Thinking of collecting Seated Liberty Halves

tjkillian

I am working on two different collections: 1. A U.S. type set from 1793 to present and 2. An Indian Cent collection in an average grade of MS-64RB.

I am almost finished with that latter, but I will need to save a lot for the 1877
I really like the Seated Liberty design and have made a half hearted attempt at Seated Liberty Half dimes. I am thinking of starting a Seated Liberty Half dollar collection in an average grade of VF/XF/AU. Does anyone have any comments on if this is a reasonable thing to do? I think it would be too hard to get the coins exclusively from circulation, so I will buy most of them, but I will still keep a keen look out for them in my change.
Initially, I will just go with the date/mintmark set and then decide later to work on varieties.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Tom

DaveG

Well, as everyone says: "It's easier said than done."

I presume you've joined the LSCC and bought the Wiley/Bugert book. The LSCC has, within the past couple of years, had a couple of good articles on the relative populations of halves in The Gobrecht Journal.

As everyone says, it's a very long series and the coins aren't easy to find in original, eye-appealing condition. (And, of course, it's hard to find the nice coins for less than Trends, much less Grey Sheet!) As others can attest, and speaking as a date-and-mintmark collector, the Seated Liberty series attracts more than its share of "variety nuts", so a few people hog many more coins than they should. The mint-marked coins are hard to find, the pre-1853 coins are hard to find, the Civil War coins are hard to find and the immediately post-Civil War coins are hard to find.

In my experience, most general dealers keep a fairly limited inventory of Seated coins in stock, so you frequently have to go to the specialist dealers (and, guess what, they're not cheap).

Also, I see a lot more ANACS slabs than PCGS or NGC, so if you don't like ANACS, you may have to spend a lot of money crossing your slabs.

However, if you like a project that will keep you occupied for a long time and expose you to some very knowledgable numismatists, aren't afraid to grade a coin yourself or to tell if a raw coin has been "messed with" and don't mind coins that have been "lightly cleaned in the past", then come on down and collect some real coins!

TomB

DaveG has given about as good an introduction to this series as could be written.

ziggy29

It will be tough to get some of them. You probably will need to work with some specialty dealers. Dick Osburn would be a good one, and surely some other Seated specialists can give more suggestions.

RYK

It is little known that I am putting together a set of XF/AU New Orleans seated halves to complement my interest in No Motto NO gold. I am not a student or major enthusiast of the series--I just my them when I run across them.

tjkillian

Thanks for the information, I thought being a member of LSCC was a requirement to get in to 1st grade and that everyone was a member

I will be working with "LongTimeCollector" in getting some of the harder ones, if not all of them. I do want to get unmolested ones, and no, they do not have to be in a PCGS slab, ANACS would be just fine in this case.

Tom

lathmach

Congratulations. The Seated Half Dollars would be a very good series to collect.
I have around 75 or so, but I never really got into them.
The Seated Quarters have kept me busy for the last 14 or so years.

Ray

Barry

After I completed Seated Liberty Dimes, I said never again will I do another Seated series. They're just too long. Good luck!

mirabela

<< <i>I have around 75 or so, but I never really got into them. >>



Long series, with plenty of difficult coins -- however there are also a good many of them available easily & inexpensively in pleasant VF-AU grades, notably quite a few of the O coins. Shouldn't be too hard to start having a good time with this project.

coinlieutenant

Tom,

I am also a collector in the series. I have found it VERY challenging although I do not include VF's in my collection. That fact alone will make the task easier, but by no means easy.

I have been looking for choice original XF's and AU's now for over a year and I have seven...None are really key's either. The 78-S as you know is a bear, and there are several sleepers that I NEVER see original and nice.

Here are some pics to get you going and excited. Write me anytime to share new knowledge or just to talk about experiences...I would love to learn more.
I look at this set as a true lifetime project...and I am glad that I am starting early. When one comes your way however, I find it extremely rewarding.

V.r,
John

Myqqy

Coinlieutenant- I love that 1861 half you have!! Excellent toning.......

EVillageProwler

Tom,

This series, and in fact all Seated denoms, are fraught with significant pitfalls for the new entrant into the series. Some examples:

* Too many holes in each set (minus the 20c)
* Too many variations in the "look" of the holes within each series; e.g., 1840 very diff from 1853O very diff from 1888
* Popular price guides useless for too many holes: too low as well as too high
* Very hard to find un-impaired specimens for too many holes
* Frequent periods of illiquidity for these coins (thin market)
* Some holes are extremely expensive and rare: 78S, 53O N/A

Good luck, and join the LSCC.

EVP

lclugza

Also the 1873S with no arrows at date half is SUPER TOUGH to find.

Conder101

Glutton for punishment.

291fifth

Think about what you are going to do when it comes to the 78-S (and other expensive dates as well). Can you really afford it or will it be the "stopper" that eventually kills your interest. Don't buy anything in this series until you have resolved this issue in your mind.

If you do decide to start collecting the series insist on strictly original coins. Much like the Barber series, this series suffers from coins having been cleaned/dipped in large numbers.

Many others have supplied good info in this thread.

Tom

dorkkarl

from someone who collects/ed all the seated series, you'll need serious guts to take on the halves.

if you wanna pick 1 series, i strongly suggest the half-dimes, they are the most doable of all the seateds (other then 20c of course).

K S

longtimecollector

Time for me to chime in I guess..............

The set IS do-able............ I'd estimate 8-10 years and some seriously deep pockets !!!!!!!!!

The 78-S is tough, but there are tougher.......... 73 no arrows "open 3" comes to mind first.............

Die varieties in this set will increase the cost by multiples of 4-10 times............

rhedden

My advice is to take it slowly and don't rush into buying coins just to complete the set. Wait long enough, and nice coins will appear at the right price. Set collecting can cultivate a state of mind where one will purchase mediocre or even ugly coins just because he "needs" them to complete the set. The result is a "ho-hum" collection purchased at high retail prices.

mrdq

I encourage you to get into Seated halves...

And sell me your ugly tiny little half dimes of course

ziggy29

Another thing is that you don't have to complete an entire date/mint set to collect this series or any series. Any type of collection that you want to pursue can make sense. Maybe a "one-a-year" set, for example, to collect one of each type/date (so you wouldn't get stuck on particular stoppers like '78-S and '70-CC). Focus on nice, quality pieces within your target grade range, knowing that the best can come from any of the mints.

Or maybe you can have a type set -- there are at least 6 distinct Seated half types which would make a nice, short presentation depending on what you consider a "type".

The problem with a series that has major stoppers is that if you are the type that needs to complete a set, you may need to consider how you can collect a "subset" of the series and complete that.

coinlieutenant

That is a good idea ziggy...I have modified my set that way a bit...I dont do varieties within date/mintmark combos. A date run is much more manageable...

TommyType

I can't claim any expertise, but I can agree with you on the allure! There's something about the seated design in the half-dollar size....very nice from the grade of XF up, in my opinion.

It's essentially the first "classic" design I completed in my type set, and I still buy them when I see one I really like, and I look for excuses to "need" another date. Just bought an 1863-S in XF because it's 100 years older than me, and had an S mintmark. Very good reasons indeed.

I don't think I have the means or focus to do a full set, but I wish you luck!!

Tom

tjkillian

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. I am going to go for it. I will just collect for my pleasure. If I don't get an 1878-S or an 1853-O No Arrows, it won't bother me. I wil enlist "longtimecollector" and his new coin shop to help me as he actually completed the set, including the 1878-S.

Tom