Is it really all about supply and demand? Also a pic of a nice Barber Half.

Max

Can a series become "rare/scarce" and increase in price if there are not enough coins to get people to start collecting them?

For example, Barber Halves in MS65 or better are so tough to find, never mind original, but the price on them seems awfully cheap. I looked on the registries and no one is really into the series and I don't feel it is that tough a series.

What do guys think of this half?

Zerbe

From what I hear, the PR Barber Halves are easier. Even though nobody seems to be collecting the MS Barbers they are hard to find
is very true. Where are they?? I have been seeing a lot more interest in all the Barbers lately, and I wish I had saved all the Dups I had.


I like that Barber, but then I love almost any Barber Half.

MacCoin

<< <i>price on them seems awfully cheap >>




$3,000 isn't awfully cheap. on my budget I might luck out and find a commen $300.00 AU for a type set but more likely than not I'll end up with a better date XF

Dog97

You don't think MS Barbers are tough? Find me a decent 97 Barber ½ then. The supply is low, the price is high and that makes the demand low. Plus it's not a really attractive design and most of what you find is junky & damaged from dipping so most colectors avoid them other than buying just 1 for their type set.

lordmarcovan

That is a nice business strike. Way back when, when I was doing the 20th century type set, I was looking for a Barber half type coin that I liked. I don't like dark or mottled toning, so my search was a long one. After returning two MS64 coins I didn't really like, I settled on a proof:



(1898 PCGS PR63 CAM, Benson. Not ultra high grade, but near-DCAM on the reverse, and it has eye appeal far beyond its numerical grade, if you ask me.)

It's just hard to find nice looking Barber halves, I guess. Funny- except for my Benson baby, I tend to gravitate to them much more in F-VF. They look good in the middle circulated grades. Maybe that's why some high-level collectors who could afford MS coins actually prefer to collect them in Fine, just for the pure joy of it.

barberlover

for coins in the price range of barber halves in mint state, there is no better bargin in the hobby, the trouble is that not only are the best pieces scarce to rare but many people are quietly hunting and buying the best pieces off the market.

I don't claim to be the biggest expert on this series but i base this conclusion on things that i've seen going on for some time both recently with the registry and also well before there was a registry.

1st. the easyest thing to see is that there are several completed m.s. registry sets of barber halves in every date and mintmark. the no. 1 set is a complete set that belongs to a dr. who's location is in pennsylvania, all his pieces are 66 or better.
There is another completed set in 64 or better.
With many dates that only have 1 or 2 67's, and a few dates that don't have anything hire than 66, that depletes the availability of high grade pieces for the rest of us.

2nd. I remember in the mid to late 80's seeing more high grade original pieces when prices were higher and to be sure has some people have speculated some of these pieces were probably upgraded, but not enough to account for the lack of coins available for sale right now. I believe there are a number of collectors quietly salting pq pieces in this series away that may not have the money to complewte the series, but buy a nice quality barber half when one becomes available. When i sold one of my barber halves last year, just a common 92 p in pcgs 65 that i had little competition for when i baught it had a small bidding war going on and i was somewhat suprised at the price i got for it, but this piece was origonal with full luster.

I'vr heard many collectors here comment over the last 6 months i've been a member here that they lost interest in mint state barber quarters and halves because it's easier to find nice examples in proof, but the same reason they gave up is the reason i do not, because it's a challenge and they are much harder to find nice. Les

michael

i like barber halves here is a coin fully charwheel lusterous and white and totally original with a thick white skin and in person monster eye appeal

i guess no one collects them as you could look for years and not find one like this

a really rare grossly undervalued coin truly the lowest hanging fruit on the tree i am sure they will have their day but not today..............lol

sincerely michael

and also pcgs ms 65 and a really REALLY NICE 65 TO BOOT
66 ON THE REVERSE OF COURSE!

go find one that looks like this coin
with monster booming cartwheel lustre
underneath the never dipped
thick original skin
and white!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
with great eye appeal
and also a liner 65/66
in a pcgs holder

good luck



sincerely michael

michael

when i get to see this coin i never lose interest just makes my interest grow

keep looking! took me 20 years to find this coin
this is what collecting is all about

you will find it get it before this series booms

sincerely michael

do not be afraid to look and search will you find it? i do not know but if you never look then you will not find it at all

and if you will give up easily time to get another hobby and leave coins for good

as you are no fun and give up too easily

if my sorry arsh can find one in a million federal coinage
these needful things
i am sure you boyz or boi's (as the case may be)......................lol can do it too!!!!

good luck and try harder

sincerely michael

michael

i like the 1906 s ms65 half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

sincerely michael

and max it is only about three things
demand
demand
demand

barberlover

Michael, the 92 p i sold to raise cash last year has a similar look to it. Why oh why didn't i choose a different coin to sell, oh well. Also if you love that coin, you might fall over and cry if you saw my 92 s in pcgs 66 booming full luster with boerderline 66/67 quality surfaces and similar color to yours.

