Barber Dimes...Difficult (or Not Difficult) in XF??

OneCent · January 1, 2009 7:52AM

After I'm done with my Lincoln Wheat circulated set I may work on a Barber series. Not a real big fan of dimes in general, but the Liberty Head barber dimes has some attractive attributes, at least in my eyes. 10 or so dates with mintages under 1M (another thread pointed this out the other day...This Thread) and I love the big fat "O" and "S" mintmarks on a small coin.

So, is a set of Barber Dimes in true XF-40 a pretty decent challenge? Not just average coins for the grade, but solid eye-appealing XF's. What do you think? Anyone "do" and complete a Barber Dime set in this grade? Thoughts and experiences appreciated. Also, feel free to post an XF example.

LanLord · January 1, 2009 7:54AM

couple toughies, the 94s is a hurdle

OneCent · January 1, 2009 7:56AM

<< <i>couple toughies, the 94s is a hurdle >>

Doesn't count.

Barndog · January 1, 2009 7:58AM

<< <i>After I'm done with my Lincoln Wheat circulated set I may work on a Barber series. Not a real big fan of dimes in general, but the Liberty Head barber dimes has some attractive attributes, at least in my eyes. 10 or so dates with mintages under 1M (another thread pointed this out the other day...This Thread) and I love the big fat "O" and "S" mintmarks on a small coin.

So, is a set of Barber Dimes in true XF-40 a pretty decent challenge? Not just average coins for the grade, but solid eye-appealing XF's. What do you think? Anyone "do" and complete a Barber Dime set in this grade? Thoughts and experiences appreciated. Also, feel free to post an XF example.

>>

immensely challenging to find original coins that are solid XF. You will find some slabbed XF coins that are "optimistically graded" in just about anyone's holder. If you stick to your standards and look for a consistent, eye appealing set, report back in a few years when you hit the halfway point. Barber coin collectors will chime in and wish you luck!

centmaster · January 1, 2009 8:02AM

A lot of the low mintage dates are tough in XF, but you may also be surprised when you try to find decent, no problem XF dimes from the Philly mint from 1904 to 1907. Plentiful in MS and the low grades, but XF is flat out tough.

pursuitofliberty · January 1, 2009 8:18AM

Original EF (extremely fine) Barber Dimes are a real challenge.

Probably harder in some ways than ChAU/Unc, which is a bear of a challenge in itself

As far as the comment from centmaster, I would further include the P mints back to 1900
as ones you think you should be able to find, but often can not.

Consider trying to hook up with both casey and boyhowdy on these boards if you really
get the bug as I know they are both very involved with Barber Dimes (far more than I am)
and also have a knack for killer EF's.

Casey · January 1, 2009 11:03AM

My ears were burning...

I was working on a PCGS graded set of XF45s as my set number two following my AU collection, but I recently sold some of the tougher dates I had (03-S, 96-S, 97-S, 98-O). It will be a challenge to complete the series in solid eye-appealing XFs but it can be done. It will take you awhile.

My preference for perfect eye appeal includes darker toning with the "circulated cameo" look. My favorite 45s are shown below. A few of these were also posted in another thread a few days ago focusing on nice looking 45s. Sorry for the duplication!

1905 micro o PCGS XF45

1900-O PCGS XF45

1892-O PCGS XF45

TomB · January 1, 2009 11:06AM

Do you want original, apparently unmessed with coins? If so, this is a big time challenge. Expect to sink many years into the endeavor. I built an original VF set of Barber halves and it took me years to complete.

Fairlaneman · January 1, 2009 11:13AM

I would think XF Barbers would be just the same or a little harder than AU Mercs. Original nice coins are real tough to find. Also if you go by the stuff you see in slabs nowdays you are defeating your purpose of putting together a nice original properly graded set. Stick to or find out what the correct grading is within the series.

Ken

rld14 · January 1, 2009 1:28PM

I think an XF set of ANY Barber would be quite the accomplishment and something to be very proud of. I have a few circulated sets that I am putting together, ones where I am trying to match the wear on the coins as close as possible, it's quite the challenge and I am having a lot of fun with it.

boyhowdy · January 1, 2009 3:25PM

I've been a Barber dime fanatic for 10 years. I decided to put together an XF+ set of toners
to distract me from the blues after selling most of my slabs. It took 3 years to finish and
probably 85% were bought raw on eBay. Only a couple I suspect as having been cleaned.

Biggest pitfall will be finding original coins. Good luck finding even commoner dates that
haven't been at least dipped. Many of the XF-looking dimes on the 'bay have even been
cleaned mechanically where you get a polishing effect.

Dimes are small. Learn to be good at manipulating photos found in auctions. If I'm trying
to determine grade from a poor picture I kick it into a photo-manipulation app and blow it up.
If I need to see hidden mintmarks or more detail on darker coins I kick the photo into Paint
and use the <reverse image> function. Gives me an X-ray view of the coin.

Get to know the sellers who specialize in Barber dimes that are ALSO COLLECTORS. <Aneji>
and <CCEX> are both very knowledgable and honest. Me too, I'm sjt*ucla on eBay.

