Was anyone bidding on this Barber Half?

SurfWVa

Very pretty coin but wow, the reserve seems pretty high to me:

1901 50C MS64+ PCGS Secure, CAC ex: Queller

I was not bidding on this particular lot but I was tracking it, and prior to the reserve posting I was thinking about jumping into the fray. I think the bidding was previously in the mid-2000s, which seemed to me to be a fair valuation. Am I missing something about this that justifies starting the bidding above the wholesale for the next grade up?

Frankcoins

High end coins with beautiful toning can easily sell for double or triple wholesale.

19Lyds

You've obviously missed the fact that the coin is pleasantly toned and has been blessed with a Secure Plus holder in addition to a "+" Grade with a Green Bean Sticker.

SurfWVa

<< <i>You've obviously missed the fact that the coin is pleasantly toned and has been blessed with a Secure Plus holder in addition to a "+" Grade with a Green Bean Sticker. >>



I can't tell if this is sarcasm, but I had to manually type the "MS64+," "PCGS Secure," and "CAC" parts of the link into the message. I also spent a good amount of time looking this coin over, but I'm not going to pretend that I know everything about Barber Halves. It did look to me to be a very nice type coin. I'm well aware of the way it has been graded, I'm well aware of the fact that it is very attractively toned, and I'm well aware that the coin is high end and may, on a good day, slab MS65. I'm also well aware that coins like this can and do sell for a significant premium due to the toning and overall quality. I was just wondering if anyone was actually bidding on it and whether they thought the reserve was fair -- the jump in the price on my daily tracked lots report seemed out of character with the bidding and the "assigned" value.

EDIT -- I did miss the fact that the auction description gives an earlier auction sale of $3,700 for this item.

STEWARTBLAYNUMIS

The coin previously sold for $3,800 and you want to pick it off for in the $2,000 range.

Stewart Blay

EagleEye

Looks like a decent coin. $4000 reserve doesn't seem out of line.

Ex: Dalton Family Collection (Stack's, 12/1975), lot 631; Queller Family Collection (Stack's, 10/2002), lot 768; FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2005), lot 4226, which realized $3,737.50.

Broadstruck

The Heritage images don't do that one (or most) of MFH's Barbers justice as that's a monster and if I recall correctly was once in a NGC MS65* holder.

SurfWVa

<< <i>The Heritage images don't do that one (or most) of MFH's Barbers justice as that's a monster and if I recall correctly was once in a NGC MS65* holder. >>



Thanks for the info, that makes much more sense as to why the reserve is set where it is, as does the previous auction sale price which I admittedly missed. Good luck to everyone bidding on this auction and I apologize if my post offended anyone -- it was not my intent.

BarberFanatic

I am very good friends with the seller and the 1901 is one coin he truly doesn't want to part with. So he set a reserve price high enough that he could live with himself if it sells for that price.

keyman64

Mike paid strong money for it and just wants to make sure he doesn't lose any money on it. I don't blame him. It's a good looking coin and if someone wants one of the TOP 14 1901 Graded Halves then they will need to pay up for it...or Mike gets to keep it which I doubt he would mind too much.

SurfWVa

<< <i>Mike paid strong money for it and just wants to make sure he doesn't lose any money on it. I don't blame him. It's a good looking coin and if someone wants one of the TOP 14 1901 Graded Halves then they will need to pay up for it...or Mike gets to keep it which I doubt he would mind too much. >>



I do not blame him either and I wish him the best of luck in either selling for a price he can live with or enjoying his coin for many years to come.

golden

llafoe

Purdy!

roadrunner

It fetched $3250 in the fall 2002 Queller sale. I had it graded then as a 64 due to the facial hits/grazes...and was quite surprised at how much it brought at the time.
Goes to show what eye appeal and color can do for a coin.

roadrunner

MFH

Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts;
Broadstruck mentioned this thread to me
earlier today and I thought I'd look at it.

BarberFanatic is 100% correct - I wouldn't sell
it for anything less than the reserve - and the
consignment director didn't want me to set it so
high either. I pointed out that I paid nearly that
amount for the coin.

The coin - as discussed - came out of the Queller
collection and when I bought it - it was in an MS 65 *
NGC holder. I love all Barbers - but - this one is my
hands down favorite.

