Barber coins- good idea??

Hello all. Found this site 2 months ago, this is my first post. Good insight here...
I've bought a fair number of barber half dollars and quarters, in G or VG condition. I like the fact that they are silver and also more than 100 years old.
For upshot investment purposes, what do you think? I know many say go for the EF condition coins that are more rare, but I'm not sure.

I would think there is a trickle down effect... as the high grade old coins increase in price, there is also a tick up in those circulated grades... ??
Thanks.

 

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I'd say that's reason enough to buy them. ( You like them )
But relatively common, worn coins seem to always stick close to their silver value.

 

One of our resident Barber collectors is @Log Potato . Perhaps he will chime in.

Chris

 

Barber halves and quarters are fun to collect, although some of the key date quarters are way to expensive for me. I completed a half collection (except 1892 micro O) several years ago and most are G-VG. My quarter collection is minus two and unless I win a lottery, that is the way it will be. Welcome to CoinTalk!

 

Barbers,
Barbers, Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers,Barbers.


Yes, go for them.

Half $'s, quarters & dimes, all great stuff.

 

On one hand, the G-VG coins are very cheap right now, especially the halves but they are extremely common.

In grades of VF-XF they can be VERY hard to find but you will also pay much more.

For the VF-XF grades in the halves it can be not so much finding the money to buy them as finding the coins to buy!

 

Barbers were hard-working coins, and it shows. Some, the dimes especially, have lost significant weight due to wear -- I've measured some dimes at 20% below their nominal weight. The vast majority I see are AG or below, and many are damaged.

I started buying during silver's 2011 peak. At that point, a lot of things were selling at melt value, because melt value was ridiculously high. I figured that if silver fell back, better stuff like Barbers would hold its value better. It's sort of worked out, I guess, although I haven't sold many Barbers at all -- it looks like now the well-worn ones carry a small premium over melt. In G-VG and undamaged, the premium is higher. Never enough to cover what I paid for them, but I was doing it for entertainment more than "investment", so I've gotten what I paid for.

I've landed a few VF-XF halves, one or two of them problem-free, mostly by luck, but also persistence. I still keep an eye out for more.

Welcome to CoinTalk!

 

I "invested" both of those stimulus checks that we got into worn barbers. Have spent the last year selling off the halfs and quarters @ twenty coins per club auction. They were all AG, FAIR or better grades with problems like rim dings or scratches. They brought between melt and thirty dollars each for better dates.
My cost was less than $4 per coin.

 

Common, worn US silver coins move with the price of silver. They carry a small premium but they seem to be detached from their high grade counterparts. Because of this, I would buy them (with money you don't need to pay bills) when you believe silver is at a low price, and sell them when you can make a profit. Now seems like a good time to be a buyer.

 

G or VG barbers, except for a few key dates, are always going to trade around the price of silver. If you think silver is a good investment (it isn't) then go for it.

No, this is actually not true at all. The high grade or rare coins trade on a completely different level than the bullion pieces. Their values are not tied to the price of silver. Generally, investment quality coins are going to be attractive, original, eye appealing, somewhat high grade or key date coins.

You have to figure out what your purpose is in collecting - are you trying to build a set of barbers? Or are you trying to build an investment? Part of this will be determined by your budget, which sounds somewhat limited right now.

 

I'm pounding away a Barber half collection in VG - VG+ and am of the opinion that investing in higher grades probably is a better way to go. Having said that, I defer to better minds on the topic as to 'best investment'. If you fall a little harder for the Barber series, you may want to attempt a collection of similarly graded coins. There's a nifty challenge!

 

Welcome to the forum!

I'm a fan of high grade (problem-free) silver classic coins, so I'd say definitely to the Barber. I myself am looking for a Barber half to start/complete a year set and it's been difficult to come by a "good" price at the grades I'm looking for. So, the prices seem to at least not be falling or is stable.

 

In the wholesale market, slick Barbers are a tough sale by multiple times face value and usually are seen trading by weight.

 

Hello. Thanks for all the answers and opinions thus far. I do happen to think that silver itself right now is a good investment, but that's a subject for another thread....

Most of the barbers I have i bought about 50% off retail numbers, so hopefully the downside risk is minimal...

 

Make sure you aren't buying problem coins. If you're getting them for 50% off, either they have problems, or you are using a bad retail guide. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

 

This is sound advice. Stay away from the dreck.

 

I try to stick with atleast a problem free grade of VG when buying any barbers and I prefer the halves. I've noticed they start to sell at a premium above melt value in that grade. Once you get into the VF to XF area the values climb a lot. I typically sell off a lower grade coin when I find a better example that I can pick up for a price I'm happy with.

 

My feeling is that high end coins will continue to increase to value at a significantly higher than proportional rate than coins at the low end grade.

But then again, it is most important to enjoy what you collect.

 

started barber half collection 4 years ago have 56 now including 1892-o i got for twelve bucks never paid more than 17 for any including 1913 all g-vg

 

I've found 3 Barber dimes while metal detecting; two with my first machine; a two-knob Montgomery Ward beep-squawker. The same detector found me an 1875 Seated Liberty Quarter.
On two of the dimes, you can read the word "Liberty" on the headband; not bad!
When I looked up the price for the quarter, it wasn't much above what you'd pay for a silver Washington.