How do you grade Barber coins?

mbbiker

I know grading is just someones opinion but when looking through the ANA grading guide in order to have a Barber coin grade Fine all letters in LIBERTY have to show. A VG has to have at least 3 letters in LIBERTY showing. I've been looking for a slabbed barber coin for a while and most of the PCGS coins are grossly overgraded. I've seen lots of VF's that don't have a full LIBERTY and many of the VG's only have 1 maybe 2 letters showing. How can there be such a big difference in grading standards and which one should i use when buying my Baber coinage? I've been using the ANA guide but rarely does the ANA grade match the PCGS grade.

Dog97

You have to be familiar with the series and understand which years & mints are historically weakly struck because the same standards doesn't apply to all coins.
Which standard to use? I don't believe in market grading so the ANA standard fits me just fine.

KlectorKid

I go with ANA standards.

OnlyBuffalos

This is an excellent grading guide for mid-range Barber Halfs. Almost all info applies to the dimes and quarters also.

http://members.tripod.com/~RPHolder/GradingBarberHalves.html

LanLord

Carefully, sometimes (especially dimes) can have a lot of "meat" left in the design details, yet liberty will be worn beyond the regular diagnostic features for grading.

As Dog97 said, after time you get to be familiar with with the series' and more comfortable grading them.

ARCO

Visit a large show or peruse Ebay and you will see many overgraded Barbers from dimes to the halves. Many long time reputable dealers seem to still use ANA standards and grade correctly. There are many nuances of grading the dimes, the quarters and the halves. But overall the largest determinant is the status of LIBERTY on the headband.

VG= must be three letters visible and full rims on both sides.
Fine= all letters of LIBERTY must be visible. Usually just the top 1/3 to 1/2 of BER can be seen.
VF=all letters of LIBERTY must be 100 % complete...no partial letters. (that should be so easy to determine!)
XF= headband under LIBERTY must be complete...Reverse wing feathers are complete also
XF45= headband under LIBERTY must be complete and BOLD...reverse wing feathers are complete and have three dimension.

onlybuffalos mentioned Randy's site. Excellent for the first cursory grading!

Tyler

Grading Barber halves

barberlover

interesting question mbbiker, I've never really gotton into circ. barbers, but i think the concept of "market grading" versus a.n.a. grading standards is clear, get the highest quality for the grade you can find, don't settle for anything less. If that holds true for a mint state or proof barber, it also holds true for a good or a fine as well. While i would probably stick with certified coins in the higher grades, i would look for a.n.a standards for detail on circ's. also i would look at multiple examples of the same date & grade for any date that might be known to have a weak strike before possibly buying a piece that doesn't have enough detail for the grade.

Fairlaneman

Poorly.