Sadly, this isn't the 109a. I thought I found one once as well, but no dice. There can literally be zero leaf on the left. I know a guy with 3 of these. One is a PCGS VF25 or 30 and he paid $5k
That is what I thought. The PCGS VF-20 on CoinFacts had a bit of a leaf left, which made me confused as to where the delineation occurred.
Send it in and try. But I've been there and done that. I hope I'm wrong. Love to see someone find a giant coin like that.
Note: the one I had was PCGS AU58. It had just a touch of the left leaf. But they said 109. Made me wonder that if it was worn down to VF30, if they'd give it the 109a...
It appears the discernable presence of the left side of the leaf is the delineating factor, judging from the pictures above. Mine has the left side of the leaf.
You have the coin in hand, so you are in a much better position to make the call. If you don't think it would make it, then go with your instinct.
1813 50C O-109, R.3, -- Scratch -- PCGS Genuine. VF Details. NGC Census: (1/19). PCGS Population: (0/15). VF20.... https://coins.ha.com/itm/bust-half-...19-pcgs-population-0-15-vf20/a/131823-21304.s Someone sent it in after I sold it. Glad I took the O-109 money and ran.
