Half eagles.

BBN

I love these things. The Liberty and Classic head variety. Thought about starting a date set. I know I'll never finish it so I'm not setting a timeclock on them. What should I avoid? I know raw off of ebay. I'm talking about I would love to get as many MS62 as possible, but at what date do the MS grades start carrying a heavy premium? At that point is where I'm OK with AUs and XF. Any thoughts? I'm eyeing a couple right now and want to pull the trigger on one right now to wet my appetite and then buy a book to study this series while I save for a classic head. Hopefully BECOKA doesn't snipe me when I do go for one. What books are out there? Any "C" or "D" mint remotely affordable in VF grades? Thanks all.

DaveG

There's a lot to read about half eagles.

Probably your first move is to read the articles that Doug Winter has on his website. If you're interested in the branch mints of Charlotte, Dahlonega, New Orleans and Carson City, then you'll want to get his books.

Also, there's a roughly 20 year-old book on half eagles that David Akers wrote as part of his six-volume set on gold coins - more about their auction appearances than the history of the coins, their die varieties, etc.

Since I don't know what your budget is, all I can suggest is that you consult the price guides to set your grade targets. Certainly, most of the post-1879 coins will be the most affordable in MS grades (and the hardest to find slabbed in less than MS grades - especially the post-1900 coins).

C- and D-mint coins are affordable in VF, but you have to be careful to get a nice "honest" VF, not an XF coin that has been downgraded (for whatever reason). Many, many of the C- and D-mint coins have been messed with, so be a choosy buyer.

BBN

thanks. Are these heavily counterfeited?

golfer72

why not just look at the PCGS price guide?

stinkinlincoln

Sounds like a fun set to take on. Im just starting in old gold. You should go check out the SGS site, Southern Gold Society. A great amount of useful info can be found there. I think there is a link for it in Stones master list thread. Check out the archives at Heritage, alot of great stuff to read. Doug Winters site too.

I wouldnt go after any 1909-O's... They are not really anything special.


Heres a list of all the Half Eagles minted in New Orleans:
Liberty Head - No Motto (1839-1866)
1840-O--- 40,120
1841-O--- 50 None have ever been seen!
1842-O--- 16,400
1843-O--- 101,075 Found with Small and Large Letters.
1844-O--- 364,600--- 1 Proof Unique
1845-O--- 41,000
1846-O--- 58,000
1847-O--- 12,000
1851-O--- 41,000
1854-O--- 46,000
1855-O--- 11,100
1856-O--- 10,000
1857-O--- 13,000
13 coins
Liberty Head - With Motto (1866-1908)
1892-O--- 10,000
1893-O--- 110,000
1894-O--- 16,600
3 coins
Indian Head (1908-1929)
1909-O--- 34,200


Personally, I love mint state coins, but there is something about high XF through AU gold that really grabs you. Thats my choice any way for old gold.

Anyway you go, if you take your time and buy right coins that speak to you and stand out from the others, regardless of the grades, youll have a blast and a great collection of old gold!


Good luck and post some pics when you start buying.

BBN

<< <i>why not just look at the PCGS price guide? >>




...but that would take work on my part. I'm actually studying it right now.

BBN

Thanks stinkinlink. Good info. It would be nice to land at least one from every mint.





<< <i>1841-O--- 50 None have ever been seen! >>



BTW, if I were a betting man I'd bet that there are all types of these in China.

stinkinlincoln

No prob BBN.


Even though Im doing a complete N.O. design type set, Id really like to get an early gold piece from every Mint as well. Good idea.

fc

forget about the date set unless you have a lot of cash. i am talking
a hundred thousand at least for lib half eagles.

if i was you i would concentrate on a set of coins, one from each mint.

these would be uber special coins in any grade. there has to be something
that would set each coin apart from others. be it the ulimate in rarity
for a P mint coin, a super dirty well worn and circulated S mint. A superb
original D mint coin. A high grade C mint coin with lots of luster and a nice strike. Or an O mint coin that is dripping with eye appeal for many
reasons. A CC that has a lot of meat and original skin.

