Looks like some flavor of UNC — maybe 63-64. I think it’s real but quite agree it looks a bit strange, probably a result of a (long-ago) cleaning. I’ve got a nice one of my own, but this one is nicer! Dave S.
I'm more of the view that the cleaning is recent. But's it's definitely been cleaned and recolored. Still, a very sharp example.
TPG's can be hard on the Half Cent, VF possibly EF, in my opinion. Thanks for sharing such a nice coin, good luck.
Indeed..."such a nice coin"...as many have expressed in general terms...and way too nice to have it relegated to the "details" heap for a cleaning that no one knows when or even if, as the sole reason to be rejected for a straight grade. This coin deserves a straight grade...somewhere to me in EF45-AU53 range.
It depends on how it looks in hand. Your photos are good but no substitute for seeing it in the copper. I would guesstimate it in the $3-400 range. Trying to have it slabbed would be a mistake. They would give it a details grade, and it would be worth less because of that. Most early copper collectors don't care about slabs anyway.