How'd This One Get Into A Problem Free Holder? 1810 Bust Half VF30

Any silver 200-year-old coin that is blast-white has had the patina stripped at some point or another. I can see the hairlines in the fields, so this coin has had a mechanical cleaning. The lighting was chosen to hide the hairlines as much as possible.




These two points are very contradictory. If there is lots of luster, then the coin is AU. If there are just hints of luster, then the coin is EF. There are remnants of luster in the protected areas of the design (the open fields are devoid of all original luster), just enough to make AU-50 or AU-53 had this coin not been cleaned.




Cleaning NEVER creates original mint luster; it only destroys it. Remember, mint luster is a result of microscopic metal flow lines etched into the die. As the lines are so small, they are very fragile, so any wear or cleaning (mechanical and dipping) can destroy the luster.

Here are the pics from NGC's cert verification page.

Unless stored in a vacuum it would having some color/toning. A 200 year old circulated silver piece would not be completely void of color.

If I'm understanding you correctly then I think you fail to recognize that this coin has been circulated therefore it has been through many hands. With that being said silver will tone from being handled and I highly doubt everyone who touched it was wearing protective gloves to keep this coin from toning. Even if the coin was removed from circulation before the toning began it would most certainly tone as time passed regardless of how it was stored. The age of the coin has little to do with the condition it is in where as how the coin was treated does.

Yes, a circulated 100 year old silver coin will have some color, toning or "dirt" if you will. Environment is important too and because silver is a reactive metal, and the air around us is made up of numerous chemical gases, a silver coin will tarnish over time unless stored in a vacuum.

No offense, but huh?




Technically yes, but how many airtight storage methods were available 100 years ago. Morgan dollars were put into bags, and the outside air was blocked by the coins touching the bag. Those got toned, while everything else stayed unreacted.

What I am getting at is that coin collectors/accumulators 100+ years ago were not as environment-conscious as they are today. So the vast majority of coins that age would be toned to some degree.

I submit for your consideration the following coin:









First set of pictures from dealer.
Second set from my own camera.

The slab this coin resides in:



So tell me -- is this a lightly circulated AU Bust that has been dipped at some point?

I think so, and I'm pretty sure everyone else does. That did not stop PCGS from grading it XF40 full.

But it's clearly lustrous in some areas, and has AU or better details.

My opinion is that PCGS downgraded the coin to a 40 to make it "market acceptable" because they did not consider the cleaning severe enough to warrant a Details designation. The coin actually looks decent enough in hand, although it's unnaturally bright, of course, and very obviously not original.

This 1824 is what they usually look like after decent circulation, as far as color:

Yes, looks like that's the case, including the coin paralyse just added. Not sure that 2 coins is a trend, but it just might be.