Collecting Barber Half Dollars

Are you looking for a new collecting adventure? If so, I’ve got a suggestion for you: Barber half dollars minted from 1892-1915.

With 73 different date/mintmark combinations, there are enough different coins in the series to challenge you. At the same time, there are no true mintage rarities, and the set is not especially difficult to complete in lower circulated grades. In fact, in G4 only 9 of the 73 should cost more than $100.

The reason for this situation is that almost all the different dates were minted in relatively large quantities for the era. These large, silver coins were workhorses. Unlike the half dollar today, Barber half dollars were freely used in everyday commerce.

The Barber half dollar replaced the Seated Liberty half dollar, which had been minted from 1839 through 1891. That’s 52 years for a design that had undoubtedly grown stale to the people of the day.

The quest for new designs to replace the “ancient” Seated Liberty motif began in 1889, when Edward O. Leech became the new director of the Mint. As such, he decided on a design competition involving ten leading artists. Their task was to prepare new designs for the dime, quarter, and half dollar. The dollar wasn’t included because the Morgan dollar was still relatively new.

The chosen artists conferred together about Leech’s invitation and sent him a letter stating their demands: They expected to be paid $100 for each design submitted and $500 for each design actually chosen.

Leech rejected their demands and in 1891, he invited nearly 300 artists to submit designs, with $500 to be paid for each winning submission. The judges chosen to review the entries were Mint Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber, Boston engraver Henry Mitchell, and renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

The entries were submitted, and none was found to be worthy of more than an honorable mention. Cited in David Bowers’ A Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins, a joint letter from the judges read in part, “We are of the opinion that none of the designs or models submitted are such a decided improvement upon the present designs of the silver coins of the United States as to be worthy of adoption by the government.”

As the design competition had proved fruitless, Leech asked the three artists at the Mint, Barber, George T. Morgan, and William Key, to submit sketches for new obverses and reverses. In the end, Director Leech chose Barber for the redesign. Barber produced a new version of Liberty for the obverse, and an adaptation of the Great Seal of the United States for the reverse.

As for contemporary opinions of the Barber designs, Bowers cited several articles from the period to show that the reception tended to be negative. One such citation, from Nov. 21, 1891 Harper’s Weekly, begins with the sentence: “The mountain has labored and brought forth a mouse.” It then talks about the opinion of Saint-Gaudens when shown photographs of the new designs. Among other things, Saint-Gaudens called them “beneath contempt” and further said, “. . . this looks like it had been designed by a young lady of sixteen, a miss who had taken only a few lessons in modeling.”

A review of the designs in the January 1892 American Journal of Numismatics presented a more positive view. “The general effect is pleasing. Of the three the dime is to many the most attractive piece. The head of Liberty is dignified... The eagle is a compromise between the buzzard on the dollar, and the heraldic eagle on the gold coinage... From this description it may be fairly inferred that in many respects these coins are an advance on what has hitherto been accomplished, but there is yet a long distance between them and the ideal National coin…”

Leaving aside design criticism or praise, Barber silver coins have many fans among today’s collectors. When I was a junior collector, the occasional Barber coin I came across seemed exotic, an anomaly I rarely experienced. As a result, I was instantly drawn to them, although I didn’t seriously tackle them until adulthood. At this point in my collecting life, I wish that I had retained the three sets, minus the 1901-S 25c, that I put together all those years ago. But I could probably make the same statement about most of the coins I’ve parted with over the years.

At one point, I read an article about how difficult it was to assemble a set of Barber half dollars in Fine to Very Fine condition. I took this as a challenge, and immediately started scanning ads for coins of that description. Before long, I discovered that the challenge was beyond my pocketbook and patience, and I gave up the quest.

Fortunately, a decent set of the coins in G-VG condition is more easily achievable, and that’s what I’m going to examine here.

A look at the mintages will tell you why Barber half dollars are so collectible: Only 20 of the 73 date/mintmark combinations had mintages below a million pieces, and several of the 20 are just barely below that figure.

Another interesting observation about the mintages is that the three lowest mintages occurred at the Philadelphia mint in the final years of the series. Because they occurred at the tail end, and the mintages were recognized as being exceptionally low, the three coins (1913, 1914, 1915) were differentially retained. As a result, their values are much less than you might expect them to be.

Even though the three coins are more available than you might expect, they still are priced around the $100 mark in G4, with the 1913 at $85, the 1914 at $125, and the 1915 at $110. Values were taken from the guide in this magazine and correspond to the ranking of their mintages.

Beyond 1914 and 1915, the Barber halves valued at $100 or more in G4 are 1892-O and S, 1893-S, 1896-O and S, 1897-O and S, and that’s it. All the rest currently list, with a few exceptions, at prices of $40 or less, usually much less.

Considering the pricier dates in G4, the 1892-O had the lowest mintage of all until the 1913 appeared. However, it was differentially saved as a first-year-of-issue piece, so it’s not as expensive as you might expect it to be. Expect to pay around $285 for the date in G4, $500 in VG8.

About the grading, you’ll find that there are many lower-grade Barber half dollars with a solid, full-rim Good obverse and a reverse with extensive wear into the letters around the rim. In other words, the reverse rim will have worn away. I would look for a coin with full obverse and reverse rims, which would probably receive a G6 grade if it has a letter or two of LIBERTY.

