Refugees from Circulation: My Barber Halves
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Updated:
2/18/2026
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In his seminal "Guide Book of Barber Coins," the legendary Q. David Bowers wrote that 95 percent of Barber half dollars exist in grades below Fine. Further, he estimated that the average Barber half today probably grades somewhere between AG-3 and G-4. This may be surprising to some, but to Barber half dollar aficionados, it is simply a fact of life. These coins were workhorses in their day, designed to withstand decades of circulation in an era when fifty cents had significant purchasing power. And circulate they did. Virtually every issue in the series is a challenge to track down in problem-free Fine or better. Such coins, in my opinion, are underpriced relative to their scarcity, probably because of collectors' indifference towards them. But that affordability combined with their rarity makes putting together such a set a challenging but realistic goal.
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Refugees from Circulation: My Barber Halves
By BarberFanatic
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