I use a copy stand and a Canon Rebel T3i with a bellows, and a remote shudder switch. For this shot I was using the Schneider Componon-S lense on it because the coin is so small. I use my Nikon El Nikor lense for just about everything else. I had all the lights on for it but it didn't show the toning well doing that so I turned a couple off. It was too bright. To me, it appears to have subdued luster that spins around the toning. I figure it is from the 1800s but it's really only 149 years old. It had to have been taken out of circulation early on to retain the details. It would have had a nice MS clean white look for who knows how many decades. Then, it must have sat in an album for a long time at some point. I don't know how long it would take for toning like this to present itself. The edges are pretty dark. It has great details on the head and the face. It's not the easiest coin to get a picture of and show everything.
Sorry, it's sitting down there in the back log as we speak. As soon as they post the grades online I will update.
Results are in. NGC gave it an AU-58. I would’ve given it a MS-61 but not a big value difference anyway. Just happy it straight graded for the registry.
Congrats on the straight grade! When there is little to no value difference, I prefer getting the 58 grade. A 61 tends to suggest it is a beat up low end unc (even if it is not) while a 58 can mean it's a top-end slightly circulated coin.