1859 Triple Punched Letters

For a coin in that condition, there will always be some dirt/oil or "Vicky crud" on the coin, especially in the crevices of the letters & digits. It also has a washed out look. About 1/2 of all the 1859's will have the vine break at leaf 2. The master, which has the design in relief, broke in stages at various points along the vine(the weakest points in the design) starting in 1858 at leafs 7 & 13. The gap at 7 gradually widened in 3 stages (marow, med, and wide). Some time around the "late-medium" period for leaf #7, the vine broke at leaf 2. They are pretty common.

If you look at the coin, the lowest part of the design (the fields and spaces between the legend words) have been chemically and mechanically scrubbed, taking off the patina. Normally, the highest part of the relief (Vicky and the letters) will show the most wear and be closest to the original color because of rubbing/wear, with the fields dark. There is very little Vicky crud (but some corrosion) and it has an overall washed out and orange look, usually associated with an oxidizing agent. Regardless, it's a handsome coin and one that I would have scarfed up, given the chance.