Barber coinage references...

Jamericon

Aside from FeigenbaumsComplete Guide to Certified Barber Coinagewhich is copyright 1999 and outdated, and heavier on MS coins, is there another guide to these coins that list rarities in all grades and other general information?

dbldie55

David Lawrence (Feigenbaum's father) wrote books on all three series. Of course, these are all now older than the book you are referencing.

There is always Breen.

Jamericon

Do Lawrence's books deal with circulated coins as well as mint state? Even though they are outdated are they still worth it in todays market?

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

Jamericon

The David Lawrence books are certainly outdated.I would suggest the NGC and PCGS pop reports.Barber coinage IMHO is the best buys in todays market.

The best Barber coins came from the sets of Emory Nickels which was sold by Bowers and Ruddy,Norweb,Eliasberg and a couple of other collectors who got their coins directly from the mint

Both Legend and myself have the best collection of Barber dimes.A Pennsylvania collector and an Oklahoma collector have the best collection of quarters.A California doctor and a collector from Oklahoma have the best collection of Barber halves

Another collection reference is the THaine Price collection of Barber halves.The Pryor collection sold by B&M is also a good reference

Stewart

Jamericon

I agree with your opinion on the status of Barbers in todays market. My aim this summer is to pick up a nice example at the ANA, any denom, in high end VF, XF, or AU. I want it to be a key date and know that it will cost a bundle, but they are well worth it. I just need to do some research beforehand. Certified pops are a definite, as is Breen. I will keep my eyes open for any others. Thanks.

ARCO

David Lawrence's complete guide series came out in the early nineties just a few yeas after third party grading started. Consequently the Pop numbers are very low compared to the numbers slabbed today, and don't reflect the numbers all that well. The "certified guide" is newer, but still lags behind the actual numbers of today. Since then the rarest dates in MS have stayed rare (04-S, 96-O, 01-S) but other dates have fallen or have been proven to be much scarcer than thought (1903 as an example).

As another mentioned the current ANACS, PCGS and NGC reports are the closest thing to determining scarcity in MS grades. The "complete guide" to books have reflected the scarcity in circulated grades very well and are good indicators of which dates are scarce etc...

The biggest thing to remember is that David Lawrence had decades of experience with Barbers and was one of the nations premier barber specialists for years. As such, his estimation working with myriads of collectors helped him determine by experience the scarce and desireable dates, the sleepers and the common dates in every grade.

He does not quantify scarcity by actual numbers that may remain, but by a relative difficulty in finding them compared to other dates within the series.


Even with a book dedicated to each of the series, a book on certified coinage. Twelve years of a Barber coin collectors club, there is still little information on the Barber series.

Tyler