Capped Bust half help please.

[jesbroken]

1834 Capped Bust Half-is this color natural and does the missing letters in E PLURIBUS UNUM matter as to grade?

Thank you----Jim

 

 

 

Edited to add-I feel that this coin would grade VF25--yes or no?

[physics-fan3.14]

The missing letters from the motto are due to a weak strike and are quite common. Yes, this looks to be a VF. As for the color, it is hard to tell in these photos but it does look cleaned and retoned to me. Are these sellers pics? With the lighting here, this coin could be anything from blast white shiny ugly to decently retoned market acceptable. I just can't tell.

[dooly]

The pictures are not doing it for me !!

[MBA101]

I don't think the pics are all that great but I would grade it a 40 with the mushy details that this O-114 is known 4. Whether it has been cleaned or not would need to be determined with an in hand examination. This could be OK and just has some heavy envelope toning.

[TomB]

The images make me believe the surfaces have been removed at one time.

[WinstonWare]

There is something weird about the look

[SlumLord98-migration]

What is referred to as weak strike is usually a case of poor metal flow through the dies when the coin is struck as opposed to the press operators making a weak wristed whiff. The cause of poor metal flow might be either a worn die/dies or a poorly sunk die/dies. The difference can be spotted by observing multiple specimens of the same die pairing; if all have a such an appearance as the subject coin the problem is a poorly sunk die/dies. Edgar Souders covers this subject in great detail in Bust Half Fever.