1839 O Bust Half Dollar - Input Appreciated

I recently acquired this coins as part of an estate purchase. It is incredibly rare and quite valuable. I would love input on grade. I took photos from lots of lights and angles. There is some unfortunate chatter to the lady of the bust. My assessment would be xf45-au50(possibly detail due to the obverse marks or a possible cleaning) As for the cleaning, the coin still has a bit of luster but there is some gunk clinging to the devices.
Thanks in advance!

 

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Wow, reverse is die-crack city! Lovely coin though

 

Beautiful coin but there are so many die cracks I lost count. Both sides have them everywhere. Nice is any condition as only 113,000 were minted.

 

I, for one, love die cracks. I think they give a coin character.

 

I’m not complaining, not by any means.

 

She's a darling! Get her in a 2X2 and don't mess with her, you need to get this lady graded.

 

Looks like an AU53-55 to me. Very cool.

 

Did a quick acetone soak to see if I could remedy the dark spot on her cheek. It appears to have worked. Amazing thing is that the coin spent the last 40 years in a tin can with the rest of the collection I purchased.
…before on left, after on right

 

a very desirable half! 6th photo down looks like an old cleaning but still looks to have mid au details quite a find! and in a tin can!

 

I did not pay “tin can” prices for it but I also didn’t pay AU prices for it either.

 

Also, I found a dealer submission to piggyback on so she’s going out for grading tomorrow. Feel free to hazard a guess if you’d like. This will be a tough one.

 

Nice coin. 45 to 50 sounds about right to me. Tough coin in this grade.

 

You hurt it.

 

Please explain. Acetone is safe for treating coins and only removes surface contamination/dirt/residue. It does not effect the composition of the metal.

 

You hurt the surface. It's flatter. There's less depth in it. Acetone will do that, strip away the veneer, what we otherwise loosely call patina. Told you don't mess with it. Here it sat undisturbed all these years until you got your hands on it. I see this all the time to good collections. People don't perceive these differences anymore than they can perceive the differences between a $20 and a $1000 bottle of wine. The ones who can pay the $1000, they can. And there's what I'm talking about. The ones with the big money to shell out can tell. The others? They get intoxicated on either bottle, what's the difference?

Do yourself a favor going forward. Don't be talked into Verdicare on these. That's right around the corner from distilled water and acetone on the recommendations. Don't treat these coins like $20 bottles of wine. Get them graded as you find them. Argue with that all you want, I stand by it. Meaning, do what you do, it's your coins, your business.

 

I'd hazard a guess at AU50-53. The graders may be a bit more forgiving than otherwise given the age and rarity of this beauty. Congratulations!

 

Great coin. Looks mid AU. Acetone is safe to use on coins. It does not strip "patina."

 

Nice find. Congratulations.

Your coin is the GR-1 die marriage, Obverse 1, Reverse A.

In particular, the reverse of your coin is in the terminal die state, which displays a shattered die. The lumps along the die cracks are especially diagnostic. On the obverse, the diagnostic for terminal die state is a crack from rim to S13 and then connecting to the crack through the date. I can't see this on your photographs, but if it's there, then the obverse is a terminal die state and if not, it's the penultimate die state.

The 1839-O GR-1 is the most common of the 39-Os with about 95% of all those in existence being this variety. It is an R-1 coin.

Look for a recutting of the mintmark at the lower, outside left of the MM.

As to grade, I would estimate it to possess around AU-55 sharpness and I agree with others that it has probably been cleaned. Although the nature of your photographs limit my assessment of this. Also, the color of the coin in the photos probably does not reflect reality and is probably an artifact of the light being used. I find it impossible to estimate any remaining luster from these photos although I concede to others their claim to be able to see it.

Even if it receives a Details grade, it's worth slabbing, IMHO.

 

It’s a sweet coin either way and looks nice before and after the acetone, but there is some truth to what Eddie said regarding acetone in general.

People are always saying “acetone is safe and only removes surface contaminants” but that really depends on what your definition of safe is. Sometimes (the vast majority of the time even) it’s a net positive to remove the surface gunk, but on some coins it’s a net negative and makes a coin look less original.

Bottom line… it’s a case by case thing (like most things) and a blanket “acetone is safe and won’t harm the coin” is a misleading statement because it all depends on the individual coin. Is it going to hurt an UNC 1964 Kennedy that collected nicotine funk for decades sitting in a holder on the mantle? No, it’ll probably help it. Will it hurt a truly original circulated bust half that doesn’t have PVC or any other contaminants that NEED to be removed? YES. It’ll make it look glossy and it’s no longer strictly original. PCGS will still slab the bust half with a straight grade. CAC will still sticker it too if it’s all there. So if the services thresholds are how you define what’s kosher or not, acetone isn’t going to make or break the coin in 99% of cases, but there are so few truly original coins left in comparison to those that have been enhanced, conserved, etc. that it’s worth at least being mindful about.

 

Au 53 if it grades straight I think possibly old cleaning that could go either way and impossible to call from pics