A few weeks ago, I purchased an 1810 Capped Bust Half Dollar at auction. Now that I've had the coin in hand for a bit over a week, I figured that I would ask you all what you think the coin would grade at. Before I post the pictures, I'll have you know a couple of things: 1. This coin is the O-102a variety, a variety that displays a weakly struck left wing on the reverse. 2. I've included three sets of pictures. The first set shows the coin without much light, the second set shows the coin with more light on the surfaces, and the third set shows the photos from the seller. The seller's photos are closest to the actual color of the coin, and there is no blue or yellow hue like the second set of photos would suggest. 3. The coin has a light film on it that somewhat subdues the luster. Although this might make the surfaces look a bit washed out, after looking at it several times, I don't believe the coin has been cleaned. With that said, I'd love to hear everyone's opinions on the grade. Thanks in advance!
Ditto 55. And, where ya been @physics-fan3.14? Missed your cogent, pithy and sometimes acerbic commentary. I'll bet you were off world through the Stargate (Been binging the old series with my wife. Who knew she'd enjoy it.)
Thanks for the responses so far; keep them coming! Just for reference, here's an 1810 Overton-102a graded MS-66 by PCGS. Note that the weakness in the left feather is due to strike, not wear. Some mint-state coins actually show even more weakness in the wing than this coin does.
Going by the photos, I would say AU-58. Let’s hope you get graders who knows about the strike issues for this variety. I think that the piece that PCGS graded as an MS-66 is over graded. That is a very lofty grade for one of these coins, and I am not impressed with the look of MS. Liberty’s face and the surfaces in front of it. When a coin gets the MS-66 grade, you should have to hunt to find imperfections.
Just to update everyone, I brought this beauty into my local coin shop yesterday to seek out a grade estimate and value assessment on the coin. One gentleman working at the shop thought that it would reach AU-58 with an outside shot at garnering a mint state grade. However, the other attendant thought that the coin was AU-50/53 details (cleaned). Even as such, they offered me a good bit more than what I paid for the coin, so I ended up selling it. They told me that they'll send it in to be professionally graded by NGC, making sure to note that the coin is the O-102a variety. As a bonus, if the coin does come back with an AU-58 or higher grade, they'll pay me a few hundred dollars on top of what they already gave me.