Why are Barber quarters & halves generally pretty lame looking?

XpipedreamR

Or am I wrong about this?

All I ever see are really dull, "blah" looking coins of the Barber type. Yes, I know there are nice pieces out there. But it seems to me that the Barbers have a higher percentage of turkeys than other series.



?????

Russ

You have to ask? Just look at that lady Russian shotputter they used as a model.

Russ, NCNE

JrGMan2004

Personally, I liked Circulated Barber Dimes and Quarters in circulated condition, around F12-VF-30... but it has to be that grey color... to me, they are very attractive... but I don't really like MS Barbers...

291fifth

They have been, over the past 35 years or so, been one of the most cleaned/dipped series around.

stman

Maybe because everybody usually looks for the "wow" colors from images on the internet. Barbers are very rare with nice color. You're not going to see Barbers toned like Morgan dollars. Usually people that appreciate Barbers are seasoned collectors, that look for originality. These pieces may not be attractive to everybody and they are tough to locate. Too many dipped out and re-toned ones out there.

I've walked plenty of shows looking for original Barbers and rarely find one. Now the design is.... well lets just say not very feminine.

XpipedreamR

JrGMan2004:


I've seen plenty of nice Barber dimes, but the halves and quarters...I just don't know.


I'm the opposite of you. I don't do "circulated"

Donovan

This French coin was actually the model for the Barber coinage. It's the Roman goddess Ceres.



Link

XpipedreamR

<< <i>They have been, over the past 35 years or so, been one of the most cleaned/dipped series around. >>




Yeah, maybe that's it...They all seem dipped to death, or something.

Dog97

They aren't the hottest looking design on a good day and like others said most of them have been cleaned, dipped & messed with and an original surface Barber, never mind an attractive original Barber is hard to find, especially halves. Most Mint State ones are dipped out, lackluster or have dip residue spots or ugly brown retoning or fingerprints, even the ones on 3rd party holders. Even on original surface Barber is dark & ugly most of the time.

Wondo

Put a Barber Half next to a Frankie - the Barber looks awesome!!

ealandg

I like the Barber halves and I guess a few other people do too or they wouldn't be so darn expensive in high grades. I do think you're right about bad color and bad dipping. I like the look of the circulated ones better, too.

Libertad

I understood that in the 1920's and '30's, silver collections were often polished when they became
tarnished, even by the collectors of the day. Abrasive silver polish was apparently the 'dip' of the times.
, and was used on the silver coins as well as the silverware of the household. Clean and shiny.

And the Barber series had just ended prior to that, the collected pieces that escaped being sold
for melt are probably the bulk of the disappointing material around today.

ARCO

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but a Barber that has been cleaned, has hairlines and looks all washed out can make one pucker up in agony and reel back in horror. On the other hand a beautifully toned original Barber can also blow your hair back.

Olympian design features, flowing lines and geometries, a majestic eagle, Are you talking about those Barber rounds that look all weird?

Personally I have only seen a few extremely nice looking MS halves that had both excellent eye appeal and a modest price tag. If your shelling out big money of course the Barbers would be bound to disappoint more often than not.

The coins just don't exist in any meaningful numbers especially in MS or original AU so completing a nice set is virtually impossible. It is more likely for a collector to find a couple of really nice coins as types and call it quits.

I personally do not believe a wholly original set with even, proportional toning and excellent eye appeal can be completed in AU in a lifetime and I estimate a decade for an original set in strictly XF and all original. Sets can be finished, but I guarentee you the majority will have been dipped or played with.

You either like them or not, no big deal, but I am glad so few do or I would have to go rummage through my dealers overflowing vault full of Morgans, walkers, and lincolns.

Tyler

Here is one of the few truly original AU coins I have encountered,

stman

Nice looker you showed there Arco.

nccoin

I am no expert, but on the example you posted, The open areas of the obverse look very nice but all the tight areas around the lettering and stars are dark with whatever type of substance. I this a sign of a cleaning?

ARCO

The coin is an AU. When a coin is touched, oils from the hand get on the coin and the process of picking up dirt starts. With time the oil and dirt darken a bit as does the coin with oxidation from pollutants in the air. The protected areas pick up and hold these oils and dirt the best and consequently darken, creating a two tone darker in the protected devices, lighter in the open fields look.

The majority of coins are cleaned or dipped which removes this natural toning. In my opinion, any AU coin that has been touched and handled enough to wear it down to AU55 should have picked up enough hand oils and dirt to darken like this. The luster should still be present and peeking through the toning to a degree. Most AU coins do not look like this simply because some moron wanted them clean and shiny and they have been cleaned.

Tyler

nccoin

Thanks for the info ARCO, just trying to learn a little.

