Never met a Seated Liberty I didn't like and 1853 is a pivotal year as defined by the arrows at the date. I would say she falls squarely in the VG-F camp..... Now, the honest side of me has to tell you that I feel pretty confident that she has been cleaned and a bit harshly. A coin this age that has worked this hard should be black and grimy. Then look in the space between her arms and the rims. Pretty sure that the swirls are evidence of scrubbing...... Taking that into account and recognizing that she has survived 170 years, I believe she is a lovely lady and deserving of a loving home.
I think it’s a strong VG-8 but a F-12 is pushing it too far. I also think it’s been semi-harshly cleaned.
Back in the day, the Brown and Dunn grading system (A grading guide from the 1960s which is where I started to learn to grade.) said that this is a "Fine" because it has a full "LIBERTY." The trouble is the rest of the coin says "VG." It's been cleaned some, which makes it not all that wholesome. The "With Arrows" coins from the 1850s had high mintages. The reason was all of the silver coins that had been issued before them melted for more than their face value. That was why the weights were reduced and the arrows, and rays for the 1853 quarter and half dollar, were added to the design. The mint system issued large numbers of these coins to avoid a coin shortage. The "With Arrows" coins are not that rare, especially in the circulated grades. The Mint State coins are a bit tougher because this was just before coin collecting became popular in the U.S. with the passing of the large cent in 1857. At the end of that little history lesson is the fact that you can be picky with this type. Everything depends on price for many things, but if they want a Fine retail price of this, I would keep looking. Add to that, the 1854 and '55 half dimes With Arrows can fill the hole in a type set as well.
Here is a Mint State piece, just to show you all of the detail for the type. This one is graded MS-62.
It seemed like the price was a bit "too right" which made me suspicious of cleaning. Thanks for your input everyone!
The coin appears to be a VG, but I believe it might not grade problem-free due to big rim nicks. I hope the best for this coin, though.
I started in '76, so I too learned my foundation in grading from the old B&D (Brown & Dunn) book. And so yes, I also looked at the full LIBERTY there and my first impression was Fine, though looking at the rest of the coin, it obviously is more of a VG by modern standards. Personally, because of that, I'd put the details grade as a high VG- say, VG10 (to be charitable) but could not call it F12. And yes, it's had an old cleaning, though I do not find that particularly egregious. I'd say it's a pretty typical looking lower grade example. Certainly not superb, but not awful either. Nothing wrong with it, I reckon, if the price was cheap.
