1814 Capped Bust Half Dollar Grade

Thanks to everyone for their thoughtful responses. And brownie points to Ploopy for correctly stating the variety, O-108a, which is the E/A variety. For those who don't know, Reich punched the incorrect letter when assembling the working die, and began to spell STATAS instead of STATES. Upon realizing his mistake, a correction was made by punching the E over the A. Part of the A is still visible underneath the E. As there are different theories why this mistake was made, it was most likely a case of Reich "spacing out" and thinking he was punching the letter after the first T instead of the second T.

I am most interested in taking a close look at the headband clash shown underneath the eagle's right wing. It is a solid line from the talons and pointing up. The tops of the letters in LIBERTY can be seen mirrored poking out of the chest feathers.

Also, after studying the pictures, there may be grafitti on the obverse field. I can't say for sure especially with the holder scratched up. I don't think NGC would let grafitti pass, unless they felt like an extreme net grade was justifiable.

I will reveal the NGC grade tomorrow.

NGC gave it a VF-30. I agree with most of your opinions, as my first impression of this coin was either XF-45 to AU-50. My guess is that NGC simply mistook this coin having wear instead of a weak strike. This particular coin does show Miss Liberty with a flatter cheek than other examples, but the luster is there for a high XF.

This coin was sold in the same holder by David Lawrence Rare Coins on April 11, 2021. They have high quality photos of the coin on their website. The link to the sold auction is: https://www.davidlawrence.com/rare-coin/2252122

It also appears like this was also sold by Royal Coins out of Houston Texas. I can't add the link because they don't have it on their site anymore.

Let's compare this example with a coin in a PCGS XF-45 CAC holder. Lighting isn't exactly the same, but this'll have to do for now.
OP example NGC VF-30:


PCGS XF-45 CAC:

It looks like a great find at that grade! You found it because of your discerning eye, respectable amount of knowledge, and impressive attention to quality.

Thank you everyone for the opinions and kinds words. I hope others can learn from this post and know that there are nice coins out there, you simply need to keep looking and have the cash ready!

This was the first slab I ever cracked, but the process went smoothly with a small ball peen hammer. Anyway, here are the closeups that I promised.

Arrowhead clash on obverse:

Eagle's right wing clash on obverse:

Scroll clash above date:

Olive branch and eagle's talons clash on obverse:

Cap and LIBERTY clash on reverse:

Cap and LIBERTY clash on reverse, different angle:

Remnants of the A seen under the E:

Fine die crack continuing around the legend:

Peculiar die defect across the two leaves:

These pictures really bring out the die clashing! If you resubmit it, let us know the TPG company calls it!

Good luck indeed.

Thanks everyone. I have no plan on submitting this one, as this one should stay with me for a while. If plans change I'll post the results here.

1814s have some crazy clashing. I agree with others that this was under graded. My initial reaction was XF-45.