What's the toughest Barber set to build in original BU?

[Oldtrader3]

Plus, the reverse

[cointagious]

with 3 stoppers, including the 1901-s which is impossible, i'm suprised at the lack of acknowledgment for the barber 25 ¢ pieces. the fact that an ms set, even in basic ms60, is nearly impossible without exceptionally deep pockets explains, at least to me, the under pricing of the series. while the keys are strongly bid, the other pieces lag in price relative to rarity due to the lack of series collectors.

 

 

 

 

[michael]

a superlative 1911 d gem dime

 

sincerely michael

[Oldtrader3]

Thank you, Michael, your compliments are always most welcome. I am reposting the 1883 Shield after giving it a slab surface buffing with a soft Dremel wheel and Jeweler's Rouge (1200 Grit). No spots, no problems.

[Oldtrader3]

Now, the Reverse.

[michael]

wow you did really good on that slab with the wheel and rouge

 

just shows you what the right tools and skills can do!

 

sincerely michael

[Oldtrader3]

I am (with a sense of futility) going to keep this thread going by posting another barber (a Quarter this time). There has to be a lot of nice material (and scarce material too) out there to share with the rest of us. It is so hard to find nice Barber material, that I like to look at other's prizes.

[Oldtrader3]

And the Reverse Barber Quarter.

[michael]

sweet quarter old trader

 

here is another quarter

 

 

sincerely michael

[MikeKing]

That's a VERY nice quarter Oldtrader. Real nice, real. I like it.

[MikeKing]

This is a Barber dime I have, it's a scan, so the mirrors, which are stupendous, don't come through at all

[MikeKing]

the reverse

[Oldtrader3]

Thanks, Mike (and Michael).

 

To turn this question around, I think that the Barber Dimes are the only Barber set that the largest number of collectors could finish (or come near finishing). Both the Quarters and the Half's have too many stoppers.

[barberlover-migration]

There seems to be two seperate ways the question of which set would be the toughest to complete can be looked at, from the perspective of affordability, I would say the quarters are, there is nothing comparable to the 01 S quarter in the dimes and halves, but if your reffering to availability, the halves have the most stoppers in high grade mint state.

 

Michael, which one of us is more enthusiastic about barber coins ?

 

By the way the comments some people have made here that mint state barber halves represent excellent value are lying and you should ignore there advice and persue other areas.

 

Les

[michael]

for me les

 

i think that you are a little more knowledgable than me about the barber series

 

i think we are both on the exact same page as per being

enthusiastic

 

 

 

 

[Oldtrader3]

Nice Dime, Mike. Is it a Proof? I ask (what seems like a stupid question) because I have a 1863-P that is a Business Strike but is very prooflike and CAM.

 

Les: I do not think that you have to worry about surging interest in Barber's. Despite all the talk about undervaluation on this forum, no one seems to be listening. Besides, there are not enough Barber Half's and Quarter's to go around in many dates anyhow. Therefore, it is unlikely any one will promote them.

 

Consider the MS65 1911-D Dime that I posted earlier. There are only 33 NGC coins in MS65, plus 9 coins above (including resubmissions) and this is not even considered a very scarce date. Numbers such as this severly limit the availibility of high grade sets.

[MikeKing]

The coin I posted is a Cameo Proof. It's an unretouched scan. Have been working with a new camera but my computer can't handle the graphics, so until I get a better computer, I won't be able to post any pics of it yet. The scans seem to bring out the cameo effect, however, in this dime, I lost the mirrors. If I scan a Proof 50C piece however, the mirrors really come out, but there's a lot of rainbow colored reflection in them. I guess it's the surface area allowing for more light to gather and do it's thing.

 

Re the reverse, the upper left cameo doesn't come out that well because the coin is tilted in it's holder. But it's quite there.