1929 Standing Liberty Quarter

Here's the hair bun interior depressions and sloping neck shots:




The wear pattern at the base of the hair bun marked by blue arrows is inconsistent comparatively speaking.

I have an issue envisioning the MS63 coin's circular indentation elongating to an extent approaching the state seen on the coin in question.

The sides of the neck of the coin under discussion are essentially parallel to one another.

The MS63 coin clearly shows that the lines adjacent to each side will quickly intersect if further extended; this is not the case with the AU? coin unless one considers infinity as an attainable endpoint...

The other feature to note is that of the slightly larger girth
of the posterior portion of the hair denoted by the red arrows on the MS63 coin.

The best way to react to this is to suggest you look at a bunch more SLQ's. The cheek and hair are the very_first_place which show strike weakness, on an issue which is known for strike weakness. That's why the "FH" designation exists, to differentiate well-struck examples from poorly-struck ones. This is fundamental about SLQ's to such an extent that savvy graders don't include the head or shield in a grading opinion at all. They're only there as an arbiter of strike strength because those details cannot be trusted to accurately reflect "wear."

I'm seeing a coin with very slight wear. No worse than 55, possibly 58, and likely dipped because of the evidence shown by the rim in a couple pics. If toning that dark is visible on the rim, it was also on the face of the coin at some point. Where it went is obvious, and only offers one conclusion....

Frankly, if I were interested in submitting the coin I'd probably be going over the rim with a Q-tip to lose that toning because it would be a red flag at a TPG.

Why would this coin not be genuine or be altered? Looks lightly dipped, maybe, IMHO and I'm 99.99% sure its real. Plus, diping it doesn't really count as "altering"

I am still unsure why the almost horizontal trait just below the parallel yellow line on the PCGS 53 is absent on the AU? coin under discussion?

To further assist in deciphering my inquiry note the following series of photos that aim to show what I'm asking.

In an effort to show some commonality among SLQs in reference to this horizontal line question I used the:

1929 25C FH
PCGS #26120397, 5773, MS63 & a

1929 PCGS #5772 AU53 & a

1920-S 25C (Regular Strike)
PCGS #511567 G6

to indicate the gradual and expected deterioration of this essentially level line.

The AU? gray-colored coin photo is somewhat elevated in this sequential series of photos to emphasize its non-PCGS status but still positioned right next to the PCGS AU53 for easier diagnosis:

Not entirely sure which line we're looking at, but I replaced this with a new picture of my coin. Is this better?







New picture, I tried to match up the angle better.

I see what you are saying. That's what makes coins so hard to photograph. The same coin can appear vastly different based on angles, lighting, background, the use of flash, etc. It also makes grading from pictures a challenge.

Thanks for the input all.