IN LAST MONTH’S ARTICLE, I talked about a novel approach to coin collecting for the novice collector: putting together a 20th century type collection using the Red Book (A Guide Book of United States Coins) as a guide. I think this exercise will enable the new collector to learn a great deal about 20th century coins, about their designers, mintages, grading, and values. With this knowledge, the collector will no longer be a novice and will have gained some idea of coins he or she particularly likes and would like to collect in greater depth. Because I discussed type collecting cents, nickels, dimes, and quarters last month, this month’s type discussion will begin with half dollars. Most values are from Numismatic News “Coin Market” (CM).
28. Barber Half Dollars. In any grade beyond VG8, Barber half dollars are fairly pricy for a new collector. The least expensive XF40s list for $215, and they’re difficult to find as well. In F12, the 1913-D lists for $105, and the date had a mintage of only 534,000 pieces. Look for an example without problems such as scratches, rim nicks, and evidence of cleaning.
Most of the other dates after 1900 have the same value listing for F12 so if you can’t find a 1913-D, look for another date priced similarly. If $105 seems too steep, many different dates in VG8 are valued at $20.
29. Walking Liberty Half Dollars, Obverse Mintmark. With a design by Adolph Weinman, coins with obverse mint-marks were made in 1916 and 1917 only. The least expensive date for type purposes