Casey

Arco's posted example is awesome! When I started getting back into collecting a few years ago, I thought Barber halves were going to be my thing, but I've given up. As others have mentioned, finding nice unmolested examples in VF - AU is extremely hard to do. I get nauseous wading through most of the junk that appears on Ebay. Barber dimes are now my primary focus and they are much easier to find nice.

Push Tyler (Arco) to post more images of his halves. He has some beautiful examples!

Casey

rdunnit

Now that is one nice looking Barber Half. I too enjoy the look of original unmolested circulated Barber coinage. I have been wanting to start a set of Halves in F-VF but it seems like when I have found any in dealers stock they too have been either cleaned or they want an arm and a leg for them.

barberlover

The pieces that are nice are hard to find, but they do exist. Many of the best pieces are in the "strong hands" of collectors who will not part with them at todays price levels.

One thing I've noticed since re entering the hobby in 99 is that the best pieces I saw in the late 80's do not come up for sale very often.

For many, the challenge makes them give up, I will not !!!

Les

DrPete

The 1904-S Norweb coin.

LINK

barberlover

The good Dr. always comes thru with the right perscription!!!

Les

Weiss

I think it is also a function of the series effect. You blow up the pic of the obverse of a Barber dime and a quarter and put it next to the picture of a Barber half, and most people couldn't tell which was which. Even the reverse on the quarter and half are virtually identical.

I know there are exceptions to this series generic-ness, but look at the platinum and gold (especially the gold) bullion coins. They took one of the best designs in US numismatic history and managed to make it boring.

I think a coins' individuality has a lot to do with its appeal. Sharing the same design, to me at least, just makes the overall effect weak.

oreville

I waited a long time before I found the right mint state barber quarter that was clearly original.

This is what I had waited for. The toning on the reverse is not black, it is blue and russet. Also the toning is lighter than appears in the picture and also has a near cameo appearance on both sides.

jeffnpcb

Pretty lame design from the get go! That is a no-brainer from a no talent hack that ran the U.S. Mint like he owned it!

oreville

Well maybe that Liberty on Barber's quarter was horrified by what she saw in herself and put a veil over her head?

Dave99B

Man, finally a Barber thread, and we get pummeled.....

How come people never pick on 3 Cent Nickels? Huh????

Dave

allegri

Hi,

Check out the Barber quarter Anaconda has listed on Ebay

Barber Quarter

Hard to call that one lame!

-Brian

Casey

C'mon Dave, chin up! Other collectors will come to their senses once our collections are complete. ... in a very, very long time.

barberlover

Did you see Adrien's comment about Barbers in the descrition of that coin ? "Barbers are the blue chip stocks of the coin world" .

So to all you Barber Bashers out their, from me to you and further more,

Les

Higashiyama

This is my type coin. I'm biased by ownership, but don't think it is lame!

islemangu

Cant disagree too hard on some points the bashers here made but for some reason proof halves are just irresistable. It was good to see Zerbe posting here again recently

Zerbe

Hi Islemangu. You still have my 1914 PR 65 Barber Half ??
There is a silver lining in collecting a series that is considered UNDER
APPRECIATED, which is the financial benefit. For over eight years I have collected high grade Barber PR Halves and have had only a handfull of collectors competing for the same coins. Since the " competition was small, the prices were very favorable. Today the coins I bought 8 years ago are gaining in popularity and most of the high grade specimens, as in, PR 68 Deep Cameo, are held by people who will not let go of these rarities. I own three of the six known PR68 Deep Cameos at PCGS and two well known members of this board each own one. That leaves only one known PR 68 DC that I can't account for, which is the 1897 DC. I have the only 1897 68 Cameo.
The Barber coin design, is one which you either hate it or love it.
I have always loved the classic design and I am extremely happpy that my Barber Halves, even though not aggessively pursued, have increased in value slowly but steadily over the past 8 years.
And the potential for extremely high gains in value seem long overdue. So a very sincere and appreciative " thank you " to all who hate the Barber Half Dollars.

ARCO

Zerbe - The finest proof set of Barber halves...and no SCANS! Oh the shame, the horror!

Must be a beautiful set.

Tyler

pow012000

I just bought my first Barber Half 1892-s PCGS MS64......sweet looking

Coiniac

The Barbers I like best are the circulated ones with dark toning in the crevices and low spots. It gives them an almost 'graphic' look, like they were shaded by an artist. The reason that most Barbers are in such poor shape is that they were definitely circulation workhorses. Barbers could still be found in circulation up into the early 60s! Like another member posted, many past collectors were fond of cleaning and polishing these coins to make them look 'pretty'.

MacCoin

you got to be hitting the pipe if you think that a MS barbers is ugly. If you buy the AG coin and they are all ugly.