I'll be the outlier on the grading.
1893-O
I agree with AU-58, straight grade here. There is an old cleaning, but it is market acceptable. Nice strike for a depression-era New Orleans coin.
1897-O
On the obverse, I see far too much detail in the leaves, ear, hair curls behind the ear, and ribbon for a mid grade. The ribbon and "TY" of LIBERTY are weak, but that looks to be more a factor of strike than circulation. That leaf detail wouldn't exist on mid-grades. On the reverse, there is strong detail in the oak leaf, corn, and grains. This is also too much detail for a mid-grade coin. The relative flatness on the lower left side of the wreath corresponds with the strike weakness on LIBERTY. This looks more like a die seating / strike issue, rather than circulation, and would explain both the areas of relative strength and weakness. IMHO, the technical grade is AU-50. That said, the surface condition made me pause a bit. There is a bit of a mottled appearance, but I don't think it is enough for an environmental damage detail designation. It might merit a -0.5 for eye appeal. On balance, I'm at straight grade AU-50, net grade EF-45.
Edited by fortcollins
09/06/2021 12:04 pm