1852 Braided Hair Large Cent For Grading Vs. NGC Older Slab

Okay, I think these pictures came out better. Switched to 55mm and rigged a mount to try to get a stable capture.

Reverse rotation has once again been digitally "corrected" by means of a 137 degree CCW canvas rotate in Photoshop, for the purposes of the first reverse photo here. Note that the thick (and somewhat scratched) NGC slab distorts the optical clarity a bit by way of a lensing effect, meaning that perfect focus is an elusive goal even when manually set. A sharper focus would require cracking the coin out or getting it reholdered. If this still isn't acceptable, I give up. I'm a collector, not a photographer.

A light brown with only the faintest traces of red in front of the neck line and the very back of the hair. By EAC standards it couldn't go past a 60 for that reason, but NGC doesn't use EAC standards. Photos are actually pretty true to color.

As the pics get better, my grade goes higher. I started at 53, then 58. Now I have to go higher as the surfaces look much better. And I don't see what I thought was wear on the obverse. Regardless, it is a nice coin. I'd go 63, too. I do see what might be a slight rub on the reverse ribbon. If that's just the pic, then 63.

So, what was it graded?