This was recovered out of the same California hoard as the AU 1919-S Half I have listed (0503-02), with the same old relatively light cleaning leaving uneven surface color. The slightly mushy strike commonly found on this date, however a lot of luster showing. Certainly more than my somewhat poor photography shows, and this certainly looks nicer in person than seen here. A snide comment here: there is a coin being currently offered on Collectors Corner (May, 2025) by a bigger name dealer, which not only is a “gift” PCGS AU-50 in my opinion, it has obvious distracting marks, was probably cleaned at one time (worse than the coin offered here), and shows little if any life/luster to the surface. That might make this a better deal for someone. Most of the strike weakness shows along Liberty’s body and the Eagle’s breast, the typical problem area. This actually shows a stronger, more even date than a lot of coins in similar grade. Absent the cleaning I would certainly have submitted this for grading, as it is otherwise what commonly certifies as AU-53. This date typically gets a mulligan from the services due to strike issues, and commonly for old cleanings. However in this case I think it a bit too obvious to pass in anything but a Details holder. Guaranteed genuine of course, I will guarantee a certification of AU Details if the buyer chooses to submit the coin. Like the 1919-S I am loathe to “give this away”, however discounted appropriate to the condition of the coin in my opinion. I hate to put it this way, but a good “mechanic” might be able to work this over a bit and get it certified - I just do not have the proper chops to make it work.

0508-99