subject: How to Collect US half dimes ? [print this page] How to Collect US half dimes ? How to Collect US half dimes ?
Collecting U.S. half dimes is fun and challenging. Many rarities exist in the series, and a lot of coins are extremely scarce in high grade. You could spend literally a lifetime building, upgrading, and enjoying half dimes.
By type:
Difficulty rating: Easy. None of the half-dime types is rare, but you may have difficulty finding the Flowing Hair and Draped Bust types.
Cost estimate: Reasonable to expensive. In Fine condition, a type set(a set of each of the different design types of a particular denomination) of half dimes runs roughly $3,000 (add another $12,000 if you want to include the Draped Bust); in Uncirculated condition, too many dates are unavailable to do this seriously.
By date:
Difficulty rating: Easy to impossible. There are only two dates in the Flowing Hair series, both of which can be found with a little effort. The 1802 Draped Bust is difficult. The Capped Bust makes for a nice, easy, and affordable collection. Forget Seated Liberty: There's only one 1870-S, and it's already spoken for.
Cost estimate: Reasonable to extremely expensive. A Fine set of Capped Bust half dimes runs $650 or so; in Uncirculated condition, the same set runs $4,000 and up. The two-coin Draped Bust set runs $3,000 or more in Fine condition and over $20,000 for the same pair in Uncirculated condition.
By die variety:
Difficulty rating: Easy to impossible. Each of the different types has its own interesting varieties, ranging from obvious and common to subtle and rare. The difficult part is in assembling a variety set of the 1794 to 1837 issues. This area is just now coming into its own, and you need a lot of luck (and money) to come anywhere close to a complete set of varieties.
Cost estimate: Inexpensive to outrageously expensive. You can buy the 1861/0 overdate for as little as $30 or the 1802 half dime (yes, it's a die variety, too) for as little as $50,000!