I submitted the coin for Cross at Any Grade - and
it came back a MS 64 - I resubmitted it a year later
and once again - it came back as a MS 64; last year
I resubmitted it again because of the new Secure Plus
grading procedure - and the coin came back as a 64+

Fair enough - its a 64+ , at least today. Maybe in ten years
when I sell the other 50% of my collection, it'll regrade a 65+
[ wouldn't that be a hoot !! ]

Five Halves didn't hit their reserves: the 1899-P, the 1901-P,
the 1901-S, the 1908-P and the 1908-D. Only the 1901-P and
the 1901-S had high reserves to reflect the value I felt they had.

Why the other three didn't sell is a mystery to me as their reserves
were 60% of what I paid for them just a year or two ago.

Its late and although I could ramble on and on about the auction
and the results I need to get some zzzzzz's as I have to be at the
Stephens Convention Center when it opens at 8:00 AM.

Here are the images I have of the 1901-P - enjoy...




Image by MessyDesk

jhdfla

That's a gorgeous coin in spite of the cheek grazes, and probably accurately graded at the 64+ level. It was on my watch list as well, and this may be comparing apples and oranges, but a Barber Half with this kind of color is a lot scarcer than many commems which regularly command that kind of money at auction with color like that. Just a thought.

I posted this link in another thread, check what this barber dime brought (4X 65 money) in the last session. Mike's reserve is not really out of line.

1899 10c

SurfWVa

Sorry to hear your other halves did not sell. I think I remember looking at that 1899 and deciding the patina was too dark for me -- same with the 1908-O.

This 1892 Barber half (not one of yours I don't think?) went for a pretty heavy premium but it looks to be a monster:

1892 MS66 PCGS CAC

This 1892 in the next grade up sold but didn't command anywhere near as strong of a premium despite also having very nice coloration. I'm guessing the ding at the back of the cheek may have subdued the bidding a little:

1892 MS67 PCGS CAC


MFH, I hope you didn't take offense to my OP as it was not my intent to bad-mouth either the coin or your judgment in setting a high reserve price. Like everyone else, there are usually dozens of lots that I track in these auctions and it can be several weeks between when I do my initial review of the offerings and when bidding actually starts to heat up. In the interim, I might forget some of the details that I caught the first go-around, but for many of the lots I pay more attention to the photographs and whether the coin might fall within my budget than I do to the written description. In this case I missed the previous auction hammer price and I did not know the coin's backstory.

7Jaguars

Wow, how did ATS go 65 on that.
I mean nice coin but way too much action on the cheek.

I also think coins like this are serving to be test cases as the market IMO is D-O-W-N despite Heritage sales figures, and may be headed lower...You may have to absorb some losses on coins like this however bad it sounds.

Honestly what would a dealer in Barbers pay right now for this coin?

PonyExpress8

Both 1892's were very nice coins. The 66 went for more then I thought it would with the distracting fingerprint on the reverse. In hand the 67 was a nicer coin even with the very small hit mentioned. Also the color is much more accurately depicted in the slab and not the coin only photos.

Honestly neither coin was photographed all that well.

I viewed all the Barbers in the sale and MFH's reserves were in the ballpark. There were a handful of coins he really liked and set higher reserves. The 1901 is a very nice coin with attractive toning. As a dealer there just wasn't quite enough room for me on the 1901 or the 1901-S in MS63, but I liked both coins and if I were building a new set like the one I had a few years back I would have bid on both coins. As it was if the reserves had been 2 increments lower on either of those I would have bought them.

As someone else mentioned in the thread, attractively toned Barbers don't show up that often but when they do like any great toned coin you have to forget price guides and go with your gut. The same thing with PL coins. Wish PCGS would put the PL designation on other series. A lot of us have been asking for this for years and ATS they have been doing so for awhile now.

I loved finding PL surfaces and in my set I had 4 or 5 like that, as well as a few nicely toned pieces. All of these did well when I sold them.

SurfWVa

Where is the fingerprint you are referring to -- is it the large untoned area in the center across the eagle/shield? I did not get to view these pieces in-hand and from the photograph it looked to me like the eagle had a cameo effect that simply did not tone like the surrounding fields. On a second look, the zoomed-out view makes the striated toning breaks below the left claw of the eagle appear to be part of the fingerprint, but I'm guessing it extends into the middle of the coin as well for it to have been a distraction in-hand.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

TomB

I didn't care for the 1892 PCGS MS66/CAC Barber half in-hand all that much.

