The replica Barber halves that I ordered from Temu.com arrived yesterday. Since I don’t have any real Barbers to compare them to, I don’t know exactly how realistic these replicas are. But since we’re in the illusion business anyway, I think they’ll look good enough for me and my specs.

The Barber halves are all identically dated 1915. The reverse side of the coin (with the eagle) says “copy” in very tiny print at the eagle’s feet, as required by Federal law for replica coins. The coins are probably made of steel because they’re attracted to a magnet, a nice plus if you ever need that feature. They also have a reeded edge, and while the grooves are a bit fine, they’re still better defined than most of my worn Kennedy halves.

A replica Barber half weighed in at half an ounce; a real clad Kennedy half weighs .4 of an ounce. The replicas also sounded pretty realistic. When I poured them from hand to hand or stacked them on a table, I got a “clunk” instead that tinny “clink” you may often get from a gaffed coin. A replica Barber is slightly thicker than a Kennedy half, so only three Barbers fitted into my Okito Box that normally holds four Kennedy halves; I don’t know if that’s also the case with real Barber halves.

At $1.50 each, I thought these replicas were a good buy. I bought a dozen because the minimum Temu order is $15, but I wanted to have a few spares anyway. SETH

Thanks for sharing!
A clad Kennedy half should weigh 11.34 (almost exactly 0.4oz, as you found), but a silver one should weigh 12.5g (0.44 oz). Both should be 2.15mm thick.
A real Barber half weighs the same 12.5g, but is a fair bit thinner at 1.8mm. This is why some magicians prefer them, since the stacked coins are smaller.
For comparison, an English penny is usually around 1.6mm. You should be able to fit 5 EPs in the same box as 4 Kennedys (with some room to spare), and probably 5 Barbers - assuming you have half a mm of extra room in there.

All of which I say as a comparison to what you received. It sounds like they're thicker and heavier than they should be - which isn't bad, just a tad unfortunate for anyone wanting to work with multiples in a stack or box.

But great to hear the quality is nice. I typically think of a "clunk" like a "thud" - and s not the sound I'd like to heard from my coins, so thanks for clarifying!

I'd consider picking some up to try, but I don't think I need 10 at the moment. If you end up deciding to part with any, let us know!

Maybe I should have said "clank" instead of "clunk," which might be a little more accurate. But I think you get the basic idea -- it's not a "clink." SETH

Unless it is really really tiny, this is a deal breaker for me.

I've read from people that they love their Barbers because they are the thinnest of all half-dollars...

The main thing is that you like yours.