Question about Seated Liberty

Some of you Seated Liberty collectors check in on this if you will.

I'm scouting far and wide for a half. It seems that dealers are asking consistently asking for prices well above price guides.

Is the typical? Or do I need to keep looking?

Thanks guys!

 

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I think @Mainebill could help you out with this. That is if he still lurks around this part of town.

 

What date and grades are you looking for ?

 

Are you looking for a specific type? What grade range?

 

hasn't been seen since the eighth....

 

So far since it's an example for my U.S. set, I'm pretty open on dates. I would like to go as high as AU, not picky about the date.

 

Thanks guys! Y'all are the best.

 

Here I am - the other seated guy.
Here's a full-blown guide, assuming you want high grades and are not picky about date:

Half Dimes - Mid-1850s to 1862, dates after 1869 (most often the 1873-S)
On a side note, the 1873-S had a mintage of 324k, yet it is a very common date. Maybe half dimes were hoarded in hope of becoming rare after people heard they were being stopped?

Dimes - Mid-1850s to 1862, Mid-1870s, dates after 1881 with the exception of 1884-S, 1885-S, and 1886-S

Quarters - Mid 1850s to 1862, Mid-1870s, 1888-S, 1891, 1891-S

Half Dollars - Pretty much most of the series with the exception of 1839, the errors and varieties, 1850-1852, 50s and 60s S mints, 1870-74 and 78 CC mints, and post 1878
As someone else said, 1858-O is a great choice.

Dollars - Doesn't get any cheaper than 1860-O.

 

Thanks, brother! @Omegaraptor

 

Thanks, Mike! @ToughCOINS

 

Great thread - question asked, question answered. I learned something.

 

Me too.

 

The problem is that even common dates have rare die marriages. Which jacks the price up from 'common'.

 

Personally I'd take my time looking for a date in the 1840's. Lower mintages, noticeably scarcer, and some of them list for about the same money as the more common dates. JMHO. And I know we're getting off topic.

 

No offense, OR.... but this "full blown guide" needs some work. I can think of a number of, let's call them "historically significant" 50C dates not mentioned by you that the OP would have a very difficult time locating at or near guide if he wants a very solid original-skinned example. Any in particular come to mind? Also, don't focus too much on mintage (as with the "post 78" comment); survival matters infinitely more.

Don't get me wrong; it's not a bad list per se, but isn't anywhere close to what you presented in as being and could be problematic for one taking it as such.


Mr. Santini...

What you're seeing isn't uncommon. Not always realistic, of course, but not uncommon. If you simply wish to own an example and couldn't care less about the date or any additional interest factor, there are plenty of options, but do note the design changes over time; perhaps one appeals to you more than the other. Also, if you've an interest in civil war history, searching out an example of the 1861-O by die marriage may be a worthwhile option. While you're not likely to find the ever-popular "nose die crack" variety on the cheap (at least without a fairly targeted effort), it is certainly possible to identify and acquire one attributed to the CSA, USA, or even iirc your home state (which is why I'm mentioning this).

 

Thanks Books. It's a brave new frontier I'm exploring.

 

I know a lot of people here don't like eBay, but when I am looking for a particular coin and can't find it, or the price is too high or the condition not to my liking, I save the search as a favorite. When one becomes available and is reasonably priced or the starting bid low, I jump on it. Sometimes it takes months before a coin shows up that interests me. Patience is a virtue.

 

Also, this year is the 180th anniversary of the Seated Liberty design. 1836-2016

And as Santinidollar says, not too late to make some lousy looking gold coins for the 180th.

 

You're welcome, sir. Even halves are/can be a lot more complicated than has been implied, but is worth the effort if they interest you. I don't have the link handy, but DLRC has the WB book online for free (or should I say they did... superman recently mentioned an issue with the site; if they've fixed it or not I don't know ). At the very least it's worth digging through.

If you do have any interest in the earlier-mentioned 61-O marriages, there's an article from the Gobrecht Journal from some years back that identifies them. It may be available online these days (@Insider ??) but if not, somewhere in have a copy if wanted. Good luck either way.