MFH

<< <i>Sorry to hear your other halves did not sell. I think I remember looking at that 1899 and deciding the patina was too dark for me -- same with the 1908-O.

This 1892 Barber half (not one of yours I don't think?) went for a pretty heavy premium but it looks to be a monster:

1892 MS66 PCGS CAC

This 1892 in the next grade up sold but didn't command anywhere near as strong of a premium despite also having very nice coloration. I'm guessing the ding at the back of the cheek may have subdued the bidding a little:

1892 MS67 PCGS CAC


MFH, I hope you didn't take offense to my OP as it was not my intent to bad-mouth either the coin or your judgment in setting a high reserve price. Like everyone else, there are usually dozens of lots that I track in these auctions and it can be several weeks between when I do my initial review of the offerings and when bidding actually starts to heat up. In the interim, I might forget some of the details that I caught the first go-around, but for many of the lots I pay more attention to the photographs and whether the coin might fall within my budget than I do to the written description. In this case I missed the previous auction hammer price and I did not know the coin's backstory. >>



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OP - No offense taken - believe me. I wouldn't even consider paying $4,600 [ with the buyers fees ] for an MS 64 - even a 64 + Plus - but
the coin is just one of the nicest looking halves I have ever handled... granted there is some chatter on the face - but its not too evident - at
least its not to me. I'm happy it didn't sell, personally. I didn't want to consign it at all - and as a matter of fact, I bought a run of the mill AU 55
for the 1898-Phila mint because I wanted to keep my MS 65 out of the sale [ as well as my MS 66 Quarter and MS 65 Dime - all of 1898 ]. I'm
happy to get back my 1898-O Half as well in MS 64 [ yes, its a tad dark - but its a beautiful coin ] { I was offered $3,804.35 for the coin - plus
HA would add their 15% buyers fees totalling $4,375. This coin had a $4,000 reserve on it - as I paid $5,000 for it with HLRC a few years back.
I surely thought it would sell at the reserve with the buyers fees or $4,600, but, it didn't. I'm happy to have it back... now I wish I had kept the 98-S
that I bought out of Dale's collection in MS 65...}

Post auction purchase grabbed my 1908 Phila in MS 64 - another tough coin and a nice looking light golden coin and although HA set the reserve
on that coin, I still lost almost $400 on it. I made a tactical error when I consigned my coins; I broke my own rule: Buy & Hold for a minimum of
Seven years. Many of the MS coins in the sale were newer purchases. I should have been content with my AU 55's & 58's... and I would have been
far ahead of the game.

While assisting PonyExpress8 [ Glenn Holsonbake ] at his table - I was pleasantly surprised to have met so many of the collectors who
purchased coins from my collection. Also, I met a few more during the auction itself. Its always nice to meet people who have the same
collecting interests as I do. I also met another collector who purchased my old 1901-S Quarter in PCGS 55 which I sold privately a couple
of years ago... I was shocked to see it in JJ Teaparty's case - and as he had consigned the coin , he picked it up before the end of the show.
We got to talking about Barbers in general - and he took out my old coin as well a a finer looking duplicate 01-S - also in a PCGS 55 holder.
I immediately offered to buy his better coin... but... it wasn't for sale...

My friend, Chugum, stopped by with my old Micro O Half in PCGS 63 [ ex: Shireman ] ... just to say "goodbye to it !! " Yup, it was a hard thing to
do - to sell off so many nice coins - but, I had a lot of fun collecting them, I met numerous fine individuals and to be perfectly frank - the joy
in collecting has always been in the hunt of rare coins... not so much in the owning of them ... as they're locked away in a bank vault and
on a rare occasion are brought out to see the light of day.

Happy Hunting, Everyone !!

mcarney1173

Hey surfwva, I'd like to send you a message, could you turn on your Pm's. Thanks, Mike

SurfWVa

<< <i>Hey surfwva, I'd like to send you a message, could you turn on your Pm's. Thanks, Mike >>



I did not realize I had them turned off but I have them turned on now. Fire away.

BBN

<< <i>I am very good friends with the seller and the 1901 is one coin he truly doesn't want to part with. So he set a reserve price high enough that he could live with himself if it sells for that price. >>



Good for him if he keeps it. I let go of the coin in my avatar last year and kicking myself to this day for it. Moment of weakness for another coin I could have gotten any time. The coin in my avatar was also only in a XF45 slab. I just loved it, but a moment of weakness separated us...hopefully not forever.