Section 1 — Overview

Seventy CAC-endorsed, PCGS-certified Proof Barber coins sold in a single session on June 16, 2026 — 24 Dimes, 22 Quarters (1910 PR66 Gold CAC excluded from aggregate analysis), and 24 Half Dollars — representing the complete 1892–1915 date run across all three denominations. Forty-six lots have confirmed same-coin auction histories, making this one of the most comprehensive Proof Barber re-sale datasets assembled. The dataset includes four Deep Cameo designations, 44 Cameo designations, and 22 non-Cameo lots.

1. Half Dollars generated $606,462 — more than Dimes and Quarters combined ($524,295). The denomination accounts for 54% of total proceeds from 34% of lots.
2. The 1910 Barber Quarter PR66 Gold CAC — the sole Gold CAC example in the Quarter series — realized $7,930 against a $1,950 CAC Ask (+307%) and is discussed individually; it is excluded from aggregate Quarter and overall statistics throughout this report.
3. Four Deep Cameo designations across the sale: 1897 Quarter PR67 DCAM, 1898 Quarter PR68+ DCAM, 1893 Half Dollar PR67+ DCAM, and 1897 Half Dollar P68+ DCAM.

Section 2 — Denomination Performance Comparison

2a. Benchmark Performance — Non-'+' Grades

For coins without a '+' designation, the CAC Ask price is the applicable published benchmark. Isolating this cohort reveals the three denominations converge significantly on a common baseline: Dimes +51.4%, Halves +52.5%, Quarters +44.1%. The market prices whole-grade CAC Proof Barbers at roughly 44–53% above CAC Ask regardless of denomination — a series-wide baseline premium for top-quality material.

2b. The Half Dollar Premium

When '+' grades are included, the Half Dollar's +90.5% average over CAC Ask substantially diverges from Dimes (+62.0%) and Quarters (+53.2%). This divergence has two causes: Half Dollars carry 12 '+' grade lots (50% of the denomination) vs. 8 for Dimes and 4 for Quarters, and those Half Dollar '+' lots attracted the most aggressive bidding of the entire sale. The 1911 PR68+ CAM ($48,800), 1892 PR67+ ($19,520), and 1914 PR67+ ($25,620) are the three largest CU premiums in the dataset and all are Half Dollars.

2c. The Dime Discount

The Dime series is the only denomination averaging below the CU price guide (-4.3% vs CU). This reflects two compounding factors: the Dime market has the deepest CAC populations of the three series (1892 PR67 CAM: 15 at grade; 1895 PR67 CAM: 14 at grade), which compress premiums, and a cluster of 2019–2022 purchases that have not recovered to their acquisition prices. The Dime series currently offers the most favorable re-entry opportunity among the three denominations for collectors with a long-term hold strategy.

Section 3 — Toning Analysis

Toning type is the single strongest price differentiator in this dataset after denomination level. Across all 70 coins, a 47-percentage-point gap separates the average CAC Ask premium of Rainbow toning (+88.7%) from Mottled toning (+41.5%).

1. Rainbow toning commands a 47-point premium over Mottled across all 70 coins — this is not anecdotal. It is a statistically consistent finding across all three denominations.
2. Black & White toning produces the best long-term same-coin appreciation (+64.2% average) — the 1905 Half (+242%), 1903 Half (+189%), 1897 Quarter DCAM (+137%), and 1913 Quarter (+96%) are all black & white toned.
3. Mottled toning is the one category that consistently underperforms. In Quarters it averaged -2.8% vs. CAC Ask — the only denomination-toning combination to average below published retail in the entire dataset.
4. The critical exception: the 1905 Half PR68 CAM mottled returned +242% over 13 years as the sole CAC example. Extreme scarcity overrides toning type at the margin, but it is the exception, not the rule.

Toning by Denomination — Summary

Section 4 — Deep Cameo Designations

Four lots across the sale carry Deep Cameo designations. They appear exclusively in the Quarter and Half Dollar series — the Dime series contains no DCAM examples. The four lots produced widely varied results, with toning type the most significant differentiating factor.

1. Three of four DCAM lots came in at or above CAC Ask. The exception — the 1898 Quarter DCAM mottled at -29.9% below CU — is the clearest demonstration in the dataset of toning type suppressing even a premium grade designation.
2. The 1897 Quarter DCAM black & white (+75.2% vs. CAC Ask, +137% same-coin in 17 months) and the 1897 Half Dollar P68+ DCAM peripheral (+58% same-coin over 10 years) are the two standout DCAM performers.
3. The Dime series produced no Deep Cameo examples, reflecting the generally lighter striking characteristics of the proof dies used for smaller diameter planchets in this era.