One of the things Bowers reported about the 1892-O is, “Mid-grade pieces in F and VF are very elusive.” This and the same comment about other dates helps explain why I gave up so quickly in my quest for a set in F-VF condition.

A variety exists of the 1892-O with a much smaller than normal mintmark. Apparently, the mintmark punch for the quarter was employed rather than the one for the half dollar. This is a very scarce variety with values ranging from $3,200 in G4 to $90,000 in MS65. This would be a great coin to “cherrypick” if you had access to several unsearched 1892-Os. Unfortunately, such a hoard probably doesn’t exist.

As to availability on eBay, I found several 1892-Os listed, including some with the micro-O mintmark. Values tended to be greater than the ones in this magazine.

Although slightly more than a million were minted, the 1892-S is valued at more than $100 in G4. In fact, it lists for $290 in this grade and $360 in VG8. Bowers called it scarce and wrote, “Seemingly not many people in the West saved examples of this as the first year of issue.” He also noted, “This is one of the more challenging issues to find in circulated grades, more so than for the 1892-O.”

A search on eBay located about twice as many of this date as the 1892-O, which is the opposite of what Bowers noted. Many of them were cleaned, damaged, over graded, and overpriced, however. I would urge you to look for certified coins with no problems.

The 1893-S is another date listing for more than $100 in G4, specifically $175. Bowers called it “… one of the most challenging issues to find in circulated grades.” I found quite a few listed on eBay, but many of them had major problems. If you’re interested in forming a lowball collection (collection of Poor-1 or Fair-2 coins), there’s an 1893-S in Poor condition on eBay, with just enough of the date and mintmark to identify it.

The 1896-O and 1896-S both list for $110 in G4, and both had mintages around a million. Bowers called both dates among the most challenging to find in circulated grades. Of the two, the 1896-S tends to be well struck, whereas the 1896-O tends to be weakly struck, particularly on the right side of the reverse.

Many 1896-O halves were listed on eBay, with most of the coins purported to be in Good condition priced at about half of the $110 price in this magazine.

As with the 1896-O, many 1896-S halves were listed on eBay. Most of them were in AG or worse condition, and virtually all were overpriced. The ones actually graded G4 were listed for amounts close to $110, and I did find some higher-grade pieces priced reasonably. Avoid all the damaged and/or cleaned coins like the plague.

Bowers called the 1897-O “…one of the more challenging issues to find in circulated grades.” eBay sellers seem to have overcome the challenge as there were more than 300 listings for this date. In G4, the 1897-O is valued at $120, and the few I saw that actually reached this grade were priced slightly higher than that value. Many coins had problems, and many without problems would grade G4 on the obverse but AG3 on the reverse, a condition of many Barber halves pulled from circulation.

With a higher mintage than its 1897-O kin, the 1897-S is valued at $180, and Bowers called it, “Somewhat scarce and everlastingly popular, a key to the series, on par with the 1897-O.” Despite its higher mintage, I found far fewer listings for the date than for the 1897-O. Once again, I had to surf through a lot of overpriced junk and coins grading G4/AG3 or worse to reach pieces that would actually grade G4. They were priced around the $180 mark.

Another Barber 50c worth looking at is the 1901-S. With a mintage below a million, its value in G4 is still just $35. After scanning a lot of the usual junk, the first coin on eBay that I came to that was an honest G4 was priced at $32.99, with free shipping. Probably because its value is so low in G4, eBay has very few certified examples of the 1901-S.

Another good date is the 1904-S, which Bowers labeled, “A challenge to find at any level…” The G4 and VG8 values are $72 and $200, respectively. I found several G4s on eBay priced well below the $72 level. As usual, over graded and overpriced dogs were abundant, and few coins in lower grades were certified.

I looked at the three low-mintage Philadelphia dates (1913, 1914, 1915) on eBay. When I searched for the 1913, I encountered the usual “optimistically” graded pieces and those with problems, but I also found several uncertified G4 examples priced around $55, considerably less than the $85 mentioned earlier. Even some certified G4 or G6 1913s were priced from $70 to $80. I would be reluctant to purchase one of the three Philadelphia dates that wasn’t certified. It’s just too easy to shave off a D or S mintmark.

Discounting the usual over graded and overpriced 1914s on eBay, several certified pieces were listed. These tended to be priced higher than the $125 for a G4 and $185 for a VG8. Still, it should be easy to find a decent G4 on the site.

If you want to take a chance on purchasing a raw coin and submitting it for certification, I found a 1915 that would grade a solid VG10 for just $80, with free shipping. This is a date that is valued at $185 in this magazine, and that’s for a VG8! I must confess that I was sorely tempted to order it.

Most of the rest of the dates have values less than $20 in G4 and should be relatively easy to find. If I were starting over as a collector, I think I would have a lot of fun assembling a G-VG set of Barber half dollars.

Thus, I can recommend the series to you without reservation. Just remember to avoid cleaned, damaged, or wildly over graded pieces, and a decent Good should have full rims on both sides. If you’re buying a Philadelphia-minted piece at a premium, be sure it’s certified by one of the major certification services (ANACS, NGC, PCGS). And, above all, have FUN!