THE BARBER OR LIBERTY HEAD HALF DOLLAR
By Frank J. Colletti
In 1892, following in the redesign format for the dimes and quarters, the half dollar was changed from the Seated Liberty design that had been in use since 1839. Charles Barber, the mint engraver, was selected by the mint director Edward Leech to do the designs for the new coins. Although there had been an open competition, the submission were deemed inadequate for the needs of the mint.
The obverse was the same as that of the dime and the quarter, following in the tradition of keeping the obverses of the semi-precious coins (silver) the same for all applicable denominations. (Previously, this had included the half-dime, which was discontinued in 1873, and the dollar, which was not eligible for redesign, since it had been redesigned by George Morgan in 1878, and was only 14 years into the new design.) The reverse of the half dollar was simply an enlarged version of the quarter’s design. Once again, at the time, the design was considered a complete failure, and beneath the abilities of the country. However, the coin was approved by the mint director, and was here to stay, at least for the required 25 years that were necessitated by the Act of Sept. 26, 1890. This Act had the effect of limiting design changes to our coinage to every 25 years.
Although the design was not popular at the time, today there are many collectors of the three “Barber” coin designs. In fact, there is even a club devoted exclusively to the collecting of the designs of Charles Barber (the Barber Coin Collectors’ Club), so he must have dome something correct.
Although I have read about many people regularly finding Barber halves with their detectors, personally I have only found one piece. But it was a 1912 P in very fine condition. Not a beauty, considering that there were many rims marks (not from digging, but from circulation) I am still proud of the only Barber half that I have ever dug.
High grade specimens are costly, since many of the coins were not saved. The denomination was a lot of money at the time, and not many people could afford to save a half dollar from as many as four mints in each year. Even in good condition, the lowest ‘nice’ collectible grade the common dates start at $14 and jump to $35.00 in fine condition. Consider, when you are buying a Barber half in good condition, make sure that the coin has a full rim on both the obverse and the reverse. This will generally be the first place that a dealer will check in the event that you try to later sell your coins. The very good condition will have at least three letters of Liberty on the obverse (usually LI and Y) and the fine will have a full Liberty, although some letters may be weak. In fine condition the true beauty of the coin really starts to show, although I will collect any grade, from good on up.
Consider an extremely fine piece for $225.00 or an almost uncirculated for $400.00. You will never regret the purchase, since the coin in beautiful. And, yes, I do disagree with the critics of the times.
KEY DATES
There are a number of better dates available in the series. The three pieces with the lowest mintages: the 1913 (188,627), the 1914 (124,610) and the 1915 (138,450) are all priced reasonably in good condition at $85.00, $200.00 and $135.00 respectively. Despite the low mintages, or because of them, the public saved these dates in quantity and they are generally available today, although the 1914 will take some searching. There are a number of collectors out there who are hoarding these dates, and have probably been hoarding them since they were minted.
There is nothing like a very low mintage to get everyone searching their change for an anticipated rarity. That is why these dates are still priced very reasonably, especially compared to the 1896 S Barber Quarter, with a total mintage of 188,039 and a price of $1000.00 in only good condition. Compared to that these pieces seem very cheap in any grade. The 1914 66% of the mintage of the 1896 S and in 20 percent of the price. Now that really seems reasonable. And the 1914 is the most expensive of the trio. In spite of those who are hoarding the dates, they are available, but will take some searching. Take your time, and look for a nice example of each date, they are worth the wait, and search.
The next highest pieces are the 1892 O (390,000 minted), the 1892 S (1,029,028) and the 1897 S (933,900). They are not as expensive as the Barber quarter key dates, but still they will cost $300.00, $250.00 and $175.00 respectively. Remember, there were not many collectors by date and mintmark in those days, and despite of their higher mintages, the coins were not saved. There was also a major economic downturn in 1895 that caused many people to worry more about eating than saving coins. Again, be sure that the reverse has a full rim, although, technically, there may be slight wear into the motto (United States of America) and/or the denomination (half dollar) and still qualify as a good condition. Visit your dealer frequently, for as soon as these better dates become available they are snapped up very quickly by collectors, and they will probably not reappear for sometime.
VARIETIES
There is only one important variety to the set, that is the 1892 O micro O mintmark. There are only a handful known in any grade, and although it is not necessary to have for a complete set, it is very popular, but expensive. It starts at $2,000 in good and leaps to $25,000 in uncirculated condition. Great coin, great price, but I doubt that I will ever own one, unless i am able to ‘cherry pick’ one. Cherry picking is an honorable way of obtaining varieties, that is purchasing a coin at an ordinary date/mintmark price and obtaining a rare variety in the bargain. I am still looking.
WHAT WILL IT COST?
The series is composed of 73 regular issue pieces. There are four mints that produced the coins : Philadelphia (no mintmark), New Orleans (‘O’ mintmark), and San Francisco (‘S’ mintmark) all minted the coins from the first year of issue; they were later joined by Denver (‘D’ mintmark) in 1906. The mintmark is located on the reverse directly under the eagle’s tailfeathers.
In good condition the full set will set you back nearly $2,839.00! Remember, these are large silver coins and, besides the silver dollar, are very popular collectibles. In very fine condition the cost of the set multiples to $14,860 and in uncirculated it leaps like Superman to $70,250. High? Very, but remember, there is a reason that these large pieces are so expensive, they represented about a day’s pay in the mines, and it was more important to support your family than to save a coin that was common at the time.
Think about how you may view a Washington quarter. Just junk change, well so was this to the people of the time. If you merely want a type piece, as an example for your collection, a common date will cost $14 in good; $100 in very fine; $400 in almost uncirculated; and $550 in uncirculated. However, think about those three very low mintage dates, the 1913, the 1914 and the 1915. For a little bite more money you will be able to purchase a great coin that is very scarce and have a heck of a lot to show for yourself. I have never heard of anyone who was sorry purchasing any of those dates.
Additionally, if you think that you would like to put together a set, consider buying the key date coins first. Whenever you start a set, the most common advice given is 1) buy the best that you can afford (quality not quantity) and 2) buy the key dates first. Whenever a series becomes popular, it is always the most expensive dates that will move (that is: increase in price) first, and they will increase the most. Key dates are always popular. When I was first saving the Barber quarter the 1901 S was far too expensive for my taste at $750.00. Today that seems very cheap with a good price of $5800.00. A price increase of 773 per cent in only about 10 years.
Yes, key dates are good value for the money, but so are regular Barber halves. The common dates have also increased in popularity and price in recent years, increasing from only $5.00 in good condition just a couple of years ago to $14 today, not a lot, but it is a 280% increase in price. Many people still consider them a good buy today, and are bought in large quantity by many collectors.
Bibliography:
Breen, Walter, Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. And Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press Inc., Doubleday, New York, 1988. Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins, World Almanac, New York, 1990. Coin Values September, 2009, Amos Press, Inc. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United States Coins, 55th Edition, 2002, Western Publishing Company, Inc., Racine, Wisconsin, 2001.
