1866 Seated Liberty Half

Great looking coin! I don't see any wear either but it looks like it was wiped/cleaned across the obverse surface.

My grade would be MS63.

What a gorgeous coin! I can see very little wear on this coin.

I would go MS, possibly to MS62.

Congratulations! (I do admit to a small bit of jealousy...!)

This isn't one I'm willing to be conclusive about without it in-hand. Could be Mint State, could be AU. I lean towards a strong AU55 or 58; scans show luster as dark areas and the higher points of the obverse devices (arms, legs) are just a little too dark (in the scan) for me to believe the coin Uncirculated.

So I'll grade it about $500.

The clashing isn't really relevant to value one way or the other, but the "coating" probably is. If it can't be removed, then the coin gets a Net grade and a reduction in value of 20-25%. The only user-safe method of removing the coatings is acetone; if that won't work, then this is absolutely a candidate for NCS. If NCS can work their magic on it, then you'll do no worse than AU55 and probably 58 in an NGC slab, and have a pretty significant coin. There are no more than a hundred of higher grade in reputable slabs.

Most grading is done by eye or with minimal magnification; in any event, no greater than 5x.




I'll give you the basic intro; search the word elsewhere in the forum as it's been discussed extensively. I would warn you: Although acetone is chemically inert to your coin and its' use cannot be detected by any method, there are those who would stand against its' use.

First. Acetone is incendiary and hugely volatile and will cheerfully burn your house down if you give it the slightest chance. Use it only in a well-ventilated area.

This is a soak, not a rub. *Nothing* acceptable in the treatment of any coin is a "rub." Ever. Use a jigger glass or something of that size; I've been known to use a juice glass with a shotglass inside it, so the coin does not rest flat which would tend to interfere with the process.

Set the coin in the empty glass first, so you can set it without dropping it, and then pour the acetone in. Use "rubber" tongs (actually a chemically inert material when bought as "coin tongs") if you have them. Me, I cover my work with a pane of glass to keep fumes out of the house and stop evaporation. Give it two hours, grab the coin by the edges, swish it a bit and then start a new soak with fresh acetone. Let this one sit overnight. If there isn't a visible difference in the coating after that, acetone won't help. There have been a couple occasions in my experience where the first soak didn't make a difference, but the overnight did.