Woods020

There are no layers, it is a copper cent.

Actually the second one is the one with the damage.  When this farthing design came out in 1895 and 1896 some scammers were managing to pass off the unfamiliar coins as 1/2 sovereigns. (The British version of the Racketeer nickel.) So partway through 1897 and in all of 1898, 99, 00 and 01 the farthings were deliberately blackened at the mint before they were released.  So at some point in the past that second coin was scrubbed to remove the black finish. 

The ending bid should be closer to $0.02....the decimal must have slipped.
BTW -- you folks in KY and TN stay safe -- snow, flooding and other stuff coming your way.

Yes Thank you.
 
I finally found a beautiful example of a MS66 sick beautiful coin.  I see my mistake.  I was largely using the best I found on ebay to assume the best quality of the coin.  Problem is there is not a really great example.
 
I will definitely fill a few albums.  Then I'll peddle the other 3,000 somewhere but with a much more acceptable price.
 
Thank you all.  This helps.

Nope, I'm middle aged crabby. 

To reinforce what Roger wrote, the Eckberg book is certainly more entertaining and ideal for an introduction to the series. Manley is a technical book, with illustrations of the progressive die states for each die marriage. It's the book I use for attributing half cents by Cohen numbers at NGC. The only flaw with it is that the binding is poor, and the pages can drop out like leaves. I ended up disassembling my copy completely and coil binding it at the office.

It is great that you want to bond with your daughter over coin collecting, I sure wish that either of my two daughters had shown any interest in coin collecting.   Keep in mind that 99% of the people on this forum are not employed by NGC, we are just collectors and dealers that are freely sharing our many years of experience when we answer your questions.   While you may want a more detailed explanation this is our free time that we are donating to help the hobby, so when we know what we are looking at (bty thanks for the excellent photos as that helps us to give you answers) we simply answer the question without writing a book on it.   In order to learn you must be willing to accept the information, that is why in many threads you will see several posts all saying the same thing, we are corroborating the information that you have already received.
If you really want to bond with your daughter then I suggest that some time spent reading and learning about the process of how coins are made now and throughout history would be the best thing you can do for yourself and her.   That way you and she will learn how a coin is made and conversely how the type of damage you see on your coin in this thread could not have been done during the minting process.   There are many references available sometimes at your local library, one such resource is a book titled "From Mine to Mint" written by one of our forum members.
Once you have some knowledge you will be in a better position to teach her and begin to collect, knowledge first collect second.

Nickels seem to be the easiest to dip. Unlike silver or other clad it seems almost impossible to over bake them. I don’t make it a standard practice to dip many but I would hesitate the least on nickels. They almost seem Impervious. Now I’m sure if left in for 15 mins it would be a different story. But within reason they take it like a champ. 

I have not tried dipping a nickel, proof or business strike.   However, I have seen a few before/after photos posted on various forums in past years so I know it can be done, I assume the dip must be highly diluted, but again I've never tried it myself.

Yuck ,   It may dip off if it hasn't etched the surface.

Looks like the majority of color is haze!

Half Cents:
#1 Eckberg - The Half Cent 1793-1857: The Story of Americas Greatest Little Coin -  This book is well written and works to provide an overview of the coin's history, and makes use of panoramic edge photography and red/blue visual overlays to show die varieties.  This book has full color photos, and it's a great read.  The "eye candy" sections are particularly "drool-worthy" - showing the finest examples known.  
#2 Manley - Half Cent Die States - This is a comprehensive book of Half Cent Die Varieties and States.  By many, this is considered THE book.  This book has more comprehensive information than Fuhrman  (listed below), however, the photos are black and white and I find Fuhrman's series to be better for quick diagnostics.  There is no denying that this is a great book though!
#3 Fuhrman The Half Cent Handbook (Series) - This book is more for quick diagnostics of Die Varieties and Die States.  Very photo heavy with LOTS of great color photo representations for each variety (obverse and reverse) and state.  This series is my go-to "lap dog" when hunting coins online. (this is a series... Draped bust is ones book, Classic Head and Braided Hair are another (other volumes will also be released)
Early Copper Coins
Eckberg, Fagaly, Fuoss and Williams - Grading Guide for Early American Copper Coins - This book is choc full of color photos and is really a must have for anyone who wants to get into Early American Copper (EAC) coins.  EAC's grading is quite a bit different than today's TPG grading.  If you are unfamiliar with EAC's Net Grading, this book breaks it down
 

I thought YouTube was the potential ruin of numismatics until I’ve recently joined a bunch of coin groups on Facebook to network. It’s groups of people all full of delusions giving each other reassurance that their crazy is real. I’ve never seen anything like it. And they buy each other’s crazy ideas. You can get a sweet premium for parking lot “errors” on there if you are so interested. 
 
