Seated Liberty Half Dollar Set (after brief hiatus)
Leeroybrown
Posts: 429 ✭✭✭✭✭
Well, after about a 2 year break from $20 Liberty Gold on Gold and collecting at all, I have gotten back into collecting in a familiar, but uncharted (for me) Territory…
…and in the Seated Liberty Half Dollar set I have found a new passion and a reinvigorating excitement for collecting.
The set has something for everyone and is both extremely tough, challenging with many rare and scarce dates, but also those that are attainable by anyone for a very affordable price tag.
I am working first in the DATE SET and will then splurge on over into various mint marks and would love thoughts on some of my purchases and acquisitions thus far…
See below for a few of my first pieces as the set begins to take shape…
As I continue to learn on the SLHD set, would love to see your circulated examples as well!
What do you love about the Seated Half Set? What are your favorite pieces in your set?? What do you love most about seated halves?!?
Comments
My Collection of Old Holders
Never a slave to one plastic brand will I ever be.
Nice set so far!
My Ebay Store
Leeroy- Glad to see you back at it. Seems like a nice affordable set to have fun with. Some of these Seated Halves have very small mintages and can be had for a reasonable some in the lesser grades. I love the circ cameo look that you are going for. Keep this thread updated as you do the set build. Good luck with the 1880s decade!
Glad you’re posting again and that’s a nice looking set.
One of my favorites…
My favorite favorite…
Looks like you have a nice matched set going on so far, very nice 👍🏼
I think that the Seated Liberty coins, and especially the half dollars, are the nicest coins the U.S. Mint has ever produced. Everything about them, from the artistry to the symbolism of the Phrygian Liberty cap on a pole, appeals to me.
Mr_Spud
Wow! Great consistency from one coin to the next in appearance. Hard to pick which one I like best. These are excellent examples that there is quality at every grade level.
I don’t own any from the San Francisco mint but someday I will. Have always like the big S!
I know this coin’s not perfect, but I love the look…
Me too CATBERT! My 61-S has the big S and is way cool…. A lower grade example, but I still love it.
I was talking to a few fellow seated half dollar collectors this week and one of them told me that even though the 1879-90 portion of the set has extremely low mintages…. The real difficult coins in the set are the dates as follows…
What are your thoughts on this list above of difficult date/ mint marks?
Calling @Barberian
A nice circ set, a lot of character, looking forward to seeing additions. One date left off the list above is by far the toughest date in the series, the 1878-S.
Wow Catbert! That 52-O is amazing!
Nice set!
Have you found an 1853 Arrows & Rays half dollar? Mintage in the millions, so lots to choose. But one-year-only issue.
I especially like how the rays pop on circulated examples...
Successful BST transactions with forum members thebigeng, SPalladino, Zoidmeister, coin22lover, coinsarefun, jwitten, CommemKing.
Here’s the ones from my Circulated Type Set
Mr_Spud
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That pretty much covers them, though I'd add the 1842-O small date and 1850 while perhaps deleting the 1874-S. I found the 1841 and 1848 to be difficult to find as well.
`Looks like it is going to be a nice original set. Here are some more for encouragement. The 1884 is very nice and I like your 1845 with damage for the look. I have a lot of duplicates that may fit your set.
There is something compelling about the connection to American history that is represented by seated half dollars. They circulated at a time when we embraced the industrial revolution and grew into a formidable power in the world
Commems and Early Type
I like the seated Liberty halves because it's a large set with many types and varieties. When I started collecting them, original mid-grade examples seemed to be more available than for Barber halves. These coins got me started...
Very nice look so far!
I started and sold off my set quite a few years ago. I acquired about 40 dates and mm’s, and it didn’t have most of the more ubiquitous coins.
I focused on the somewhat better dates, using help and advice from @roadrunner (I think, sorry not at home with my old notes).
After realizing it was going to require more time and resources than I wanted to commit to, I decided it better to just stop. I posted it in one aggregate on the BST. I received three offers within a few hours, and wound up selling it for more than my asking price.
Now I just have a few type coins, this being my favorite:
Great coins everyone! Keep the eye candy coming.
@Leeroybrown great looking examples and best of luck on your endeavour towards the remainder of your set, We look forward to your new additions.
Those are the types of coins that I really like. Circulated, honest looking patina, just enough details - gotta love it.
Hope you find the others you're looking for without too much trouble.
I'm a big fan of all Seated coins....Great series to sink your teeth into.
How do I love the Seated Half? Here are 4 reasons off the top of my head.
1. Only the Seated Half retains the aquiline face and slim figure of Liberty. All others feature a blockheaded squat figure.
2. The coin has heft. Yes the Dollar is larger but it failed at it's job. Seated Halves actually circulated.
3. It is the Morgan dollar of the Seated coins. That is to say there are enough of them and in enough different varieties you can collect them in endless ways. My personal favorite has been to find as many different size mintmarks as possible.
4. The Bill Bugert books. There is something so satisfying about being able to identify the exact die marriage your piece is. Until you have done it I cannot find the words to describe how cool it is to be able to make that extra discovery. James Good luck with your set.
Another guy that should weigh in is JBN. His AU set is full of natural looking but attractive examples.
"Look up, old boy, and see what you get." -William Bonney.
The "bottom of the barrel" for 1881 SLHs on Coin Facts. The first coin was acquired raw and recently was graded. The second was purchased already graded and stickered. Odd to see them together on a web page.
I like both. Are these 2 1881’s yours?
Odd to see pictures of this coin that I own amongst an eBay dealer's auction photos. I had an interesting discussion with the seller after he stated that there was only one coin shown, and the winning bidder would receive the coin pictured in his auction.
"How are you going to do that? The coin pictured in photos XX-XX is sitting on my desk in front of me now!"
Those half dollars look wonderful. Nice photography. Your collection is already quite nice with that 1860-O with high mintmark, two Civil War S mints, and the early dates --- all with that perfect 'normal' circulated look. The fact that you collected Saints necessarily means you are aware of pitfalls of messed-with coins; you'll see plenty of the same in Seated issues.
For your date sets, the 51 & 52 are the challenge years. You should be able to get a nice 78-P in time.
For a date & mintmark effort, I would add the 58-S as tough.
It is a long term effort and very rewarding. The design is elegant and appealing, the coins are old and evoke times long past.
My set was begun in 2012.
This one I really like because it is a rarer die marriage of a more common date/mm issue:
This one is basically wholesome:
I'll close with some color:
Congratulations on your collection and thanks for posting all those pixs.
…another one I just purchased.