some trial and error

Well I've reached an impasse in my Walker collecting. The remaining slots in my mid-date set cost 4 figures+ in the grades I want. I don't have the continual funds to be shelling out whenever a hole-filler arrives and at the same time I don't want to keep buying lower grades which eventually get replaced in the future.

I've decided to take a more "relaxed" approach to my interests for a while. My Barber Half set is the perfect medium for this. You see, I actually like the circulated look of these coins--and this may sound nuts or like justification for my limited funds, but I actually prefer them to blast white, pristine BU Barbers. I'm building a set of F12 to XF40 grade coins. The only criteria is that they can't be too white and can't have "acceptable damage" ( sometimes the TPG's allow a bit of scratches or dings in the much older coinage). So essentially, problem-free and worn surfaces but with nice detailing still.

Another added benefit of choosing the Barbers ( besides my love of halves) is that I won't have to worry about the temptation to get competetive with this set in the registry. The top sets in the category are worth hundreds and hundreds of thousands ( millions?) and single coins in those sets are worth more than my entire collection.

On another side note, I have been picking up the occasional seated half in XF quality. Once I get 5 to 6 of these I may actually list them in a Seated registry set as a long-range goal. So now I have plenty of coins to search for at auctions and websites that may cost $200 or less and I can get the enjoyment of the hunt as well as adding a few coins a month--instead of 1 coin every 2 months if I stayed with the Walkers.

Here's an attractive 1908-D VF35 I recently added. My set is now listed undewr Barber Halves if you'd like to take a look. I have 20 coins so far, all have pictures and hopefully you'll get an appreciation also for how nice this design still looks even with Fine level of wear....

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