No telling what @Coinbuftop registry set of parking lot beauties would go for. That nail polish glitter one is a six figure coin I’m sure! 😂

Wishing you lots of success this weekend.

You have to include my new publication. I have no doubt it will add value to your library collection.  I have just published and labeled it; "The 5 most valuable dug coins while metal detecting North Georgia; The story of the ED zinc Lincoln, worthless and useless since dropped".  
Ok... I am done now. My wife just read this and said."STOP.... you are making a fool of yourself...... your C meds are kicking in.....".  If I am banned from this forum I completely understand. I definitely need to go to bed now.
I am just kidding with you Woods, obviously.  You know I am a serious collector by ALL means.  I wish you the absolute best in your endeavors with your collection my friend!    

Looks like the cellophane had a pin hole in it

I wish I was better at this, but it does show signs of natural toning. I see the pull away effect around the outer devices. It also has a color progression from rim to center. I would say get more opinions before dismissing. I also won’t say it isn’t AT. This is one of the things that I very often get wrong. 

Looking on line will not help you..  there are so many ways to change the appearance of a coin with photo editor that it will make your head spin..  the only way to rally look at a coin is to have it in your hand..  and from what i see on this one it looks way too clean and unnaturally toned from the pic. You normally will not see the exact toning on both sides.  just my opinion because i am not an expert just a collector.. you have some of the best expercts in this field on this site so you in good hands. 

The photos are not helping the cause, the white balance looks off and a single harsh light source is not giving us a very good look at the color or surfaces.   Having said that this looks like a cleaned and retoned AU slider, if I only had these photos to make a decision from I would turn and run away.   @Woods020 mentioned that pullaway effect that you see around the stars and lettering of the obverse, that indeed is a common sign that the toning might be natural.   However, on the reverse you see none of that, the colors run right up and over the design and lettering elements.
As to sending in you already have an opinion from an NGC expert, Mr. Lange, so spending the money to get this back as AU details cleaned or questionable color would not be advisable.

I found my first two quarters with the new obverse design today.   I was not a fan of the mint photos and I can say I'm equally less than impressed after seeing this in hand.
Also found another W quarter too, this is the 9th or 10th American Memorial W quarter I've found so far.

I would not spend the money getting this graded myself. I assume it’s a Philly since I can’t see the reverse, but regardless it’s a common date (actually really really common) Morgan in circulated condition. There is no error per se. Getting this slabbed would cost more than the coin is worth. Now if you want to preserve it because it’s neat I don’t blame you, but there are cost effective ways to do so. Everything from spending 25 cents on a 2x2 and some staples to a few bucks for a diy slab. It will be well protected. 
 
Prior to storing I would soak it in pure acetone (not nail polish remover but from a hardware store) to remove some of the staining. That’s what I would do and I’m sure some may disagree so take it for what it’s worth. 

Well it won’t go well this weekend. I got the dates mixed up. I’m doing something for the day job this weekend. The fun business is next weekend. 
 
What I am looking most forward to is I’ve conned my daughter into being my booth helper. So that will be fun. She could care less about coins but she will love chatting up all the old boring coin guys. 

Because what is shown in the photos (we didn't get full images of both sides, so we have very limited information, and can't examine even the rest of the reverse) is characteristic of mechanical doubling, and inconsistent with true doubled dies.

I am hitting Spartanburg SC this weekend

Here is the URL: https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1006619/resources-books-to-read-on-numismatic-series-and-varieties.
It's a good collection of books and I'm glad they kept it at the top of the page. There are a few out-of-date dogs, but most of the books listed from the past 20-30 years are good references. (The Breen Encyclopedia was once a great reference, but modern research has shown that it is filled with false, inaccurate and invented material. A reader has to be proficient in American numismatics to separate the good bits from the garbage and Breen's lies.)