65BN Bottom photos look 10 times better also. The bottom photo has much more crisp and defined wheat stalks. The top one seems to have a slightly better focus on the portrait though. I don’t like how the top one shows doubling on the reverse legends. Almost like their lights were shifted to the right or something. The bottom photos fields also look much more appealing. Nice date and good looking coin.
There are no proof Lincoln cents from 1931. Proof Lincoln’s stopped in 1916 and resumed in 1936. They also did not have mint marks until 1968.
No, they were not making Proofs in San Francisco at that time. I see a spot in one photo so my guess is MS-65, Brown.
I don't like what appears to be old corrosion next to the E/T on the reverse. I'm going with Details/Environmental Damage.
Wow! PCGS TrueViews are going all in on the axial lighting. Not flattering at all! The two images almost make this look like two different coins. The top image makes me want to say MS-63 and the bottom image makes me want to say MS-65. I'll average the two together and come out with MS-64BN.
Thanks for the guesses, all. The dealer I bought this from is an excellent grader and she called it 65BN, I felt it was a solid 64 in hand personally but bought it anyway. PCGS said 63BN. I think their photos are exaggerate the surface issues but it was a tough coin to photograph, here is another shot I tried with the lights way back trying to capture the in-hand look which is more brown.