Walking Liberty Half 1918-S

Doesn't look cleaned to me. Beautiful original AU53. Hammer strike on this one. Congrats and pls don't try to clean it or otherwise improve it.

I'm pausing on this one. I have questions, but don't have any opinion on grade here. I'm just not sure what to think.

The lack of detail in the central devices of the obverse doesn't match the sharp peripheral strike on the obverse or exceptional detail on the reverse.
The reverse shows evidence of heavy die clashing, but I cannot find any evidence of obverse clashing.
If the obverse die was polished heavily (and the left edge of the flag suggests this), why are the peripheral letters and design elements sharp and why are the central design elements weak?
If the strike is weak on the obverse, why is it sharp on the reverse?
Why is there luster on protected areas of the reverse, but not the obverse?
If the obverse die is an earlier die state, why is there clashing on the reverse, but not the obverse?

Thoughts?



EDIT: I know the 1918-S fairly well, and I know it frequently has weak central device obverse strikes. What makes me pause here is just how weak Miss Liberty's details are on this coin. I'm wondering if this was a partially grease-filled die?

A lot of teen yeats seem to have washed out lines. Even slabbed ms grades are weak. Don't think it's fake.

There would be no reason to replicate die clashing...so fake is off the table for me.
fortcollins nails it...grease filled die.
If this were mine...she would be replacing my current 18-S.
EF45
smat

i dont think the coin was cleaned either I'm just not a fan of the obverse on this one and when you put in its slot thats what you see. I dont like the black stained area around the gown but the softness of components on the obverse match up to FC's assessment. I guess its a personal decision as to how it fits with the rest of your coins in the collection. I think the coin might net at XF45

I'll say genuine, AU-50 sharpness, and if it was cleaned it was a long time ago.

I believe this one is genuine. That said, every date and mint of the Walkers has been counterfeited. Most are one-look train wrecks, but the overly-sharp die struck counterfeits caught by NGC a few months back are worrisome.

One other possibility came to mind last night, as I was pondering this coin. What if this coin was struck near the end of the production year? What if the obverse die involved in the clashing split or was shattered? What if the San Francisco mint brought back a serviceable, but fairly worn, obverse die to finish the run, polished it heavily, and mated it with the strong reverse die?

That might explain the heavy loss of central design detail, the evident polishing lines on the flag, and the lack of obverse clashing. It wouldn't explain the strong obverse peripheral details.

Just some additional random thoughts.

Even the MS-65 examples in the Heritage Auction archives show very weak skirt lines. The OP's coin has AU detail but perhaps some surface damage, either over-dipping or ED from improper storage. If it's fake it would likely fool me. What's the weight? Should be close to 12.5 grams.