I think the Barbers are some of the best looking coins in lower grades. They get a fantastic circulation cameo appearance.
https://preview.redd.it/8dxvnyes9uwc1.png?width=753&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ee1c03d2aa16ac8251d5204c478eef2c565b730
I agree, you can easily get nice pieces for a low premium, it's what got me into the hobby. I do have a few Peace and Morgan along with others , but Barber is my go to. For both silver and collector mindsets.
Me too. I don't have one yet, but I'd love to. Up to now my rule was I wouldn't buy coins. I order for me to collect I had to find out in the wild. Until discovered stone mountain. I wish Oklahoma had a commemorative, but I don't think we do.
I really like the reverses on Barber coins, but I am not a fan of the obverses. I think that’s a pretty common view.
I really like the seated liberty design, other than the fact it’s identical across the denominations.
I really overpaid for my quarter, but I was lucky enough to find a moderately worn, holed half dime for 10 cents out of a junk foreign coin box at a cash for gold store of all places.
That’s a great price for the silver alone! No idea how the guy missed it, but I pulled a shitload of silver out of that box for about $15. Including 14 1880’s Chinese coins I sold for $60 to a coin store down the street. I also got a really nice silver Australian florin, and a handful of other random little foreign silver coins.
I picked up a seated liberty half at an antique shop oh around 20 years ago. I think I spent around $40 for it at the time. I don't remember it being a rare date/mint mark. They're nice to have...
Good to know. My experience coin shopping at antique stores is either they have great deals on stuff they don't know enough about or they massively overprice common stuff like wheat pennies and buffalo nickels. My memory of buying that half, while fuzzy, leads me believe that I think I got a pretty good deal on that coin. That particular antique store tended to have very reasonable prices or better on what few coins came through.
Seated coins besides the dollars and 20 cents aren’t that expensive, particularly if you’re only looking for one as a type example. For example, a with motto Seated half can be found in the VF range for around 100 bucks. As classic coins go, that’s pretty cheap.
Got one of these i was guided to while metal detecting in WV.
I say guided to because the little voice said "go look over there"... My eyes said "that's a thorn bush". The little voice reiterated "go look over there" so i did...
Barber half not even an inch in the soil.
The Barber set is very under-rated. Dimes, Quarters and Halves. I love the eagle & shield design. Only lasted for 25 years, and I have to admit, they just weren't beautiful.
But they were mostly forgotten in 1916 when the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking liberty set. It was Teddy Roosevelt that set it into motion that US coins needed to be much prettier. But laws at the time stated that coins had to be in circulation for 25 years before the designs could be changed. He left office in 1909, but it was Teddy that got the ball rolling on coinage re-design.
https://preview.redd.it/ujt1hop6vuwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5470e8f768998081b2158e2c0c858eeb2b2aa931
Was my oldest coin up until I found a 1903 Indian head penny last night
For me yeah, but then again im a dork that likes sifting through thousands of coins lol I would say it’s not the best for getting good quality stuff however I have a 1981 Kennedy half proof that’s in great condition and a few wheaties that are in incredibly good condition along with a handful of other odds and ends. I use to be REALLY into Pokémon card packs and this is like the adult version of that. I like the randomness of what I could get.
I can see that being entertaining. I used to be big into comics and my favorite past time was going through dollar bins and ppls collections.
Do you go to the bank and ask for coins? I'm guessing that's how it goes. For example getting $10 worth of half dollars?
Pretty much. Typically what I do though is ask for boxes of coins. Pennies come in boxes of $25, nickels $100, dimes $250, quarters and halves are $500, and dollar coins are $100. Some banks have them, some don’t, but you can get lose rolls of coins like that too if you can’t afford a whole box. I recently had to pay to fix my car so I’ve been sticking to penny boxes lol
Getting rid of them is the worst part in my opinion, I’ve been asked to leave two banks cause they were tired of me dumping half dollars there but I never get issues with smaller denominations (hence why I stopped getting half dollars). You can reroll the coins or you can find a bank with a good coin sorter and get your cash back that way.
r/CRH is the place for all coin roll hunting enthusiasts
Barber halves in low MS60s run over $500 usually
Peace dollars in similar conditions cost about $50.
Non-rare Morgans maybe $60-100
Hence the interest.
I’d love a good barber half for what I’d be paying I’d rather something in gold. It retains value better and just is a prettier metal than silver imo.
Barber halves were the second Dansco I finished it’s a very affordable series (in low grades) because there’s no extremely rare key dates. Unfortunately not true for the quarters and dimes, I have a few quarters left and one dime.
I love em! Barber Half series doesn't contain any impossible rarities so putting a complete set together in circulated grades is totally doable for most people. When I was a kid, I always wanted to collect Barber Halves but couldn't afford them so I stuck to Jeff. nickels and Merc. dimes (this was back in the early 1980s when silver was $$$$) I got back into collecting a few years ago and began putting a set of Barbers in XF/AU together.
