking for something high vf to Xf. The price range from xf 40 to AU55 for this coin is tremendous.
Some coins are hard to find in low grades as they were all saved. Other coins are hard to find to high grades but easy to find in lower grades. Then there are coins like this that are difficult to find in a mid grade. I know as I’ve been looking for years for a few certain coins in specific grades.
Make me an offer I can't refuse for this one... PS: "Pareidolia," I believe, is the correct description...
I agree, finding the earlier Walkers in choice vf-ef is very challenging. The first one posted by Kurisu above has some bad scratches on the eagle's facing wing; the other xf is at Apmex which uses stock images so I would not trust the photo. The "AU or better example" is raw, with poor photos; I can't even say for sure if it's genuine. The o.p. did not express an interest in MS examples, so I don't see how posting those is germane to the discussion. Like many other collectors, I find these coins enchanting in circulated mid grades. Here is the one in my set, I had to wait a while for it.
A friend of mine has a neighbor whose husband died and she had a ton of Franklin and Walking Halves. The oldest half I got was a 1934. They had them in a box and I had fun going over them. Anyway, I don't collect half dollars, but I wouldn't sell them. I guess my kids (50, 49, and 41 years old), will probably dump them some where.
I am very excited to complete this set after a long journey, some of it very frustrating in the type and grade of coins I was looking for. The 27s may not be the key date but it took a lot of patience and help from my wonderful wife to find it. It’s not a set of all BUs and not something that the hoi polloi coin conneseurs like Sperber and Bowers would approve, but it’s something I am proud of. I may upgrade a few of these over time, but this was a challenging and interesting set to collect.