Section 5 — CAC Population & Scarcity

The negative relationship between CAC population and realized price is confirmed as the strongest single statistical relationship in this dataset: r = -0.45 correlation between CAC total population (at grade + finer) and realized price across all 70 coins.

† The 3-pop same-coin average is significantly influenced by the 1905 Half Dollar (+242%) and 1903 Half Dollar (+189%).

1. Coins with 1–2 total CAC examples (at grade + finer) average more than twice the realized price of coins with 6+ examples — confirmed across all three denominations.
2. 'None finer' in CAC: $29,103 average for coins where the example is the finest-known CAC specimen vs. $10,699 for coins with finer CAC examples.
3. The sole-CAC bucket exists exclusively in the Half Dollar series (1905 PR68 CAM, 1911 PR68+ CAM, 1912 PR68, 1913 PR68+ CAM) — one reason the Half Dollar denomination leads all performance metrics.
4. The 1910 Quarter PR66 Gold CAC — sole CAC example in a lower grade — realized $7,930 vs. $1,950 CAC Ask (+307%), the most extreme scarcity premium of any lot in the sale.

Section 6 — Same-Coin Price History: Top Performers

Cautionary Results

1. Decliners concentrate in 2019–2022 Dime and Quarter acquisitions purchased near local market peaks. Mottled toning and lower-grade designations appear in all five cautionary results.
2. The 1911 Quarter PR68 CAM rainbow (-7%) is the only negative same-coin result on a rainbow-toned coin in the dataset — purchased at the 2013 market high on a date with a 9-coin CAC population.

Section 7 — Buyer Activity

Fifteen distinct buyers participated across the 70-lot sale. The market is concentrated but diversified by denomination specialty — three of the top seven buyers are denomination-exclusive or denomination-dominant.

1. Bidder #800 — 17 lots, $292,190 total, all three denominations — is the defining buyer of this sale. Very low registration number indicates decades of auction participation. Strategy is series completion across all three denominations, not grade or toning selection.
2. Bidder #258040 — 7 lots, $31,807 average, $222,650 total — is the most aggressive specialist. Zero Dimes purchased; concentrated in the highest-grade Cameo material in Quarters and Half Dollars.
3. Bidder #7474 is the implicit Black & White toning specialist across the sale, acquiring the 1897 Quarter DCAM, 1903 Quarter CAM, 1913 Quarter CAM, and 1902 Half PR66+ CAM — all black & white toned, all generating strong returns.
4. Bidder #307181 purchased the 1892 Half Dollar PR67+ rainbow for $19,520 — this same coin was sold at Heritage in January 2015 for $7,639. That's a +156% premium over the prior sale price.
5. Three denomination specialists operated independently: #9195 (4 Dimes only), #2451 (4 Quarters only), #313453 (4 Half Dollars only) — confirming that this market supports dedicated single-denomination collectors at the CAC level.

Section 8 — Summary Conclusions

1. Published retail understates this market across all three denominations. CAC Ask underestimates realized prices by 44–90% depending on denomination. CU is a closer proxy but lags by 9–27% on average. Neither guide is an appropriate ceiling for acquisition negotiations in CAC-quality Proof Barber material.

2. Rainbow and Black & White toning command real, measurable premiums. A 47-point gap separates Rainbow (+88.7%) from Mottled (+41.5%) vs. CAC Ask across 70 coins. This is not anecdotal — it is consistent across all three denominations and both short and long holding periods.

3. Mottled toning is a structural discount — most acutely in Quarters. Mottled Quarter coins averaged -2.8% vs. CAC Ask, the only denomination-toning combination in the dataset to average below published retail. Mottled Half Dollars average +60.7% — healthy, but 77 points below rainbow.

4. Half Dollars are the dominant denomination across every metric. More total value, higher average prices, stronger CAC Ask premiums, and better same-coin appreciation than either Dimes or Quarters. The sole-CAC examples exist exclusively in this denomination, a key structural advantage.

5. CAC scarcity is the single strongest statistical predictor of price. r = -0.45 correlation between CAC total population and realized price. Coins with 1–2 CAC examples average more than twice the realized price of coins with 6+ examples. The effect is consistent across all three denominations.

6. Long-hold positions generated exceptional returns; 2019–2022 buyers face headwinds. The 46-coin same-coin aggregate returned +49.2%. 2012–2016 positions dominate the top performers. Five of the eight decliners were purchased in 2019–2022, suggesting those years represented local market peaks for mid-tier Dime and Quarter material.

Source: 70 lots (1910 Barber Quarter PR66 Gold CAC excluded from aggregate analysis), all PCGS-certified and CAC-endorsed, June 16, 2026 auction. Same-coin identifications from bold source data. Published price and population data at time of sale courtesy of Stacks Bowers.