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 Replies: 9 / Views: 895 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
OK...so I'm pretty new to the world of expert grading, and need some help learning what to look for in general. Here's an 1861 Seated Liberty half dime. What do you think? Note: I added a better photo of the Liberty later in the post that shows a complete, but weakly struck "LI"...didn't do that until the 26th, so everyone's answer prior to that was based on the lousy photograph I originally provided. TIA Hunter    Edited by hunter20ga
03/27/2007 3:06 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6394 Posts |
Hello Hunter, On circulated Seated Liberty coins you will first see wear on Liberty's head, breast, and right thigh. I see what looks like light wear on each of these areas. There is also a light-colored area in the right obverse field which is probably due to friction. It's not easy to see any wear on the reverse; maybe just some light rub on the high points of the leaves and ribbon. The weak detail on the upper left wreath is strike weakness, not wear in my opinion. Unless there is damage that is not apparent in the photos, I'd say this coin should grade AU50 or AU53. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2254 Posts |
quote:
The weak detail on the upper left wreath is strike weakness,
 Look at the rim at 2 o'clock compared to 7 o'clock!! Very interesting. Looks like another one of those coins with a fantastic/untouched reverse, with an obverse showing some wear. The confusing part of this coin may just be a really weak strike all of the way around, or just in the pictures. First glance has me thinking higher than AU50 for sure. But, "Liberty" needs to be sharp for even VF according to photograde, and I don't even see the "LI" in the pics....  Unfortunately for me, weak strike or not, I think this would severely limit the grade. Definitely just my opinion though. I would love to have this one in my collection regardless. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
1173 Posts |
The missing LI in Liberty bothered me, as well. I'm not seeing the wear one would expect on the obverse that would be commensurate with enough wear to explain the missing letters.
Live and learn, I guess.
Thanks for your insights.
Hunter
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
I agree that the missing LI would hurt the grade. While overall details look to be AU, I would estimate that it's probably worth VF+ money without complete LIBERTY.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6394 Posts |
One other point: assuming the coin doesn't have a rotated die, the weak area on the wreath is just opposite the weak area on the word Liberty. If striking pressure was too low to bring up the wreath details on the reverse, the same condition would likely exist for the front of the coin, resulting in loss of detail here. This same scenario explains why many Walking Liberty half dollars have soft detail along Liberty's leg and torso on the obverse and along the eagle's breast on the reverse. I agree that strike weakness would probably hurt the value of this coin. I'm not aware that Seated half dimes are particularly prone to weak strikes. If you want to obtain a sharper example it should be relatively easy to track one down. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1083 Posts |
Might be a weak srike or partially filled die, but it looks cleaned. The rims are strong - more like an AU, but I still wouldn't give over VF-20 money for it.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1173 Posts |
OK...went back and rephotographed the coin. Look below...the coin has an LI that is weaker than the rest, but is still present. That was not obvious in the first photo. I apologize for my less-than-professional prowess with the camera! Edited by hunter20ga
03/27/2007 3:05 pm
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Replies: 9 / Views: 895 |
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Posted 03/25/2007 08:51 am