Pick up nice XF-AU coins that don't seem difficult. Coins like the 1897-S, 1900-O, 1902-S,
and 1904-S might be semi-keys in the book but they are some of the most difficult to locate
uninjured. More common dates such as 1902-O, 1906-S and 1908-S are not easy in XF+.

It took me 6 months to fill the final hole in my XF+ toner set, the elusive 1896-O. Greysheet
has it at $340 in XF and I had a standing offer of $500 for an original coin. I never collected.
Last winter I bought a 1896 Phillie from a Florida farmer. Flipped it over and saw the "O".
So the moral is -- even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.

But hey -- give a shout-out if you have any questions. Also let me know if there is anything
in the series you are looking for. I'm not into it for anything but the joy. If I find something you
need I'll send you a link. Just don't go searching for 1905-O micro-O dimes. I'm hoarding them!

Steve

OneCent · January 2, 2009 4:04AM

Thanks for the replies.

At some point I will embark on this series in original XF. I like the circ cam look of the coins that Casey presented.
I also appreciate the thoughts and comments by the specialists in the series (Casey, BoyHowdy, et al.). When the
time comes I sure that I will seek the expertise that you have gained.

CarlWohlforth · January 2, 2009 4:50AM

The keys will set you back in XF! Last year I bought a large collection of raw Barbers. Many of the coins had been cleaned, some with worse damage. The best 1895-O was VF and went for over a grand...

seanq · January 2, 2009 5:04AM

<< <i>Me too, I'm sjt*ucla on eBay.

Just don't go searching for 1905-O micro-O dimes. I'm hoarding them!
>>

Man, I've been bidding against you for those micro-O dimes for years and I never knew you were a forum member. Do you have any idea how much money we've cost each other on those darn things?

Sean Reynolds

cladking · January 2, 2009 5:43AM

In my experience the later dates seem relatively easy but the early
dates are much tougher. This is from looking at a lot of raw coins over
the years. It was never too unusual to see the later years in XF and
this especially applies to 1912 and later but also anything after about
1902. There may be some tougher dates hidden in here but if there
are it would imply that there was a lot of collecting before the end of
the series. I doubt this was the case.

BillJones · January 2, 2009 5:47AM

I think that Barber dimes are tough in EF, but the quarters and half dollars are much harder.

The reason is The Great Depression. Many coins that might have been set aside were spent to put food on the table. In addition my perception is that the Barber coins did not wear as well as Indian cents or even Liberty nickels. I think the "LIBERTY" wore off pretty fast on those coins because it was small and delecate.

roadrunner · January 2, 2009 6:48AM

When I've been looking for early O and S mints in VF-XF they have invariably been cleaned or scrubbed. And when not cleaned or scrubbed they have nearly always had rim cuts, dings, gouges or scratches. You might have to look at 10 XF 1897-0's to find one that's all there. I saw one of those in the past 2 years and it was uncleaned but damaged. Only 9 more to go......

Expect to pay a min. 15-35% premiums to bid from those who know what they have. A very underrated set that may not get its dues for another 10 years. Most VF-AU circs I see in slabs I would call lightly cleaned. The keys will set you back hundreds to over a thousand dollars each. Yet the real bargains are the semi keys and more unheralded dates that list for only $15-$100 each. Buy as many of them as you can as you can always trade them towards ones you do need. Money in the bank.

roadrunner

PonyExpress8 · January 4, 2009 4:24PM

A very tough and challenging series to build a set in XF. Those 1913 and earlier seem especially tough in original condition. I suspect maybe a few more were tucked away during WW I perhaps as I do see 1914-1916 coins more.

A forum member and collector built a complete XF45 set of halves. Craig spent a lot of time, if I recall 4 or 5 years and the 1905 was that last coin to complete his set. A great set to work on as it is possible to do, but it will be challenging and over time, likely rewarding too.

mr1931S · January 4, 2009 5:28PM

So, is a set of Barber Dimes in true XF-40 a pretty decent challenge?

Challenge indeed. You will find that some of the dates are almost impossible to find even if you have the money for them and you will need plenty of money. These make for a very nice looking set. Look for originals that haven't been worked on and I recommend that you get some color matching going on for your set. The color from one piece to another can vary a great deal.

I included the 1905 O 'micro O' as part of my set to make 75 pieces total. About half of my set was XF and half was VF. A few of the pieces were AU. It took me 10 years to assemble this set from about 1985 to 1995. Unfortunately, plenty of money was not always there for me and I had to pass on some very nice coins. For example, Art Kagin once offered me a lovely '95 O in XF for about $500. This was in about 1985. I eventually bought a decent VF for my set.

Here's a few closeup pics of my 'micro O.' I bought it for $3 in about '85 or '86. I like the original look of this solid very fine grade coin alot. If all the barber dimes in my set had looked like this one it would have been a very satisfactory thing:

Technically, the '05 O 'micro O' is not considered to be part of a "complete set" but it's such a cool coin i couldn't resist putting it in my album to reside with the other 74. Good luck in your efforts to assemble an XF set of these.

Barber Dimes...Difficult (or Not Difficult) in XF??

Comments

Leave a Comment