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All Barber Half Mintages Below Six Million(con't)

While some Philadelphia dates might have a similar MS-65 total at PCGS, they have Proof-65 examples usually in greater numbers available as an alternative. That option does not exist with the 1893-S as no proofs were made at San Francisco at the time. If you want an MS-65 example today, you will have to pay that price and find someone willing to sell one of the few available pieces to you. Good luck, Consequently, that price is probably a great value if you can find someone willing to sell you one.
The 1894-S had a much larger mintage of 4,048,690. That makes it a $17.50 date in G4. It could probably be suggested that the 1894-S is a classic early San Francisco Barber half dollar as it certainly seems like it should be available, but the lack of collecting and saving around San Francisco would come into play as it is $500 in MS-60, but $12,250 in MS-65 where PCGS has seen just 7 examples. For a coin with a mintage of over 4 million, that's highly unusual, but when it comes to Barber half dollars from San Francisco, the total is not so unusual.
The 1895-S, with a much lower mintage of 1,108,086, is naturally a tougher coin in circulated grades, with a G-4 price of $35. In MS-60 at $575 it is also more expensive than the 1894-S, but while still scarce in MS-65, its $9,000 price is lower than the 1894-S and that is correct as PCGS has recorded I I examples in MS-65 or better.
Once again the uneven nature of the survival of San Francisco Barber half dollars is clearly seen as the 1895-S is tougher than the 1894-S in some grades but not in others.
The 1896-S confuses things even further with a mintage of 1,140,948, but a G-4 price of $92.50 - far higher than might be expected based on the mintage. The MS-60 listing of $1,400 is also higher than expected and so is the MS65 listing of $11,750 where PCGS has seen just 14 examples. The surprising prices again seem to reflect the uncertain chances for survival for any specific Barber half dollar.
We know some Barber issues of the 1890s were exported and that may play a role, but the major factor is simply that the numbers of any given date which were retired and destroyed or lost in some other way do not by definition follow the mintages.
The 1896-S clearly did not survive in the same numbers as others in assorted grades and we have no good way of explaining why that happened. the population reports are the only road map we are likely to get.
The 1897-S was another lower mintage date with a total mintage of 933,900. That is not as low as some others, but is still safely below the I million mark, which for many years many collectors used as the standard for a lower mintage.
Certainly at $150 in G-4 the 1897-S in circulated grades is priced like a lower mintage date. That also applies to MS60, where it lists for $1,500, and MS-65 where it is at $8,500 on the strength of PCGS having graded just 13 in MS-65 or better.
The 1898-S returned to higher mintages with a total production of 2,358,550 and that total results in a G-4 price today of $27.50. Even at $27.50 the figuring has to be that this coin saw some losses over the years as with its mintage and relatively low demand for Barber half dollars in general the assumption would be that it would not be over $25, especially in G-4.
The 1898-S becomes a more expected problem in MS-60 as there the simple lack of saving at the time enters into the picture. We find an MS-60 at $970 while an MS-65 is at $10,500. That higher MS-65 price finds support in the fact that PCGS has graded only 10 examples of the 1898-S as MS-65 or better.
Once again we see the uneven survival of Barber half dollar dates especially in lower grades when the 1898-S is compared to the lower mintage 1899S, which had a mintage of 1,686,411, but which is less expensive in G-4 at $22. In fact the 1899-S is cheaper across all grades, with an MS-60 at $660 while an MS-65 is $7,000. PCGS has seen 14 in MS65 or better.
In the case of the 1900-S what we see is a more typical San Francisco Barber half With a mintage of just over 2.5 million, the 1900-S is available in circulated grades with a current price of $15 in G-4. In MS-60 it is $650, but in MS-65 we find a listing of $12,500 and a PCGS total of just 9 pieces. Realistically, the 1900-S is less than many in MS-60, yet when you check for the total number seen by PCGS in all Mint State grades, you find that total is under 50 coins. So while not expensive, the 1900-S is still not an easy coin to find in Mint State and a good reflection of the fact that at the time there was simply very little saving of new Barber half dollars.