I wish i could post pics for you but i am on a web tv. i have no illusionws of ever completing pq barber half set, but i will always have my radar up to find pieces that look like yours, [at least if i'm able to return to work someday] I wonder why people stop trying to collect just because a coin is hard to find? The chase is part of the fun. The only thing that puts a stopper on a coin for me is, can i afford it, not will it be a difficult challenge to find. Michael, i think you and i have similar tastes in coins, you have a very good eye for barbers. Les

michael

how do you get those happy green babies to jump up and down in a row on your posts??

sincerely michael

michael

thanks les i would have loved to see that 92 s wow wild!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

you will find another in the least place you expect!

sincerely michael

ANACONDA

It IS really all about (only) supply and demand.

That's it.

Nothig else.

Just like time and space.

adrian

(Oh, sorry. I almost forgot. There are many sub-components and different aspects to both supply and demand.

For example, the fact that mint state barbers are rare "is supply" or as some would say relates to supply, but their rarity also affects
demand. Who wants to collect something that you can't find (assuming which i don't that barbers of any kind are rare)? Interestingly
enough, although not in contravention to my assertion, something can become more available but the price will then rise because
increases in supply can lead to an increase in interest and then increasing demand which overcomes the downward pressure of increased
supply. Like when they released millions on Morgans onto the market. Prices started rising because of interest which overcame the
downwad pressures of the increased supply.

Also, demand can be affected by the quality of the supply of a particular variety of what is available. For example, as everyone knows,
Franklin halves are butt ugly unless they are completely covered in magnificent toning. So, hardly anyone collects mint state Franklins as
compared to say Buffalo nickels, all of which are cool because of the aesthetic designs (as compared to Ben bald head with the monk
ring of hair.)

And just as another drop of pee that i'm contributing to this ocean of wisdom we call our collective "board", is the idea that mint
state Barbers were made for work and proofs were made for connoisseurs. Which of course is likened to collecting underwear while
cleaning toilet bowls with Lladros.

How does time and space relate? Simple concepts until you get real close to them and start thinking about them and learning about
them, which of course makes you want to revert back to time and space as it relates to creating space in containers of Ben and Jerry's
in the time between "in bed" and "lights out". Much more pleasurable and rewarding.

Supply and demand are simple but they are in fact all it is really about when you define supply and demand as the only variables leading
you to the result of price, so rather than try to figure out which series is about to rise, it is better to buy what you like and just assume
that the market has effectuated a equilibrium price and then any future changes are just adjustments getting price back into equilibrium
and that that can't generally be predicted and so one shoud focus on beauty which is eternal and price which depends soley on
making sure your little stickie remains on the back of the coin.)

barberlover

Michael, i was going to pm you with this but you must not allow pm's. The 92 p in 65 is the one that i sold.

I still own the 92 S. If i can ever get a member to post the pic. of it for me, it will be my icon coin.

It was a bad decision on my part to sell the 92 p because it is a common date but i'm never going to sell the 92 S. I have never seen a 66 that matches that coin for any date in the series that i have personally examined. Les

michael

i allow pm's

i get them all the time
maybe there is a glitch in the system

oh great you still got the 92 s wow i bet a neat coin!!

get that coin imaged and post it on here!

sincerely michael

ANACONDA

And, while i'm on the topic of Franklins.......



...and i make no claims about this coin other than it is not counterfeit in the traditional sense.

barberlover

piss poor paint job.

ANACONDA

Did ja think so? It seems like it certainly might not be toning acquired naturally but it did seem to me to be interesting and attractive.....attractive if you look at it from purely a non-numismatic viewpoint.

adrian

PS. By the way, my suspicions are you are convinced, Les, that it isn't "real". I saw some jeffereson nickels in pcgs holders this weekend that looked AT to me....

ClausUrch

Good point , Adrian. Why can Jefferson Nickels be slabbed by PCGS and NGC with "Killer Pastel Toning" but a Franklin will be body-bagged. Will nickel tone pastel and silver not?? How about "War Nickels"??