Heritage photos
seatedlib3991
Posts: 704 ✭✭✭✭✭
I recently won a coin in a heritage auction. For several reasons it has been several years since I bought a coin from heritage. My past experience has been that they have very accurate photos. however this time I discovered a discrepancy between the photo and the coin. The photo is several shades darker than the actual coin. If I slide the brightness button to the far right it is almost an exact match for the coin in hand.
Please don't think this is a rant or a complaint. In fact, the coin is actually slightly more attractive than the photo. The coin is not miss-graded either. I just want to know if this color contrast is something common,(coins are lighter than pictured) or this is just an anomaly. Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Comments
They have the most talented and experienced professionals in the business on staff so I'm surprised.
i think their slab photos are pretty accurate. the other photos, i don't really look at.
unless anything has changed (possible) i am still under the impression they use a scanner. don't mean to make it sound cheap as i've read it is used as part of an automation process. (i can't confirm or deny except that the images look like scans to me and it seems to have changed over the years a few times)
I will go one step farther - I sold a coin through them few months ago. The image they took made the coin look much worse than the coin in hand. I brought it to their attention well before the auction, and they retook the photo. Even good teams make mistakes, but they rectified it quickly when I brought it up.
Successful BST (me as buyer) with: Collectorcoins, PipestonePete, JasonRiffeRareCoins
that is part of why i wonder if it is still mostly automated where a person whom knows nothing about coins can technically get them scanned/cropped (if software isn't doing that automatically) and the person literally wouldn't know any better and/or perhaps someone doesn't really QA them prior to listing. sometimes certain coins need imaged a certain way to accurately and fairly represent them whereas not doing so is can be quite detrimental to all involved.
I bought a capped bust quarter at auction, and in the auction photos it had a nice Green-Newman-Pogue provenance if I remember correctly and it had a custom label (I like provenance, it makes it more fun for me to know the history). When I went to lot pickup they brought the coin out in a standard holder with no provenance. Wha?????
Todd Imhof came over and took care of it immediately, and although I went home empty handed the coin did arrive to me back in the proper holder with the correct label and provenance about a week or so later.
Heritage is kinda getting beat-up lately. . .
peacockcoins
Yes, @Eldorado9 will have to report back here on the photographic accuracy if/when he receives his coin.
Nothing is as expensive as free money.
For 22.5% vig, I think consignors deserve better photos, even if they are not whales.
I don't have any issue with HA's coin photo, other department is not sure.
I don’t know what category you’re speaking about, but for the department I’m in - U.S. Coins - the buyer’s premium is 20%.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
As far as I know, scanners aren’t used for imaging.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
Both Heritage and Stack's have taken to using close ups of just the coin that flood the coin with light. This photos ALWAYS look lighter (no pun intended) than the full slab photos. I think the close-ups give a better view of the smaller details of the coin but the full slab shots are more accurate for color.
YMMV
Personally I believe the slab photos are closer to inhand look than the crop photos (that is when they have both). The crop images are much like many of the trueview images as few TV images have that inhand look. I like the crop photos as one can see the piece detail clearer and blemishes or carbon spots show up more ... sometimes over emphasize the contrasting. Personally I believe Stacks photos are consistently closer to inhand images.
I have no complaints with either ... just my observations.
PS ... I did win one lot that was In a newer generation NGC holder than pictured... that was a nice surprise.
OMG ... My Mother was Right about Everything!
I wake up with a Good Attitude Every Day. Then … Idiots Happen!
My experience agrees that the full slab shots almost always represents the color of the coin in hand more accurately than the larger photos, which clearly show more detail. As a result, both sets of photos are needed!
Steve
My collecting “Pride & Joy” is my PCGS Registry Dansco 7070 Set:
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/type-sets/design-type-sets/complete-dansco-7070-modified-type-set-1796-date/publishedset/213996
I agree with the comments above. I always use the large photos to access the surfaces and the slab photos for what they will look like in hand. I've not been disappointed with my purchases.
Some of their toned proofs look like they are literally GLOWING in the close-ups...
i should have added to this...nothing beats seeing the coin in hand. if you see a slab photo that makes you interested in the coin, go to the coin viewing before bidding or have someone represent you...especially in the case of more expensive coins
None of the auction houses have photos I trust or feel are accurate most of the time. If you want accuracy of how the coin looks, you have to see it in hand or have someone do it for you..........
I take my own photos and then go to Photoshop with the coin in hand and make sure I am getting an accurate image of what it appears (at least to me) in hand. This takes time, and alot more than any auction house would spend to get images for something they are selling.........................