A nice 1904-S Barber Half...

I have the opportunity to purchase this coin for a fairly big dollar amount.
The break-even/profit point would be getting it in a PCGS 45 or better holder.
I believe this to be at least a 45 by checking out heritage's archives. But would you have concerns with a past cleaning on this piece?
I was not able to photograph this coin outside of a 2x2, so you will see specs and such associated with that (such as the red thread in by the nose, and the marks at 12:00 on the obverse and 6:00 on the reverse)
I know it will be hard to determine with out seeing the coin in hand, and not the best pictures with being in the 2x2, but does it look like a crusty original or color resulting from a past cleaning?
There are no hairlines or anything on this coin.
Thanks for your input!
The break-even/profit point would be getting it in a PCGS 45 or better holder.
I believe this to be at least a 45 by checking out heritage's archives. But would you have concerns with a past cleaning on this piece?
I was not able to photograph this coin outside of a 2x2, so you will see specs and such associated with that (such as the red thread in by the nose, and the marks at 12:00 on the obverse and 6:00 on the reverse)
I know it will be hard to determine with out seeing the coin in hand, and not the best pictures with being in the 2x2, but does it look like a crusty original or color resulting from a past cleaning?
There are no hairlines or anything on this coin.
Thanks for your input!

0
Comments
Its hard to say without having the coin in hand,
but it looks to be as if the coin has an unnatural
toning about it.
The coin does have solid XF 45 details but I believe
that any TPG would only grade the coin as Genuine
due to Altered Surfaces.
Not a bad choice for a Dansco album though.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
roadrunner
That's the problem with these guys... most of the XFs that I see have been mucked with
<< <i>Clorox bleach applied?
roadrunner >>
That was what I thought as well.
RMR: 'Wer, wenn ich schriee, hörte mich denn aus der Engel Ordnungen?'
CJ: 'No one!' [Ain't no angels in the coin biz]
However, the chance of it grading are minimal as like others point out is has been cleaned in the past. The differences between the obverse and reverse suggests to me it was once in a blue Whitman album, often you see differences such as this look between the two sides of the coin. Was it at one time mounted which accounts for the 12 o'clock obverse, 6 o'clock reverse stuff?
I would take a close look at the edge at this location. I bet it was.
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<< <i>Definitely EF, but this coin in this grade has risen in published price as well as market price by an enormous amount over the last 5-10 years and you will be paying very stiff money if you need it to get into a PCGS EF45 holder to break even. I would not take that bet. >>
High grade circulated Barbers have really shot up in the last decade, and attractive, original VF/EF pieces can get large premiums over even the rapidly increasing sheet price. I suspect part of this is due to the attraction to a series with no "superstopper" uber-key dates (though as attention increases and pop reports become available, it's more clear that some dates are quite scarce in higher grades, especially when coupled with strong eye appeal).
Doug
Tough coin.
I agree with the observations, in that if you need it to holder you should pass.
When in doubt, pass!
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Craig