The "LIBERTY" on the headband is not a grading point for this type. It is very deep into the design, and is one of the last devices to wear off the coin. You could see it if this coin were in AG-3 maybe even FR-2. They don't use VG-7 these days, but that's the number I'd give it. I had to vote G-6 since I don't view it as much of VG.
Your reason is exactly why. The coin speaks for itself, and I truly believe ANACS will grade accordingly. I respect and prefer ANACS over the top two!
I have a Classic Head 1809 Half Cent that my father gave me shortly before he passed. He told me to hold on to it because it may be worth something some day. I haven't had it graded, but it is in a protected 2x2. That was one of the things that got me into collecting. I got my first Red Book shortly after I got home with the coin.
There are six die varieties of the 1809 half cent. One of them is very scarce and worth some money. You might post pictures.
The grading that I see living in Denver, is that they are fairly tough the past few years. As of lately, I have seen them 1 to 2 grades tougher than PCGS. It drives me nuts when someone try's to paint them into a box. All TPG's put out bad coins. Haven't seen much traffic of CACG, how they doing?
I'm at VG-10. I went on PCGS Photograde and this coin looks exactly like a VG-10, even though the 2 are from different years, they couldn't look more similar. Come on, Charley, give ANACS some credit. They, like ICG, grade coins in many areas that PCGS and NGC do not. For CAC, I'm not too sure, as I haven't seen a single coin in their slabs firsthand. ANACS has definitely been improving their reputation over the past few years, and I see nothing wrong with their grading. They will use designations like "obverse cameo/DCAM for proofs, and Cameo DMPL for Morgans that are.... well... incredibly incredible. ICG also uses a designation that I personally like: SPL (semi-prooflike). They have realized that some coins, like Morgan dollars, can be worth slightly more if semi-prooflike. If you think that PCGS and NGC are always spot-on, that is never the case. They can overgrade and undergrade just like any other company. One example is with some coins I've seen that PCGS slabs as DCAM, and they're not even cameo. I can show you that coin if you're interested, but I simply don't know why people are against ANACS. I stand with both them and ICG, and while you may disagree, you should always do the grading yourself, even if it's in a PCGS/NGC slab.
@fretboard was the only one to correctly guess the assigned grade of this coin. Personally I think it's an F-12 and it seems that many of you agree with me or at least think it's 1 grade lower. And don't worry, I didn't pay anywhere near VF prices for this piece.
Here are photos of the 1809 Cohen Variety #1 which is "the good one." It is similar to the 1809 "9 over 6." It's not a true overdate, but blundered die with an upside down "6" punched in first. That variety is common. The diagnostics are the placement of the bottom curl between the "0" and "9" in the date and the closeness of he "18." On the reverse the last "S" in states in even with the top leaf in the wreath. If you can't be sure about the variety from this, put up another post.
I agree. I voted F-12 and thought I was being generous. BTW, there is something going on between Star 12 and the dentils. Anybody have an idea?
It's a scratch on the slab. It isn't very obvious in person, I guess it's the way the light hit it in the photo.
The issue with the 1834 half cent, and the rest of the half cents that were issued for circulation during the 1825 to 1835 era, is that it's darn hard to find one that is as worn as the piece in the OP. These coins were not popular, and they didn't circulate that much. Most of the low grade ones got there by damage or environmental issues.