By Tom LaMarre
The Barber half dollar series has no rarities comparable to those in the Barber dime and quarter series. But it lacks nothing in the way of colorful stories—and affordable prices.
Production of Barber coins began in January 1892. A box containing $50 worth of Barber dimes, quarters and half dollars was delivered to the Mint director on Jan. 4.
By Jan. 25, 1892, however, half dollar coinage had been suspended. The reason was there were more than enough half dollars on hand to meet the demand.
“There is nothing the matter with the design,” Mint Superintendent Oliver Bosbyshell said. “The coins are all right.”
Six years later, a Pennsylvania newspaper reported:
“A remarkably good counterfeit of the half dollar of 1898 is being extensively circulated. The coin is slightly lighter than the genuine, but it rings clear and pure.”
Close examination revealed the numerals in the date were not quite right.
Half dollars had a lot of purchasing power. In 1899, an ad in The Trenton Times for a men’s clothing store said:
“We’ve lifted half dollar neckwear (the best-liked price) to a new level. More styles than we have ever shown before in the store.”
In August 1899, demand for half dollars was exceptionally strong. The coins were being minted as quickly as possible.
In 1913, when the Barber half dollar series was nearing its end, an ad in the Fitchburg Daily Sentinel said, “Boy’s half dollar shirts now 39 cents.”
No wonder thieves liked Barber half dollars. One of the most bizarre stories involving a stolen half dollar was reported in 1902.
It happened in Trenton, N.J., in the state supreme court. A man wearing jeans entered the courtroom, approached the bench and robbed the chief justice of a half dollar. A case involving a steel trust was being heard.
Half dollars had fallen from favor and almost disappeared from circulation by 1915. It’s a wonder the Barber design lasted as long as it did.
The Feb. 3, 1909, issue of The Indiana Progress said, “It is probable that the half dollar piece will be selected as the principal coin to bear the Lincoln head, but some legislation may be necessary.”
As it turned out, Lincoln’s portrait was selected for a new cent instead of a half dollar.
The Barber half dollar lasted through 1915, then gave way to the Walking Liberty half dollar.
Barber half dollars were still in the news as late as 1922.
“Recently one of the local banks sent in [altered half dollars] in a shipment of silver sent to the Federal Reserve Bank at Dallas,” the Nov. 9, 1922, issue of The Mexia (Texas) Evening News reported. “It was there rejected and returned to the local institution as an entire loss.
“Most of the silver referred to is half dollar pieces which have been cut down, obscuring or entirely shaving off ‘In God We Trust’ and also cutting into the line of stars that surrounds the edge of a genuine half dollar. This gives the coins the appearance of a quarter.”
Nowadays, you don’t have to shave metal to find value in Barber half dollars.
Common dates are valued at less than $12 in Good-4 grade and $14 in Very Good-8.
