1853 Seated Half W/ Arrows And Rays

I'm changing my opinon. I think you're right, Ed.

Looks like it was dipped at some point and retoned. That is fairly common - TPG's often ignore it.

Very old cleaning. It has since retoned, which may be the cause of the invisible hairlines. Are these ebay pictures or your pictures?

Anyhoo, it is right on the border between VF and EF. It would probably grade problem-free at a TPG.

On a circulated coin, which clearly this is, in the VF to EF range, and when I see the colorful greens and browns, and darker colors appearing, it raises a question. From other threads like this it was explained to me that when a circulated coin is cleaned or dipped, it's now more susceptible to toning from the air. The brown on the left side of the obverse with the darker spot at 11 o'clock, and all the areas on the reverse is a result of a cleaned coin coming in contact with the air. An honest wear coin or album toned coin wouldn't have toning colors like this one imho. But I certainly could be wrong.

imo it would not grade problem free. Sorry, just my opinion.

Under different types of lighting it looks the same. The picture is over exaggerating the surface.

Ponchsox. There's no set answer to that.

If it's a common coin with many examples known in all grades, details slabbing will knock 50% or more off the value in a straight grade, say from an XF-45 to a VF-20 price or even lower.

On the other hand, there are some coins such as early Half Cents & Large Cents, and Bust and earlier silver coinage, where straight graded coins command a substantial premium; in that case, details slabbing might not knock the price down by more than a grade or two. (Feel free to send me all your unwanted Details-slabbed Chain Cents... ;)

In addition, key dates of a coin series (1877/1908-S/1909-S Indian Head cent, 1909 S-VDB Wheats, 1885/1886/1912-S V nickel, 1893 & 1894 Morgan dollars) or rare mints (CC coins, gold from Dahlonega or Charlotte) are always going to be in demand even in details holders, so there's not as much of a drop.

Details coins do have a market at the lower prices, mainly with type set collectors who are more interested in eye appeal than original surfaces, and they offer a great way to put together albums with nice eye appeal. Plus, if you've always wanted, say, a Draped Bust Large Cent, a details grade can allow you to purchase a "nicer" coin for less money (e.g. you can get an 1802 Large Cent in F-12 or VF-20, that body bagged for details for light cleaning or slight porosity, for what you'd pay for a straight-graded VG-8 example of the same coin.)