GTG: 1858 Liberty Seated Half

It is undoubtedly dipped. Any white Seated Half has been dipped to a greater or lesser degree.

 

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I'm going with MS details.

 

What would lead you to believe that it is a details coin? Please point out why you would come to that conclusion.

 

AU58

 

XF details

 

You've an interesting reverse, did you notice (...forgive my shakiness with the ballpoint pen in Paint)?

 

I can't speak for @ksparrow, but I went MS Details because to my eye, aside from the dipping, there appear to be scratches from a cleaning.

I guess we'll find out...

 

Think it is a die crack.

 

Neither of those look like that to me, but they did come from the die. The lines down just left of the leg could conceivably be thick die polish lines, but I really doubt it, in this case. Take a look at some other reverses from this mint in those areas, I doubt you'll find these, not from any mint, for that matter, they're that unique. I think it's cool, actually.

 

People will be surprised at this one.

 

Great minds are thinking alike. Good luck with it.

 

AU58

 

Pretty sure the area in the shield is a die clash, as I mentioned back in Post #5.

Here is another 1858 P Seated Half with the same clash in the shield that I found while I was trying to see if it was a well-known recognized die variety.

EDIT: Here is another with something in the exact same spot, although it looks a bit different.

Didn't see it mentioned on PCGS or NGC variety pages, nor is it in the CPG.

 

I see your Post #5 where you caught that, now. And this, another 1858 from the same Mint, is compelling. Thank you, I think you're right. What about that lower area I've circled, any thoughts on that? I very seriously doubt those are die polish lines. I think they're way too regular and prominent, as in "strong," for one, and two, there's no evidence of polishing elsewhere on that die. Yet, look at that area in these, regardless of Mint, and those lines are absent, not part of the design. Just look back at yours in CoinCommunity, that backdrop isn't there.

 

Yeah, I don't see those parallel lines on either of the CoinCommunity Halves either. They do remind me a lot of the same area on some Morgan Dollars I've seen...so my first thought was die polish lines/die scratches. They do appear pretty straight and parallel, though...my brain isn't quite in "Run" mode for the day yet, so I'm having trouble envisioning where a die clash would produce those shapes from (would have to be the shield, right?)

 

Here's a CoinTalk post hiding in the Google search results where @Mark Metzger does an overlay:

https://www.cointalk.com/threads/seated-liberty-die-clash.318773/

That coin also does not have the lower left parallel lines.

 

AU55

 

That brings us back to some sort of localized scrape or tuckpointing to the die. But then, why nowhere else, just there, behind that one berry? The rest of the die is but flawless, it’s a real clean die. A little strange.

 

Ok, food for though. Not committing to grade yet, but look at the level of surface preservation compared to Photograde of a low grade MS coin. Interesting, isn’t it? This coin’s grade is definitely a curveball for certain.