Dipped = dipped in acid. You can tell due to lack of luster. I don't think it's dipped, however. It might just be bad photography. Dipped coins are more... gray? Did you buy it specifically for VAM reasons? Edit: I take that back. It looks dipped when I change the angle of my screen. Also, even without dipping, it looks AU-55, which means $300 is a bit high.
The glare from the lighting, stops you from seeing the surfaces clear enough to determine their condition. If the coin could make AU58, then it's value would be in that price range, but you can't really tell.
If it slabs at a AU58, it's a decent price. For reference, here's one that slabbed at AU55 which is significantly cheaper than what yours is going for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1897-O-Silv...66?pt=Coins_US_Individual&hash=item3cd314213e If it slabs MS, no problems, in a PCGS slab, then I think you got a great deal. If it comes back in a body bag, or slabs AU55 or lower, then it's not a great price.
Brian, even though it is a thread of mine from a couple of years, ago, I think it would help you with surface evaluation of a coin. Doug had commented on the flow line on an uncirculated coin, so I presented microscopic evidence of the surfaces so one could see the ridges that produce the luster that is seen as a cartwheel type of effect as one rotate such a coin. Dipping it dissolves a portion of the 'peaks' of the flow line and reduces the cartwheel effect. Generally one dip won't remove it, but as different owners over many decades re-dip it, eventually the little peaks are dissolved flat and a shine is still there, but when rotated, do not show the flashes of light that is the cartwheel effect. Once gone, they can't be brought back except mechanically such as with a fine wire brush ( whizzing) which is noticeable under magnification. http://www.cointalk.com/threads/microscopic-comparison-of-luster.126215/
