1903 50C VF20 认证号46748986, PCGS号6495

Ron Guth

The 1903 Half Dollar is not as common as some of the other dates in the series, but it is hard to call it underrated with the information we have from the Population Reports.  The 1903 Half Dollar is readily available in Mint State, especially in MS64.  The PCGS CoinFacts Condition Census starts at MS65 (indicative of the overall quality of this date), and tops out at MS67.  The strike on 1903 Half Dollars is strong in general, but finding an example with full horiozontal lines in the shield can be a real challenge.  The finest 1903 Half Dollars hail from the usual array of big-name Barber collectors: Price, Friend, Duckor, and Shireman.  These collections have all been dispersed, so new collectors have an opportunity to upgrade and improve their holdings.

---

David Akers

In my estimation, this is one of the most underrated issues in this series. Mintage figures give no indication whatsoever of its true rarity since 2,278,000 pieces were struck, hardly a low figure. However, in any mint state grade, a 1903 Barber Half Dollar is very scarce, if not rare, and of the relatively few known mint state specimens, only a handful could legitimately be termed Gems. The 1903 is considerably more rare than most of the popular and highly regarded mintmarked issues of the 1890's, and it is also the rarest of the three issues of 1903, a fact which may surprise all but the serious student of this wonderful series