What would you grade this 1851 large cent as and how much is it worth? I know it does have the scratches and that could bring down the value.
Yes, that damage kills it. Just for the heck of it, can you take a better picture. Would like to see if it's a 51 over 81.
Not really certifiable, but a really neat coin. Some of the people on here have some fabulous coins and I have to dry my keyboard off after looking at some of them. On the other hand, this is a really cool coin even if cleaned and having some damage. One way to lessen the effects of the cleaning would be to carry it around in your pocket and let it get a little more wear on it. Besides, it's interesting to pull out such a coin and say "Hey, have you ever seen an American coin that is over 150 years old?" The responses will range from "So?" to "Wow!"
What you're seeing are not simple scratches, unfortunately, and could be better characterized as "cuts", made, perhaps, by a knife or even a small straight-edge chisel being pressed into the coin.
Some tradesmen could have pulled it out of his pocket and used it as some type of tool back then. Like a shim in a piece of heavy equipment. I've used a dime more then once to turn a screw when I didn't have a screw driver. Although I like @BooksB4Coins straight-edge chisel theory. It hurts me to picture that. If only those old coins could talk!