1898 0 Barber half question

ricman · May 10, 2006 1:00AM

Some 25 yrs ago I put together F to VF and VG to F sets of Barber halves. With respect to the F to VF set, the most difficult coin to locate was the 98 0 half. I've not purchased a Barber half since this time. However, as for those collectors building sets today in the F to XF range, I'm curious if these collectors have difficulty locating the 98 0 half. Today, I see much attention focused on the 04 S half. I don't recall any problems locating this coin years ago and don't think it was even considered much of a key date.
I'd appreciate seeing any posts by today's active collectors.

thanks

InYHWHWeTrust · May 10, 2006 2:10AM

A CU board member offered 2 choice VF, PQ specimens in PCGS plastic in the last 2 months and I think there was another VF30 on ebay in addition. I won an F12 in ANACS not too long ago and had my hands on an oh-so-close raw XF45, but passed. USCGCraig's database shows 6 offered in the past 2 years in F-XF in ANACS, PCGS or NGC and I suspect there are others to be added to his most recent report due out soon. 1898 o is not as commonly seen at 04s with the presupposition of original (uncleaned), mark-free and attractive condition in the mid grades, BUT, way more common than some other dates with higher mintage reports that just don't seem to be there at all. Or else they're well stashed away-- 93 o, 08p and 95 s come to mind, esp in VF (not XF).

So, there's one anecdotal perspective for you.

Don

TheRaven · May 10, 2006 2:21AM

I don't believe I have it for my VG set I am working on.....

Barberman55 · May 10, 2006 3:20AM

Definitely one of the tougher dates in Fine thru XF and has to be considered at minimum, a semi-key date Barber half.

ARCO · May 10, 2006 5:17AM

The 98-O is quite a difficult date and it is considered a key date coin by the Barber Coin Collectors Society. I would also consider it a key date coin in grades Fine and higher. In lower grades of VG10 and below it is not that difficult coin to find.

Scarcity and difficulty of finding certain dates can be subjective to the collector. While many dates are tough and most collectors know those dates, sometimes you get lucky and find more than the average. That has been the case with me and the 98-O. If you ever find an original 1898-O in grades VF or higher, by all means buy it and know that you have a very scarce coin.

Here is my top five in the F-VF range for difficulty, VF coins becoming even more scarce.

1 -1904-S (XF and higher coins have entered the market because of the large price increases of late)
2 -1896-S
3 -1901-S
4 -1893-S
5 -1895-S

runner up - 1904-O in grades VF and higher is another killer.

Tyloer

Tyler

USCGCraig · May 10, 2006 1:44PM

The 10-P, 08-P, 06-S, all 05 PDS, 03-O, 01-O,01-S, 00-O, 99-O, 98-O, 96-P, 94-O, 93-S, and 93-O just don't come up for auction very frequently. These seem to be the hardest to find in unmolested VF-AU grades. The 96-O, 96-S, 97-O, 97-S, 04-S, and 13, 14, 15-P's are all out in full force.

Just my .50 cents based upon the spreadsheet.

MFH · May 11, 2006 9:37AM

ricman,

Welcome.

The 98-O is not offered in VF and above very frequently. Below that level, they are available but most you'll see are AG/G.

One of the toughest to locate is the 1896-O in untampered grades at all levels.

My take on the toughest dates in VF are:

1)1904-S
2)1901-S
3)1896-O
4)1893-S
5)1901-O

Runners up are:

6)1904-O
7)1905-O
8)1900-O
9)1902-O
10)1908-S

Interestingly enough the 1903-P is alot scarcer than the 1913- 14 & 15.

Knowing you'll be running into us on Ebay auctions, I'm Elbesaar.

Attached is my latest 1896-O ANACS AU 55 from "Redshoulder"

ricman · May 11, 2006 10:29AM

My thanks to all who have so far responded to my question re the 98 0 Barber half. As stated, not having purchased a Barber coin in 25 years I was most interested to hear what dates are today considered difficult to acquire. I believe it was Coast Guard Craig who refered to a spreadsheet. Is this something posted on the web or someone's personnel tracking system for Barber halves?

Again, many thanks for the replies

ricman · May 11, 2006 10:35AM

What a beautiful 96 0 half! I would guess this will be part of a high grade set of Barber halves.

MFH · May 11, 2006 11:27AM

Actually, its my duplicate; here's my 96-O in my primary set:

Edited to add two 1898-O's in my secondary sets:

TomB · May 11, 2006 11:47AM

The 1898-O is a well known coin within Barber half dollar circles however, the coin is nearly unknown in the general collecting community. In my experience, the very tough Barber half dollars in strictly original condition and grading VF-EF would be-

1) 1904-S
2) 1897-S
3) 1893-S
4) 1898-O
5) 1896-S

roadrunner · May 11, 2006 11:59AM

Ricman, across the board I've always loved 1898-0 barbers. Like you, I found the 98-0 very challenging in the 70's and early 80's.
I was mainly looking for choice uncs back then. While everyone else was enamored with a 96-0 or 97-0 or 04-s, I was after the 98-0 through 04-0 dates. I always loved them. The 98-0 dime and quarter are goodies as well. I am not surprised that any of the O mints from 98 to 04 are tough. Because they had somewhat higher mintages they got ignored for decades.

roadrunner

1898 0 Barber half question

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