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Message:: [QUOTE="johnmilton, post: 3763564, member: 101855"]On this design, the "LIBERTY" in incuse, into the surface of the coin. Therefore it is one of the last devices that would be worn off of this piece. The coin could be almost completely worn, the Fair or Poor grades, and the all or part of the "LIBERTY" would show. The "LIBERTY" is not a grading point on these coins like it is on some other designs. The design often makes one side look better than the other on my 19th century coins. The obverse is frequently not as nice as the obverse, even on AU and Mint State pieces. It probably has something to do with the design which has more devices on the reverse that can stand up to circulation better. I would not purchase this coin unless the price was at or near the melt value. It has lots of wear and has been cleaned and scratched. This half dollars tend to come in at least VF condition. Many of them spent a lot of time in bank vaults and did not circulate that much. The banks of the period held these pieces to back the paper money they issued. The Federal Government did not issue paper money at this time. Virtually all of the paper money that circulated, prior to the Civil War, was issued privately by banks. It's easy to find one that is better than this piece.[/QUOTE]