This came from a Bowers auction about 30 years ago in an NGC holder. They made a big deal out of the Footless F. They even called it rare. Do the O-109A and the O-110A have this same feature?
VF-25. I think I see some unusual and uneven wear patterns on the obverse and reverse that seem to suggest that one or both dies were bulged. I haven't thought this through but the hair wear is excessive considering how well the upper hair locks and the folds of the drapery have held up. On the reverse, yes, the banner is usually the first to go but it's concentrated at E PLU and wing in that area, head and left star field. The rest of the reverse does not show wear to a degree that is anywhere commensurate to what we see on the left banner.
Wouldn't you attribute the wear pattern to the Overton number and die pairing? I tend to look at the toned areas more than the wear. When looking at anything under an XF45. This coin actually has some nice details.
I'm not familiar enough with the Overton varieties to know if this one is noted for weak strikes or worn dies but I don't think this coin is suffering from the latter. As you noted, it has some very nice remaining details in many, maybe most, areas of both sides. So, it's probably not an overall weak strike. It is only in the areas I noted where the details are weak due to wear or other reasons. How could those areas be much weaker than other areas which are normally equally susceptible to wear? Well, that is usually caused by one or both dies being bulged so that the bulged areas of the die are deeper than normal, inhibiting the flow of metal into those areas so that you get a localized weak area of strike. I could be all wet on this so maybe the more experienced hands would like to comment?
