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The ANA as an imaging resource
shylock
Posts: 4,288 ✭✭✭
A pipe dream of mine is a service that images sensational coins that almost all of us would otherwise never see, at no cost to the owner and fully insured. No individual could ever pull this off due to the time/expense of traveling to the coins or the trust of the owner sending them. Which brings the ANA to mind.
They certainly take some nice images -- the second image of the 1866 Half is as good as they come. I'd gladly double my yearly membership dues if the ANA became active in full scale expansion of their "Virtual Museum". One option would be a free imaging service for worthy coins, the type that usually only see the cold steel of a bank vault. Another would have the owners pay a reasonable fee to a trusted source for having their coins shared/publicized. Either way, the ANA is the one entity that could pull this off.
For every exquisite coin cataloged for sale -- the only time most of us see them -- there are how many others that rarely see the light of day? Wouldn't Lincoln collectors love to see a professional image of Stewart Blay's 1919 MS69RD, Indian Head collectors the Ally 1872 MS66RD... only two coins of thousands that would fit the criteria? I feel most owners of fabulous coins would like to share them with the collecting public in a safe, secure manner before it comes time to part with them, but simply don't have the resource in which to do it.
Most of its members will never see the bricks and mortar of its Colorado Springs headquarters. This would be a great way to bring the ANA to us, a logical and progressive step that brings the organization to its members. And for a lot less money than a new addition.
They certainly take some nice images -- the second image of the 1866 Half is as good as they come. I'd gladly double my yearly membership dues if the ANA became active in full scale expansion of their "Virtual Museum". One option would be a free imaging service for worthy coins, the type that usually only see the cold steel of a bank vault. Another would have the owners pay a reasonable fee to a trusted source for having their coins shared/publicized. Either way, the ANA is the one entity that could pull this off.
For every exquisite coin cataloged for sale -- the only time most of us see them -- there are how many others that rarely see the light of day? Wouldn't Lincoln collectors love to see a professional image of Stewart Blay's 1919 MS69RD, Indian Head collectors the Ally 1872 MS66RD... only two coins of thousands that would fit the criteria? I feel most owners of fabulous coins would like to share them with the collecting public in a safe, secure manner before it comes time to part with them, but simply don't have the resource in which to do it.
Most of its members will never see the bricks and mortar of its Colorado Springs headquarters. This would be a great way to bring the ANA to us, a logical and progressive step that brings the organization to its members. And for a lot less money than a new addition.
Paul <> altered surfaces <> CoinGallery.org
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Sad thing is, I doubt anyone there would spend the time and effort required to launch something of this scale.
How about a high quality image grading set from PCGS? Could make a great online educational course.
And it still hasn't happened.
Nothing's free.
There are a lot of great (and free) images on PCGS CoinFacts. For example:
pcgscoinfacts.com/Hierarchy.aspx?c=121&title=Liberty+Seated+Half+Dollar
This topic was discussed by the ANA staff in 2006. The issue came down to resources ... of which there were few available (financial and staff time) and no interest by the Board of Governors to allocate funds.
As difficult as it is to believe ... at the time the ANA was still trying to catalog its collection. The staff were working tirelessly to make a dent in the cataloging and understand what was in the collection. Doug Mudd was doing great work to bring the Money Museum and the collection despite the limitations the Board placed on resource allocation.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
I could imagine the Newman Portal doing some work like this at some point.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Patience....It's only been 15 years. The ANA moves slowly with consummate deliberation....or is that consuming befuddlement...?
The ANA ...after STARTING a great thing..... has dropped so many balls that they will NEVER get back in the "game."
I agree that the concept would be a fantastic resource....I doubt the ANA could do this.... What a project though, if the financial resources were available....Send a top notch coin photographer on a two or three year journey to catalog and photograph all the great coins... then publish it in a book for collectors... or an online registry... Wow... would be nice. Cheers, RickO
Speaking for Newman Portal here - we've already dispatched photographers to a couple institutional collections and are working on number 3. We are interested in doing this sort of work on an ongoing basis. It's not cheap, but we do have the funds to do this on a limited basis. If you have access to a world-class collection that has not already been covered in auction catalogs or published elsewhere, please PM me. Our offer is standard - free photography in exchange for the right to publish the images on Newman Portal.