Of course, its a half dollar. I saw this on Teletrade the other evening, and I loved the look of it. In the process of trying to decide which series to focus on next, I am going to be branching out a bit, maybe buy one or two of a couple different series to see how I like them. I probably paid a little bit more than I should have for this, but guess the grade and tell me what I should have paid. I can't wait to see it in hand.
XF-45? I bit too much wear on the high points for an AU. In my day, it would be a nice VF/XF, but we are a little more market oriented now and nicer coins are harder to find. Priced at about $100? (An AU-50 would be almost $200.) Nice coin.
The coin appears to be original ( uncleaned ) . My grade range speculation is XF 40/45 Given the fact that you said you paid a bit more than you should have, I would guess you paid 85-95.00
More than melt That is a cute one. Peak year for production, tho. Better than AU perhaps. The staff looks ALMoST perfect. Looks like it may make you happy, so it is PRICELESS?
Well, the pointy parts could have been rubbed down by 1.25 century worth of not being circulated. :mouth: and folks admiring the other high points.
I really like it looks like XF+ from the photos ( a lot of chatter in the right obverse field). It probably looks better in hand as TT has horrible photos. Looks nice and crusty! Looks like the most common closed bud variety. WB-103 R1. TAIL HUB VARIETY 2, CLOSED BUD. (MANY TAIL DIES) These dies were produced from the new Tail Hub Variety 2 which is distinguished by a bud (berry) below the stem on the olive branch which is closed (pointed). (Breen-5008) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: "We are convinced that the “closed bud” characteristic which distinguishes the Tail Hub Variety 2 introduced in 1876 was intentionally created by Charles Barber to “sign” the work he had done producing a new working hub to be used for subsequent production of working dies. We believe that Barber’s assigned task was to raise a new working hub from an existing master die which would duplicate the existing coinage exactly, except for strengthening some minor weaknesses in the design. Once accomplished, Barber used this reworked hub to sink at least one working die to test his work. Except for very slight differences perceivable to only the highest trained eyes, this die was identical to those produced from the previous hub (including the characteristic open bud). This working die was put into production and the subsequent coinage convinced Barber that his work on the new hub was good. As a final testament to his work, Barber altered the lower olive bud on his new hub such that it would appear closed instead of open on all working dies subsequently sunk from that hub." The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars. Randy Wiley & Bill Bugert. 1993. (See [15] pages 311-312.)
Very nice coin. I love the seated coins, and the bigger the better. :thumb: I'll say XF as well. I'll also guess the $100 range.
Nice coin. I see it as XF-45, maybe AU-50. At XF-45 I would have wanted to end up paying about $125 (that includes buyer's fee and S&H so the bid would have been more like $100). At AU-50 I would have wanted to end up paying about $160 (bid about $135).
Reading some appraisals of AU50 I had to further re-examine the coin again. On the obverse ( although it exhibits very nice detail) there is to much flatness, wear in the area of the hair, shoulder strap and neckline and the contacts mark in the field. The Eagles shoulder and upper wing, and right claw show wear. Just my opinion but I can understand how some may grade this above what I have suggested.
Thanks for the compliments, guys. This one is graded EF-45, and I paid $130 for it. I am perfectly content with the price, and cannot wait to see it in hand. I got this mostly for type (working sort-of on a half dollar type set), but it may turn out to be the next series I collect. I'm trying to decide where to go next, but the Seated Liberty series is extremely daunting.
Hopefully when you get your mitts on it & Stare that Obv Eagle eye to eye you will still be pleased. & be sure to check for a "six" under the "seven".hya: