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 Replies: 7 / Views: 1,505 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
I realize that scarcity and demand are key factors in a coins value, but the similar pricing between XF/AU capped bust half dollars vs. Barber halves in the same condition just floors me. How can a coin series over 100 years older with much smaller mintages (Bust), be relatively the same price for as type example in XF than another series (Barber) with higher mintages? I have been trying to do some upgrades in my completed 7070 and one priority is the Barber Half that I have in F12 condition. I will have to spend big bucks to replace it with a Barber in XF/AU. I know the Barber series design wore out quickly. Was it also so unpopular that no one saved any? |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2797 Posts |
okie-colin,
Well it appears you've answered all your own questions, but are seeking confirmation. The Barber series only recently gained wide popularity and finding Mint State and XF/AU pieces is hard. Not many folks put away MS and AU pieces. The design wore more quickly than the Bust Half. The Bust series is definitely under-priced and is making some gains. It all boils down to supply and demand.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2540 Posts |
colin: The Bust half dollars were hoarded, both by groups and banks. The banks kept them as support for their paper money issues and other items. In addition, they were minted during various hard time, eg the "Hard times" under Jackson and the Civil War were two reasons to hoard hard money. The Barber half dollars circulated freely. As such (with circulation) they received more wear. In addition, the half dollar was a lot of money for someone to put away. Hope that this helps. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
As Treashhunt said the bust halves tended to survive in much higher grade because they were widely hoarded. Many banks used these bags of halves as backing for the paper currency they issued and then later as a significant portion of their legally required cash reserves. During the bank holiday in 1933 some banks were found to still have bags of capped bust half dollars in their reserves. The Barber halves though were a circulation coin and being a significant sum for the average man they did tend to circulate (banks now had silver dollars they could use for reserves if they wanted them. That wasn't the case when the bust halves were put back.) The barbers ended in 1915 and typically a coin tends to stick around about 15 years after it is discontinued with an ever shrinking percentage of the circulating coins. but a little over ten years after the barbers ended we had the Depression, and a great many coins that would have normally gone into hiding stayed in circulation and private hoards came back into circulation because money was tight and those old hoards of coins often meant the difference between eating and going hungry. This meant that the barbers circulated a good twelve to twenty years longer than they normally would have. Hence the fact that they tend to all come well worn and quality mid grades are so hard to come by. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
heck I still hear every now and then someone finding a barber stuck in a roll they got from a bank but I have never heard of anyone finding a bust in a roll yet. My favorite bank teller has given me 3 in the past year I have been collecting so barbers are still turning up in places that you don't ever find a bust whether it be a quarter,half or dime, the ones I have received were very well worn but cant beat silver for face
Edited by Bryan1315
10/01/2007 1:47 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6384 Posts |
Another factor was the discovery of the Economite, Pennsylvania hoard in 1878. This was an accumulation of somewhere around 100,000 silver coins, mostly half dollars, that was sealed up around 1836 (which was the date of the newest coin in the hoard). Many of these coins were higher circulated grades and a lot of them were saved after the hoard was uncovered. The Economite coins made for a big increase in the number of higher-grade bust halves available to collectors.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1083 Posts |
Wow - that is all very interesting! I am glad I started this thread. I think it is fascinating how US historical events like the Jackson Administration and the Civil War, and bank and the Ecconomite Hoard can so drastically affect the today's supplies and prices of an older series like the bust halves. What a great hobby! I wonder if either of my two capped bust half dollars were part of the hoard? Who knows? Thanks as always for the great replies. Colin |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
same thing happened to the Morgan series also, some of the coins that are now considered common dates were very scarce and brought big money before the GSA hoard was found, now its hard to give them away (not really, just a figure of speech)
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Replies: 7 / Views: 1,505 |
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Posted 10/01/2007 10:06 am