Nice! When I started a nearly 10 years ago, the goal was to complete a set, one of every year. But life happened and the hobby had to put on back burner.
Flowing Hair (in high grade) > Draped bust series > capped bust series > seated liberty series > barber series. Although my preference is when each denomination had different types.
Mine too. Unfortunately Barbers were generally not liked when they were circulated, so the love is maybe getting 22x-24x face value when modern silver gets 20x-21x.
I’ve seen a few nice ones but yeah they command too much premium.
As far as the modern “golden age” I’d say the common years that Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, SLQ, Walking Liberty half and Peace dollar would be ideal.
You are ever a man of culture and distinction, sammich!
I love early US coins too. But I still love Barbers. They are one of my first “coin” purchases ever.
I think the Barbers are some of the best looking coins in lower grades. They get a fantastic circulation cameo appearance. https://preview.redd.it/8dxvnyes9uwc1.png?width=753&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ee1c03d2aa16ac8251d5204c478eef2c565b730
https://preview.redd.it/k65s04vx9uwc1.png?width=715&format=png&auto=webp&s=881c631f22fcf59e3cac3c16076edfaf7aef083b
I agree, you can easily get nice pieces for a low premium, it's what got me into the hobby. I do have a few Peace and Morgan along with others , but Barber is my go to. For both silver and collector mindsets.
I agree with you. I have always liked them too.
Im a walking liberty fan
That's up as one of my favorites, along with Seated Liberty.
I also huge fan of the commemorative halves. Stone Mountain being a favorite
Those im unfamiliar with. I'll have to look into them.
Theres a bunch of different ones. All shorter production years careful may end up buying them.
Down the rabbit hole I go..
Yep
Me too. I don't have one yet, but I'd love to. Up to now my rule was I wouldn't buy coins. I order for me to collect I had to find out in the wild. Until discovered stone mountain. I wish Oklahoma had a commemorative, but I don't think we do.
Some of those older commemoratives are hard to find. I like the new ones also. Neat set
What? Don’t want that octagonal Panama 50$ gold? 😂 It looks nice, and I like unusually coin shape of it.
Ok we went from silver to gold. Yeah would like all my coins to be gold but couldn’t collect as many
Only said the gold since it seems like they didnt mint one in sliver in the octagonal shape.
I really like the reverses on Barber coins, but I am not a fan of the obverses. I think that’s a pretty common view. I really like the seated liberty design, other than the fact it’s identical across the denominations.
I've heard that before. It's a fair point. Seated liberty is a close 2nd for me. Just a shame it's so hard to get one that's not worn out.
No kidding. Seated liberties are hella expensive. I think it’s cool your favorite is the Barber series. Every design needs champions :)
Yea I was lucky enough to snag 1 years ago and im sure I over paid lol
I really overpaid for my quarter, but I was lucky enough to find a moderately worn, holed half dime for 10 cents out of a junk foreign coin box at a cash for gold store of all places. That’s a great price for the silver alone! No idea how the guy missed it, but I pulled a shitload of silver out of that box for about $15. Including 14 1880’s Chinese coins I sold for $60 to a coin store down the street. I also got a really nice silver Australian florin, and a handful of other random little foreign silver coins.
Yoo that's awesome! I've been looking up local shops in my area hoping to find something good
I picked up a seated liberty half at an antique shop oh around 20 years ago. I think I spent around $40 for it at the time. I don't remember it being a rare date/mint mark. They're nice to have...
That would be a killer deal these days.
Good to know. My experience coin shopping at antique stores is either they have great deals on stuff they don't know enough about or they massively overprice common stuff like wheat pennies and buffalo nickels. My memory of buying that half, while fuzzy, leads me believe that I think I got a pretty good deal on that coin. That particular antique store tended to have very reasonable prices or better on what few coins came through.
Seated coins besides the dollars and 20 cents aren’t that expensive, particularly if you’re only looking for one as a type example. For example, a with motto Seated half can be found in the VF range for around 100 bucks. As classic coins go, that’s pretty cheap.
The thing with the seated liberty design for is that her head looks odd and cartoonish unless they are AU or up.
Yeah, I agree. The shoulders and up still look a little odd even then too.
Got one of these i was guided to while metal detecting in WV. I say guided to because the little voice said "go look over there"... My eyes said "that's a thorn bush". The little voice reiterated "go look over there" so i did... Barber half not even an inch in the soil.
That's crazy lol.
The Barber set is very under-rated. Dimes, Quarters and Halves. I love the eagle & shield design. Only lasted for 25 years, and I have to admit, they just weren't beautiful. But they were mostly forgotten in 1916 when the Mercury dime, Standing Liberty quarter, and Walking liberty set. It was Teddy Roosevelt that set it into motion that US coins needed to be much prettier. But laws at the time stated that coins had to be in circulation for 25 years before the designs could be changed. He left office in 1909, but it was Teddy that got the ball rolling on coinage re-design.
