A special coin treat for me, and a poll for you

I'm treating myself soon to a coin purchase beyond and outside my usual coin budget. I have several candidates. For coins 1-4, I have specific coins in mind; for coin 5, there is no specific coin yet.

1. A nice Hawaiian half, with toning I like in a grade I like (an attractive MS63, dripping with eye appeal). If I buy this coin, it will involve curtailing my coin purchases for probably 2-3 months, minimum. This coin currently lives in the back room of a local dealer that doesn't have an online inventory, so it's unlikely to be sold to anyone else any time soon.
2. A Lafayette dollar with similar qualities to the Hawaiian, except this coin will probably only entail a 1-2 month curtailment of coin buying, and it's online, so it might get snapped up before I get to it if I wait.
3. A high-grade (but common date), certified Seated dime. If I buy this one, I probably won't have to curtail my coin purchases much. Unfortunately, this one is not toned, but, based on the seller's images, I think it's a variet not listed on Fortin's web site. Seated dimes are not a usual series for me, nor would it fit into any sets I'm working on, but I think it'd be cool to discover a new variety, and it's a coin I'd be glad to own.
   
4. A high-grade, FH 1917 Type 1 SLQ with nice toning. This coin would fit really well into my high-grade 20th-century type set. I would not need to curtail future coin purchases if I bought this one, either.
   
5. A nice, MS63-64 Barber half for the type set, preferably with nice toning. Depending on price, I may or may not have to curtail my buying with this one.

Which way might you go? Right now, the sets I'm working on are golden/champagne toned MS Franklin halves, classic commems, and a high-grade 20th century US type set. I do plan to expand the type set later to a more complete US type set, but the pre-1900 coins will not be such high grade examples (hence why the Seated Dime doesn't really fit in).

 

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Roll a die, if you get a six spend the money on drink and loose women instead.

If that seems to present moral hazards at an unacceptable level, find a five sided coin and flip that, the pentagonal squamos of Narnia should be readily available in any coin store that also contains a wardrobe.

 

you need to choose for yourself. I would go with the Hawaiian for sure, but if I only had so much money I would go for a nice seated dime. your the one person that will be enjoying this coin most. buy what you like.

 

IMO, if you're going to treat yourself, than buy a coin that is normally outside your financial reach. If the coin you choose won't change your coin buying pattern, than you're not treating yourself. You are just adding a new coin to your collection.

Which is the one coin that is from a series you normally don't collect, yet you still want it because it's cool?

 

Barber Half

 

Barber half dollars in unc are beautys

 

I voted for the Lafayette.
A close second would be the Hawaiian.
I liked what @jpcienkus said.

 

Sort of need to know how they're priced, too. None of them is so scarce that you won't be able to pass and find another fairly soon. Look at recent prices realized on Heritage to see which coins are priced fairly. There was a bunch of Hawaiians in Heritage's FUN sale that enabled me to buy an attractive 64 CAC for back of bluesheet, and I'm glad I waited for that opportunity. A 63 that has been in dealer stock for a long time might not be priced to reflect reality. The Lafayette needs to have some luster, and not just gray haze. Assume the dime will not be a new variety. The quarter and half, since they're going in your type set, need to be coins that would make someone say, "If I could only have one SLQ/Barber half for this price, this would be it."

 

True words of wisdom
with that said, it would be the Barber for me

 

Spoil yourself and go Hawaiian. Or actually go to Hawaii.

 

My choices were the barber half and hawaiin half. I think the hawaiin design is a nice one that isn't seen very often and a barber half in MS would just look awesome.
I voted for the barber in the poll since I couldn't make two choices.
Ultimately it's up to what you want to collect, not everyone else.

 

The 1883 Hawaiian half, or the commem? If it's the 1883 half, that's the one that I would get. It's the most interesting coin to me, from a numismatic angle, and the surviving coins are less than 90K. (700K were minted, but over 600K got melted down.)

 

Oh, don't worry. I plan on it! After all, I'm the one who will be looking at this coin for the next few years (decades, with luck).

Good point. The one I think is just plain cool is the Seated dime. I like it because it seems to be an unlisted die variety, but, even if I'm wrong, it's still cool and I'd be glad to have it in my collection.

All of the first 4 are priced at around current retail FMV.

• The Hawaiian is a little over book, but I would say it goes above and beyond in eye appeal. I think I might have room to negotiate on this one, and it looks like a PQ coin to me.
• The Lafayette has excellent luster for a 63, and beautiful toning. This one seems particularly hard to come by with both qualities.
• The Seated dime would be cool even if not a new variety.
• The SLQ is a truly stunning piece. As a type coin, it definitely meets the "if I could only have one for this price" test.
  
• I don't have a specific coin in mind for the Barber (would have to hunt a little, but I don't think finding a nice Barber half will be a problem -- it'll be finding a nice Barber half at a price that isn't going to completely break the bank).

Whoops, I forgot to specify, didn't I? It's the Hawaii commem. I am also a fan of the 1883 Hawaii issues, but they're not really on my radar yet. They're within my general interests, as are the US Philippine coins and the Puerto Rico provincial coins, but not something I've really dug into yet.

 

If it were my choice:

1. Lafayette dollar
2. Hawaiian
3. Barber half
4. SLQ
5. Seated dime.

 

I would go with the Hawaiian commem........you don't see 'em all that often and if this screams with appeal then strike now. Is it holdered? You have to be careful with these as there are fakes out there.

 

I still have to go with Hawaii. The commem is even rarer than the 83, less than 10,000 struck. It's tough to find those coins in any grade, not to mention pleasing ones. Options 2-5 are always available to you at any given time. When I'm faced with a choice like this, and I like all the coins, I generally go for the one that's most difficult to obtain. It may be very long time before the opportunity arises again, and when it does, it will cost even more.

 

I voted for the SLQ since the other coins aren't my cup of tea and the question was which one would I choose. Having said that, there are tons of high grade FH SLQ T1s out there. You should definitely have one in your collection as they are stunning coins in MS, but they aren't hard to find.

You should clearly buy the seated dime. A chance to be the one to discover a new variety and own a discovery piece? Don't pass that up. It won't break the bank and the Hawaiian isn't going anywhere so you can still buy that too as your next pickup.

 

I love Standing Liberty Quarters and it sounds like a nice one. So I voted for 4.

 

I must admit, I thought we were talking about the 1883 Hawaiian Half.
TBH, as much as I love Standing Liberty Quarters, a BU 1917 T1 would be my last choice. As @Jaelus said, lots of them around. They aren't going anywhere.