Couple of toned Morgans

coppercoins

I know how some of you drool over toned Morgans, so I thought I would do my part to keep the drool flowing.

These two shots are coins that were submitted for my photography service.

1881-O NGC64
1885-O NGC64

Have fun!

nwcs

Fantastic pictures! Can we get a pic of your setup? I'd love to see how you've got it all laid out.

coppercoins

There's really nothing "set up" about it. It's a common swing arm lamp with a GE reveal 60 watt bulb, bond paper over the hood bottom to diffuse the light, and a Sony Mavica FD-88 camera. No tripod, no special equipment.

The trick is in how the photo is edited in Photoshop. I "make" the photo look like the coin by tweaking it. Takes about 10 minutes per photo, and the exact method and amount varies by coin...just depends on what it "needs".

The end result is an 8X10 glossy print of the coin at 300DPI (photo quality) and a 72DPI copy of same on a diskette for the owner's records, online sales, whatever. The master is saved on CD for storage in a fire safe vault, and for reprint purposes in case the owner of the coin ever needs photo reprints. It also adds a layer of proof of ownership of said coin for insurance purposes or in case of theft. Even though slabbed coins can be cracked, unless the coin is tampered with, it will still have the same toning, scratches, and defects. $6 per raw coin, $9 per raw coin with microphotos, $12 per slabbed coin, $15 per slabbed coin with microphotos. Slabbed coins are infinitely more difficult to photograph, and extra photos and editing time are required for microphotos.

Edited to add: In "tweaking" photos I do not change their color, remove or add scratches or marks, or in any way deface the integrity of the original photograph. The only things done to the image before photo-printing them is cut the coin out of the raw photo, resize, change the intensity of color if needed, and adjust brightness and contrast so the photo of the coin will not appear dull. Toned coins always need to be toned down a little, my camera has a nasty habit of making toned coins look like they were colored with a magic marker...the camera enhances color, so I de-enhance it.

TONEDDOLLARS

Love the 85-o. Looks end roll to me . My favorite type

coppercoins

Yup, you can see the shade and hue changes in lines around the coin where the paper was folded over the obverse. I'm betting on one of those sulfur-loaded paper wrappers. The coin, when looked at directly on has a light brownish-red color mixed with the assortment of other colors you see, but the fire red and pink come out in the cartwheel. The method I use for photos does a reflective shot, so what you see in the photo is what you would see in the cartwheel as you tilt the coin toward the light.

Dog97

Hey that 81-O was on it's way to being a great coin but someone slabbed it before it was ready. If the tone at the top of the obv had moved all the way around the periph on both sides then it would be my kind of coin.
I like weird patterns like that endroller. I have quite a few of them and I like them because they are unusual. I like Morgans in general anyway.

MrKelso

I like that 81

Gilbert

Nice images.

I like the peripheral toning on the '81-O too. The '85-O is also nice, but those specks of debris (in this case the one) simply drive me crazy. I just imagine that it is there eating into the surface; well it is, but in my mind, it happens right before my eyes. I have a tendency to want to remove them. I don't, as I know it may leave a "pit" so I usually just pass on coins where this is evident. To me, that one little speck overwhelms an otherwise beautiful coin.

So Coppercoins,

You do coin photos? Don't recall you commenting in my NGC Photo Proof thread. Does that mean you're selective about your customers?

pmh1nic

Beautiful Coins! Great Photographs!

coppercoins

<< <i>You do coin photos? Don't recall you commenting in my NGC Photo Proof thread. Does that mean you're selective about your customers? >>



Sorry, I have no idea what you're talking about. Could you expand on that? I don't read the NGC board nearly as much as this one.

edited to add: Sorry, I can't find what you're talking about. I don't like that board nearly as much, it's more difficult to navigate and the color gives me a headache.