Has any body ever heard of an 1870 Barber Half Dime Prototype? My cousin has one graded by PCGS and it's a PF-66. If anyone has any information on this coin and any prices of this would be very helpful. Thanks
Yes, there are a number of 1870 Pattern's that contain a Liberty design by Barber. Does the slab have a Judd number on it? Typically, they will print the J-### on the label of the slab to help the coin be identified. Assuming it's silver it will be either a J-815 or a J-816. They also made copper and aluminum patterns which are J-817 through J-820 depending on the coin. If you could let us know which example of the pattern it is we might be able to provide you with more help.
You betcha ! What does it say on the reverse - "Standard Silver 5 Cents" or "Half Dime" ? What's on the obverse - a Seated Liberty ?
Judd for the Defense I have Pollock and both an old and a new Judd. According to the new Judd (10th), Proof-66 is not priced, so we can assume that any assigned estimate will be greater than the astounding prices for the Proof-65. Also, for all readers, the "Barber" obverse is not the Liberty Head that we know from the Barber series of 1892-1913, but a Seated Liberty designed by William Barber. This Seated Liberty is profiled Left, whereas the Longacre Seated is actually seated Rightward, but with her head turned Left. They look like this below from the Pattern collectors at www.uspatterns.com: or like this form the same site: http://ep.yimg.com/ip/I/uspatterns_2060_16708649
The reverse is also important as was said earlier. Does it say "Half Dime" or "Standard Silver 5 Cents." Also, what metal is it made out of...silver, copper, or aluminum? There is also different rims.
Presumably, he is talking about a pattern coin, the design of which was never adopted for our coinage. Although it would have been designed by Barber, it will look nothing like a "Barber" dime. Ask him what the "J" (Judd) number is, and once I have it, I can hopefully show you a picture of what it looks like. The Judd number should be between 809 and 824 and the coin could be copper, alumiunum or silver. Here is an image of one of them:
Here's a J-815 and the description from the sale it appeared in: "1870 H10C Half Dime, Judd-815, Pollock-904, Low R.7, PR64 NGC.</I> William Barber's Seated Liberty design. She faces left, with a shield in her right hand and free-standing Liberty pole behind. The reverse is the same design used to coin contemporary regular-issue half dimes. Struck in silver with a reeded edge. About a dozen are known. This pleasing champagne-toned proof has splashes of deep iridescence. From The Frank M. Stirling Collection.</B> (#61059) View Entire Collection."
For the estimated rarity, see the description in my previous post. I'm guessing it's about a $6000-$7000 coin, but they appear infrequently and values are not easy to pinpoint.
In post #8, Mark Feld cited an auction catalog that gave the entry, "Low R. 7". That refers to Lyman Low's Rarity Scale from 1899 developed for Hard Times Tokens" from 1 (most common) to 9 (unique, or nearly so). R.7 means "Estimated 4 to 12 Specimens Survive." Bowers' Judd 10th gives the population as 10, with 9 appearances at auction, the most recent May 2008 in which a NGC PF-66PQ was sold for $4830.
One more fact that might interest you about this coin...the difference between the J-815 and the J-816 is the edge. This coin being an 815 has a reeded edge while the 816 has a plain edge. Both are made of silver however and both are a low R7 rarity.
Did you mean to say the scale goes from 1 to 8, with 8 being unique or nearly so? There is no R9 that I'm familiar with.
I'm only familiar with the 8 point rarity scale, like you are. However, apparently there is a different scale that goes up to R-9, at least with respect to hard times tokens. The sixth item down on this page is R-9: http://www.hardtimestokens.com/DanielWebster.html
The "Sheldon" Rarity Scale is the most commonly used scale and it is a 1 to 8 scale. There are other scales and one commonly used for tokens is a 1 to 10 scale (This scale is commonly used for CWT's and Coal Scrip. It may be used for HTT as well.) I believe the original Judd boo used a different rarity scale which may have been a nine point scale but I think it is just the "Sheldon" scale with the R-8 changed from 1-3 known to 1-2 known and R-9 added as Unique.