P mint - civil war date like 1862 or 1863.
S mint - 1850s or 1860s.
0 mint - a later date in high grade.
CC mint - a later date looker, perhaps a 63.
D mint - a superb choice XF45 that is fully original. no doubt about it.
C mint - great strike, lots of luster for the grade, perhaps an AU.

etc...
to do this minor plan would take a lot of patience, money ready to go
when the RIGHT coin comes along, and making contacts among people
who collect who can keep an eye out for you.

BBN

This series does look ridiculously expensive in earlier dates

fc

<< <i>This series does look ridiculously expensive in earlier dates >>



put it this way... a 100 lib half eagles.. melt would probably be 25000
dollars alone.

collegecoincollector

buy the book first! always the best way to go IMO. and before you start buying i would talk to a few dealers about it as well and see what their input is

DaveG

Yes, there are a lot of counterfeit half eagles around - or at least there were.

Half eagles were heavily counterfeited back in the '50s and '60s (supposedly) by counterfeiters in Lebanon.

As for the 1841-O - it doesn't exist.

MrOrganic

<< <i>why not just look at the PCGS price guide? >>




I too am into old U.S. gold & was wondering which price guide is accurate (true market prices)

greysheet
pcgs price guide
numismedia
heritage

DaveG

There's no short answer to which price guide is more accurate - except, of course, for experience.

It really depends on the coin you're interested in - higher or lower grade, more or less common.

Heritage archives record actual selling prices - but, you have to know what the coin looks like in person. (Many people say that Heritage's pictures are terrible.) Also, if you're interested in a coin that hasn't been on Heritage much, you have to extrapolate a price.

The Grey Sheet is right on for some coins and way off for others.

Doug Winter seems to charge about 75% of Coin World's retail prices (formerly known as Trends).

"You pays your money and you takes your choices."

Baley

ah, the half eagle, the five dollar gold piece, the only denomination struck at all 7 major mints.

I agree with those who recommend you consider collecting a type/mint set in the denomination, rather than assembling a long run of boring libs

such a group would be much more compact and liquid, as well as interesting to behold.

MrOrganic

<< <i>There's no short answer to which price guide is more accurate - except, of course, for experience.

It really depends on the coin you're interested in - higher or lower grade, more or less common.

Heritage archives record actual selling prices - but, you have to know what the coin looks like in person. (Many people say that Heritage's pictures are terrible.) Also, if you're interested in a coin that hasn't been on Heritage much, you have to extrapolate a price.

The Grey Sheet is right on for some coins and way off for others.

Doug Winter seems to charge about 75% of Coin World's retail prices (formerly known as Trends).

"You pays your money and you takes your choices." >>




Thanx Dave

BECOKA

I'd recomend doing a year set for the classic heads, if you do 1838 you can get Philly, Dahlonega and Charlotte. Not sure what your price range is but I'd probably look for nice VF/XF examples, there are some PQ and a lot of dogs. Pick the PQ's.

For the liberties I agree with the others, do some research decide if you want to stick with the MS62 grade and do a mint mark type set, you might even be able to bump your grades up a bit by reducing the quantity from 100 to a handful.

fc

i am not sure if this matters to you but the lack of interest in this thread
summarizes the interest in collecting half eagles above a single piece
for a type set.

it is a dead end.

if you asked the same question about morgans or lincolns this thread
would be full of people commenting and discussing it instead of just
a handful.

i know it probably does not matter to you but be quite sure you want
to collect
these in a vacuum surrounded by people who will take a looky-loo
but otherwise not care one bit. It can get depressing when you think
about it for a bit.

BECOKA

Another option where there is some traction and interest is a CC set of half eagles. There are 2 tough ones where you might have to settle for G or VF but otherwise doable. The CC's are always popular on any coin.