1854 Braided Hair Half Cent

Hiya everyone!

I recently acquired this beautiful 1854 Braided Hair Half Cent. Looks to have AU details and may have been lightly cleaned quite some time ago. In person it has a more dark brown color to it, but the artificial light isn't making anything better.

Let me know all your opinions!





Thanks!
- Ryan -

 

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It looks like a lightly cleaned AU. But then you already knew that.

 

I agree with Mr. Feld.

Not a bad coin, but not one that I would buy. I'd rather have a nice original XF than a cleaned AU -- particularly for a coin as common as these late date half cents -- but that's just me.

 

I love it! :eat:

Your coins are getting better and better. :thumb:

Ribbit

 

Thanks!

Although lightly cleaned, I still like the coin and would have to disagree with Leadfoot, since AU is a big jump from XF and I'm sure it will re-tone over the years I'll be keeping it.

 

The math on that one is simple:

A cleaned AU will retone but a not cleaned XF can never be AU. It's sorta like that old drunken saying:

"I may be drunk but you're ugly and in the morning I'll be sober but you'll still be ugly."

Substitute the coins into the saying and you have this:

"I may be AU cleaned but you're XF and in the morning I'll be retoned but you'll still be XF."

Ribbit

 

Lightly cleaned or not - still a nice coin.

 

Very nice looking coin, very sharp. To me I don't see anything to distracting about the cleaning to bother me.

 

Very nice way to put it Toad! :thumb:

 

LOL! Wasn't that quote originally from Winston Churchill? Anyways, I like the coin. It looks like it may still have some luster left, yeah? I don't mind a lightly cleaned coin if there is luster remaining. Yours looks better than my type example.

 

Fair enough, but no amount of re-toning short of corrosion will get rid of those hairlines, and any experienced copper guy will immediately notice this and dismiss the coin (or at best discount it to the price level of an XF coin -- thus the comment).

But you're not buying coins for others, you're buying coins for yourself, so I am happy to hear you like it and will keep it -- because that's what it's really about.

 

Thank you and yes, the coin still has a bit of original color and luster remaining. It wasn't a huge amount of money spent on this, so I feel as if I got a really nice deal and am happy with the coin.