Can a AU55 bust half...PICTURE ADDED

AU58WALKERS

be mostly white and very brilliant and still be "original"?

I think not, but what do I know?

ER

Hey, you cheated! It was 58.

AU58WALKERS

yeah that is what I would like for it to be, but it is angc 55.

If I knew how to take pictures showing the luster I would.

It has amazing "cartwheel", but I find it hard to believe that after 176 years it has never been dipped.

ER

A coin that is nearly 200 year-old shouldn't be brilliant white, but, like you said, what do I know.

ANACONDA

Pure white without any toning of any kind? Extremely unlikely that it would be original as in not "conserved". EXTREMELY.

AU58WALKERS

VERY slight gold tone with a few specks of green/blue arund some of the stars

ziggy29

Theoretically possible. Very, very unlikely.

AU58WALKERS

DAM.n ... it is on a snow white piece of paper and it still came out pink!
one of these days I'll figure out how to use this camerea.

MikeKing

it's been cleaned and retoned

ziggy29

<< <i>[DAM.n ... it is on a snow white piece of paper and it still came out pink!
one of these days I'll figure out how to use this camerea. >>

I applied "white correction" to your picture. Is this closer?

AU58WALKERS

YES! thank you

MikeKing

Don't fret, because most surviving bust halves have been either dipped, dipped and wiped, cleaned, however you want to call it, and it is very difficult to find a truly 'original' bust half. This particular half shows the hairlines of a wiping and the bright shiny silvery surface just won't be seen in an originally toned bustie, also, the toning pattern is consistent with re-toning. The coin you have pictured appears to have quite a bit of luster revealed by the dip and wipe, and the re-toning is appealing and thusly it graded an au55. Some time back, slumlord posted a few pics of truly original bust halves, which you should be able to find by doing a search. Hope this helps.
Michael

slumlord98

No need to search. Note that despite spending the last 150 years together in the same environment, they all have slightly diferent color, possibly due to different surface crud or different contaminants in the metal. The 22 112 is the lightest of the 3, with a silvery overall cast; the 24/1 is the darkest, and the 24 113, pictured last has a bit of peripheral color.

AU58WALKERS

mine looks like it needs to be buried in a taco bell napkin for a few years.

JRocco

Hey slumlord,
that 24 O-113 is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL !!!
WOW

AU58WALKERS

I like both of them...thanks for sharing.

GoldenEyeNumismatics

no, it can't. most of them are dipped. But hey, if it looks nice, it looks nice. Some bright 58's get it 61 holders

dizzyfoxx

<Can a AU55 bust half be mostly white and very brilliant and still be "original"?>

My answer to this question is