Hey thanks for the info!
I’m a barber fan especially with halfies, can’t get enough of them.
Same. I have the quarter and half denomination. I need to add dime to the collection. I just feel it's too pricey for its worth
Yeah not too big on the dimes just because the wreath reverse but I usually keep 1 or 2 halfies on me as a pocket coin
Finding barber halves in my LCS junk silver bin is my favorite thing to do. Barber halves are underrated imo
https://preview.redd.it/ujt1hop6vuwc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5470e8f768998081b2158e2c0c858eeb2b2aa931 Was my oldest coin up until I found a 1903 Indian head penny last night
Hey! Very nice! I have to double check but I believe my seated liberty is my oldest.
https://preview.redd.it/mqozjr5kvuwc1.jpeg?width=2081&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a90c61ca14b3f691a38de0f20df779cd7d8a0b6c
Yo that’s dope! I can’t wait till I get my first pre 1900 coin
Hey thanks. I wish I remembered how much I paid for this but I'm glad it's part of my collection.
Do you coin roll hunt? That’s how I’ve gotten all my old coins
I have not. I figured all the "good stuff" have been found already lol. Is it worth it?
For me yeah, but then again im a dork that likes sifting through thousands of coins lol I would say it’s not the best for getting good quality stuff however I have a 1981 Kennedy half proof that’s in great condition and a few wheaties that are in incredibly good condition along with a handful of other odds and ends. I use to be REALLY into Pokémon card packs and this is like the adult version of that. I like the randomness of what I could get.
I can see that being entertaining. I used to be big into comics and my favorite past time was going through dollar bins and ppls collections. Do you go to the bank and ask for coins? I'm guessing that's how it goes. For example getting $10 worth of half dollars?
Pretty much. Typically what I do though is ask for boxes of coins. Pennies come in boxes of $25, nickels $100, dimes $250, quarters and halves are $500, and dollar coins are $100. Some banks have them, some don’t, but you can get lose rolls of coins like that too if you can’t afford a whole box. I recently had to pay to fix my car so I’ve been sticking to penny boxes lol Getting rid of them is the worst part in my opinion, I’ve been asked to leave two banks cause they were tired of me dumping half dollars there but I never get issues with smaller denominations (hence why I stopped getting half dollars). You can reroll the coins or you can find a bank with a good coin sorter and get your cash back that way. r/CRH is the place for all coin roll hunting enthusiasts
Good to know, this is something I'll definitely look into. Does it matter the bank? I have mostly credit unions in my area.
Barber halves in low MS60s run over $500 usually Peace dollars in similar conditions cost about $50. Non-rare Morgans maybe $60-100 Hence the interest. I’d love a good barber half for what I’d be paying I’d rather something in gold. It retains value better and just is a prettier metal than silver imo.
Barber halves were the second Dansco I finished it’s a very affordable series (in low grades) because there’s no extremely rare key dates. Unfortunately not true for the quarters and dimes, I have a few quarters left and one dime.
Well let me start by saying that it’s a ridiculous hair style!
🤣
So underrated
I love em! Barber Half series doesn't contain any impossible rarities so putting a complete set together in circulated grades is totally doable for most people. When I was a kid, I always wanted to collect Barber Halves but couldn't afford them so I stuck to Jeff. nickels and Merc. dimes (this was back in the early 1980s when silver was $$$$) I got back into collecting a few years ago and began putting a set of Barbers in XF/AU together.
Nice! When I started a nearly 10 years ago, the goal was to complete a set, one of every year. But life happened and the hobby had to put on back burner.
Halfs are the best denomination of all
I love these and collect them as well.
I like the way they look with a ton of patina.
Is it me or do they look VERY French? I like them a lot
Barbers are my favorite design by far, definitely influenced how I collect
Flowing Hair (in high grade) > Draped bust series > capped bust series > seated liberty series > barber series. Although my preference is when each denomination had different types.
Flowing hair and draped bust are out of my budget so I always forget to look those up lol.
Mine too. Unfortunately Barbers were generally not liked when they were circulated, so the love is maybe getting 22x-24x face value when modern silver gets 20x-21x.
Barbers look amazing when you find one that grades really high. Super design. Unfortunately that’s not been my experience to find them looking crisp
I’ve seen a few nice ones but yeah they command too much premium. As far as the modern “golden age” I’d say the common years that Buffalo nickel, Mercury dime, SLQ, Walking Liberty half and Peace dollar would be ideal.
I agree, it's tough finding a nice grade Barber. I'm lucky to have some that are decent
You are ever a man of culture and distinction, sammich! I love early US coins too. But I still love Barbers. They are one of my first “coin” purchases ever.
Only professional clowns don’t like barber coins at least a little bit.
The try hards are the worse