How to Collect US half dollars ?
Compared to other series, half dollars are a relative bargain. For example, you won't find any great rarities in the run from 1892 to present, making it easy and affordable for most collectors to obtain most, if not all dates, in the series. Their impressive size and attractive designs make half dollars a good collecting choice.
By type:
Difficulty rating: Easy. Every type is readily available on the market.
Cost estimate: Fine condition — $50,000. In Uncirculated condition, the rarity of Uncirculated Flowing Hair half dollars makes this pricing speculative, but figure on spending tens of thousands of dollars at least!
By date:
Difficulty rating: Easy to extremely difficult. Flowing Hair half dollars are easy to obtain, but expensive. The 1796 and 1797 Draped Bust half dollars are extremely rare. In Capped Bust half dollars, the 1815 is scarce, but the 1838-O is the real stopper. Seated Liberty half dollars are extremely difficult because of the 1853-O no arrows and the 1878-S. All dates after 1891 are easy to find and collect.
Cost estimate: A Fine condition set of Flowing Hair half dollars runs $15,000; an Uncirculated set is prohibitively expensive due to the rarity of high-grade coins. A set of Draped Bust half dollars in Fine condition runs $150,000, based largely on the 1796 and 1797 dates, both of which make an Uncirculated set extremely expensive. For Capped Bust half dollars, plan on spending $6,000 for a date/ mintmark set in Fine condition (minus the 1817/4 and the 1838-O, of course) and $125,000 for an Uncirculated set missing those same two dates. A Seated Liberty half dollar set in Fine condition approaches $30,000, and that's without the 1853-O no arrows; several dates are unknown in Uncirculated condition, so we won't price an Uncirculated set — we can only dream about it! In the Barber series, a Fine condition date/mintmark set costs over $6,000, and an Uncirculated set costs over $65,000. Walking Liberty half dollars become a bit more reasonable, with a Fine condition set running $2,250 and an Uncirculated set costing at least $45,000. Franklin half dollars are so reasonable that we suggest an Uncirculated set at around $600. Same with the Kennedy half dollars, where you can buy a date/mintmark set all in Uncirculated and proof condition for around $475.
By die variety:
Difficulty rating: Easy to extremely difficult. Just as in other denominations, the biggest challenges and difficulties come in trying to assemble die-variety sets of the earliest dates and types. In many cases, the die varieties are unique or so rare as to be prohibitively expensive. In the Seated Liberty series, major varieties include the 1844-O double date, the 1847/6 overdate, and the with and without arrows varieties of 1873. Few people collect this series by die varieties because they're so difficult to tell apart. In the Barber series, you won't find any major varieties, but the 1892-O microscopic O is a rare, minor variety.
Cost estimate: Inexpensive to prohibitively expensive, ranging from $10 for a 1946 doubled-die back to nearly $100,000 for an 1817/4 overdate in Fine condition.
Questions and Answers
Half dollars appear in eight major types, which we discuss in this article
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