Looking Through my collection and came across this one today
I was thinking through my collection today looking to see what I had for extra 1982 cents. My youngest is eating some of those to complete his coin roll hunting and I thought I might be able to help push him to complete the collection. As I was flipping through my binders I came across some of my silver coins and decided that some of these were for the photo. The one I picked today is my 1912 Barber half dollar.
I am not ashamed to admit that I another traditional coin collector. Some collectors want to collect one of everything, other collectors want to complete type sets and complete collections, some go for high grade proof, some go for graded coins. I buy a lot of my coins based off what I like that day and how it looks. This often leads to me having multiple versions, the same denomination year mint mark and having zero of another. I'm okay with this because if I'm going to buy something I want to like the way it looks. I don't believe completing collections is excessively expensive and time consuming and my focus is not a building a massive collection, rather buying stuff that I like that I'd be happy to look at any time.
Thought this a while back and there's something about both the barber design, and silver coins that add a great formation. There's nothing like that nice patina use book on some of these designs back when we use to celebrate Liberty and ideals on her coins versus dead leaders.
Obverse
The front looks great with a nice portrait of Liberty facing to the right. In higher grade coins you would be able to make out the word Liberty on the headband but given how these coins were circulated and how they acquired where over time this is some of the first detail to be lost. As you can see on my coin you can see the l and d I was a little bit of the RT and a dash of y. Overall I love the dark patina ring along the outside of the coin that really makes it pop in person. This patina is what I like about the older silver coins as for some reason it just really speaks to me.
Reverse
The reverse the coin also looks great and I love the design. I do love a good solid eagle on the back of our coins with nice shield, arrows and the denomination. I think the back of the coin while having just as much or more detail as in front of the coin, tended to wear a little bit better where a lot of the detail was worn away with the overall picture still stayed very strongly and in fact I think a teenage almost better. Some of these really high grade examples or proofs are absolutely stunning on what they thought they could push him to a coin and send out for people's pock ets I don't think I would like the grade of this coin if it didn't have this patina, I really think the patina is what I like and makes these coins my favorites to collect. I would love to get some really high great version of these but since they're so rare I have so far avoided doing it.
What it was marked when I bought it.
When I bought this coin it was already marked in the display case with a grade by the coin dealer of a very good defined grade and that time the priced it in the $35 range.
Looking now it appears that the very good to find price range for a graded coin in capsulated would be somewhere between 30 and $70. How to conservative side I think this coin is state right about the $35 I probably paid, or was willing to pay when I bought this coin. I have noticed a tendency of coin dealers that will you just say you'll pick the point at full value and buy some other stuff they often knocked down your bill at the end and give you a better price without Hackman over each one. Not sure exactly what you paid for those ones but either way I think it is held up fairly well and they certainly aren't going to be making any more coins that are 111 years old, and certainly none of the good points today are made from circle
what is your favorite series or design.
I do love the older series more than the recent series. I like the Barber series, Liberty seated series, the cap bust series. I also am also a fan of the half cent, 3 cent, since, halftime, 20 cent piece designs. I think all of those have a lot more character and I appealed in many of the coins made today. Drop me a link or a photo of what your favorite one to collect is.