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How hard would a Barber Quarter set be?
wheatguy
Posts: 359 ✭
I'm contemplating soon starting a set of Barber Quarters, in the F/VF/EF range. Has anyone completed this set, or have any knowledge on it?
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But I actually really like the look of Barber coinage in the mid-range circulated grades. Sounds like a nice project. You'll have to pay up for the three keys if you want to complete the set, but the rest should be fun to track down, and very reasonable.
Best,
Sunnywood
Sunnywood's Rainbow-Toned Morgans (Retired)
Sunnywood's Barber Quarters (Retired)
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
My guess is that it's still pretty hard.
Camelot
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
The Barber quarter set is a BEAR ... no pun intended.
<< <i>All I can say is that the melting range is 1435ºF (779ºC.) (melting begins) to 1635ºF (891ºC.) (melting is complete).
My guess is that it's still pretty hard. >>
I just have to add...I think that's a very funny reply.
Sorry Bear, but I have to agree with the others. The Quarters are much harder than the halves and the dimes are the easyest(sp) of the three. That's good for me.
<< <i>I have to disagree with Bear and state that a Barber quarter set in F-EF would be far tougher than a Barber half set in the same grade range. It took me five or six years, but I managed to complete a more or less original VF (some F, a few EF) Barber half set and the total expenditure on my 70+ coin set was less than it will cost to find and buy a problem-free, original 1901-S Barber quarter in F12. Don't kid yourself and think the quarters are easy. Beyond the obvious big three (1896-S, 1901-S and 1913-S) there are quite a few very tough coins that will take significant time, patience and resources to obtain. If you are willing to buy many horrible coins then you can do this set in a relatively short time with enough funds that you could put down a decent deposit on a nice house, but if you want terrific coins for the grade then this is a long term, expensive set. >>
What he said.
<< <i>I had a friend who built the set in 63 except for 01-s...he kept waiting and waiting and waiting and now he'd have to sell his house to buy one. >>
Tell yor friend that HLRC has one in PCGS 63 for just shy of $50K.
He could take out a second mortgage - or borrow on his 401K.
Assembling a set of Barber Quarters in VF-XF is far more difficult
than assembling a Half set. My good friend Dave Batterberry [ Dave99B ]
has been working on his set for years and there are more sleepers in
that set than most people realize.
I think having a minimum grade of VG 10 would give you a very accecptable
looking collection and cap it off at XF 40 for the common dates.
Good luck - and let us know if you have any stumbling blocks that we can
help you locate. ie: 1909-O in VF...really - really tough coin !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I'm down to two dates (yes, the 01-s is one of them). My set is all PCGS VF20-35; all original, dirty examples, just the way I like them. Started in 1987, after reading an article in COINage about how easy the set was (other than the keys). It's been almost 30 years, but I'm very picky.
Many dates/mm examples are crazy difficult, if you demand strict undipped originality. It's not really about money. It's about the search. But they are out there, if you dig hard!
Enjoy,
Dave
A Barber half dollar set in VF-XF is no slouch either, especially if you demand fully original, eye-appealing coins that are problem free.
Once you cath the bug for AU 58 Barber Halves, however, there are quite a few show stoppers. People need to die to obtain the missing coins. That's where my journey has taken me......
I have really never understood the reasoning behind a whole set of anything, unless the design, other than the date & mm, changes.
Whatever makes YOU happy!
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I started my Barber Half Set in fear of the Big 3 Quarters. The Half set is far from easy in VF to XF, but there are no show stoppers. Still, a nice half set will take many years and a lot of hunting to complete.
Once you cath the bug for AU 58 Barber Halves, however, there are quite a few show stoppers. People need to die to obtain the missing coins. That's where my journey has taken me......
One of the reasons I have a pair of these now:
...and baby makes three....
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
over a 40 yr. period.
I started my Barber Half Set in fear of the Big 3 Quarters. The Half set is far from easy in VF to XF, but there are no show stoppers. Still, a nice half set will take many years and a lot of hunting to complete.
Once you cath the bug for AU 58 Barber Halves, however, there are quite a few show stoppers. People need to die to obtain the missing coins. That's where my journey has taken me......
One of the reasons I have a pair of these now:
...and baby makes three....
Mike-
Are you bringing them to Nebraska or Georgia any time soon? There's a few 58's I need.......
Most of the coins are out there, and can be found with very diligent searching, if you are willing to spend the money to purchase PCGS graded coins. But you will have to pay up. Nice raw coins are becoming harder and harder to find. I have been tying to buy original raw coins (at least for the common ones) at reasonable prices. It is a challenge and I've a long way to go. I have purchased fewer than 10 since I began and I still need to upgrade more than 40 coins in the set. I fear I will need to adjust my objectives soon. Obviously, I would like to upgrade the big 3, but those are substantial purchases.
I have often wondered whether I should simply step away and concentrate on a few individual pieces for type, as type is my interest anyway, but so far, I'm sticking with it.
Tom
It is nice to collection information first and learn what are sleepers and what are semi-keys. 09-O in VE-XF is always in demand. I found that 11-D is also hard to find with original EF surface. When these sleepers show in market, go after them right away. They might not show up every Blue Moon