1808 Capped Bust Half Dollar - You Vs PCGS

I'll say XF-45 with a nice original look to it.

AU-53 for me too.

XF40

XF45

I am not surprised at the wide variation of grading opinions - capped busts are notoriously difficult to grade, and a good reason for the novice grader to buy these slabbed - and from the most respected TPGraders.

Heavy patination, which one would expect with a 200+ year old coin, can hide smoothing wear in the fields.

Because each die was unique but similar to all of the others of this type, there is individual variation in each working die. Quality control was not as good then, as it is now.

I have concentrated on the lower of the high points of the design (where the design detail should be fully struck up), to decide on a grade - perhaps my technique is no better than anyone else's.

VF-35.

PCGS graded XF-40, with CAC sticker

How is this a 40? This looks high AU