1892-S 50C MS64 Certification #38565922, PCGS #6464

Jim Halperin

In the mid 1970s, half dollar collector extraordinaire James Bennett Pryor came across an original roll of 1892-S Barber half dollars. He kept the nicest one for his set and flew to Massachusetts to offer me the other 19. They were very frosty original Gems, coins that would grade, and no doubt have graded, MS64 to MS66 today. The 1892-S is a tough date in all grades, and rare in choice mint state condition. This mini-hoard greatly increased the survival rate of top grade specimens. The coins are highly recognizable and I occasionally see them today.

The interesting thing about this deal was that James Pryor told me if I bought the deal he'd give me a year to pay and would sell me a similar deal of 1920-S half dollars later. I was a very young man at the time, just a kid really. and this was a sizable deal for me. But James Pryor was a really gracious man and somehow he knew I'd pay him. At the end of a year I paid him and true to his word, a year or two after that he sold me an incredible deal of 40 choice to gem condition 1920-S half dollars.

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David Akers

This is one of the most valuable issues in this series in circulated grades, and it is definitely rare in Mint State and very rare in...Gem condition.