An image hosting service just for coin photos...

coppercoins

I sat down last night at the computer and started searching the internet with an idea in mind, and when the idea didn't surface anywhere on the internet, including a topic search here, I decided to do some additional investigation and came up with the following idea...

A site that is geared toward coin collectors that will allow them to upload and host their own gallery of images of coins, which would give them access to those images to use on eBay, here, or anywhere else. The plus is that they would have a personalized gallery of images on a nice looking site that they could send other collectors to and show them through the gallery of their coins - a personalized coin museum of their own images.

Granted the space has to be somewhat limited and the size of the photos has to be somewhat limited, and there would be a monthly fee - in the neighborhood of $3 per user per basic account. The interface would be nothing more than a couple of clicks, and it would give you a cut-and-paste URL to use as a link anywhere to show off your pictures, and the URL to your gallery to show it off to others would be - www.coingalleries.com/username - that simple.

I thought of an additional feature or two that would be helpful to many, to include being able to have a title for your gallery, and to have titles for your images that would show in a menu to the right of the images and on the pop-up window that would result from clicking on one of the thumbnail images in the gallery. Another feature would be a graphic one in that you would be able to choose from a selection of background styles and thombnail frame styles to further personalize your gallery of images.

The following "picture" of a gallery page layout (NONE OF THE LINKS WORK - IT'S JUST A PICTURE) shows what might happen if a person who had a toned Morgan collection used the "dansco style" background and "35mm frames" for their pictures. What you will see is the gallery view of this hypothetical person's images. If the site worked, you would be able to click on any one of the thumbnail images to see the full size image in a pop-up.

Let me know what you think about this idea and the look of the following page:

WARNING!! 128K picture - very slow for dial-ups...the actual site will load much faster once it's built...this is ONLY a layout image, not a working HTML page...

coingalleries.com example

Thanks,

Sphinx357

What a great idea, I really think you should go through with something like this. Once word gets out and all the people on ebay are hosting on your site instead of paying ebay you could really make some money. I also like the layout, very professional looking. If you have the means I would pursue this.

coppercoins

No mistake about it - it IS coming...I just have to iron out some technical and security issues, and it should be done by the end of February. I was looking for input, fresh ideas, thoughts on the design, etc...but I already have the domain name secured and the web space for it - just a matter of writing the code now. Thanks for the input!

airplanenut

I really, really like it!

...but none of the links worked

airplanenut

One way to get word out... sell subscriptions on eBay... then some of the many who are likely to use it will see it through their normal searches.

Jeremy

Garneteye

Very nice, I would certainly be interested when it becomes operational.

Dan

coppercoins

Good idea Jeremy...I thought of that as one way to get it off the ground. The main issues deal with bandwidth and security, both of which I have to be very careful to control - the brunt of the programming that will go into it. The rest is simple. I sort of wonder why it's so difficult to conceive of topic-specific image hosting and galleries for members? I didn't find any of it on the web.

BTW, I also bought www.cardgalleries.com for the sports memorabilia enthusiasts...same idea, different topic.

airplanenut

<< <i>The main issues deal with bandwidth and security >>

With the bandwith, is it your end that can't handle it all, or is it the potential high cost? Since you mentioned a basic account, I'm assuming there would be others, in which case you'd be able to specify the allotted amount of storage space/bandwith, correct?

Ooooh! Another idea! People using eBay images get a few things--namely, they get the thumbnails that enlarge into a bigger picture, supersizing, and a slideshow. Since all of those are simply javascript/HTML (as far as I know), it might make sense for you to set up an option where people check the images, features the images will show (thumbnails, enlarging, etc.) and it automatically pops out code--either linked to your server, or just a long amount of it--and they will get all of the gallery features, without the $1 or so per that eBay charges.

Jeremy

coppercoins

Nice one Jeremy! The idea had already gone to doing boxes with code in them for cutting and pasting a link, an image tag, and a bbcode post, but that would carry it further! Good deal!

SarasotaFrank

somebody please give this man a cigar.

what a great idea.

FrattLaw

Sign me up, oh wait, I have my own site to host pics, I just have to put it together!

Chuck you are a genius. It's just a matter of time until you own the entire numismatic internet world!

Michael

coppercoins

<< <i>

Sign me up, oh wait, I have my own site to host pics, I just have to put it together!

Chuck you are a genius. It's just a matter of time until you own the entire numismatic internet world!

Michael >>



Yes, yes...you have come up in conversation often recently. I am ready to work with you, we should talk this weekend. The dark days are pretty much behind me. It's the manic thing.

cosmicdebris

Would there be templates or would everyone's gallery lookk the same? What if someone only needed ftp access and could do the rest on their own?

millennium

Fotki already has something very much like that..How you set up the folders is pretty much up to you. It only cost 30.00 a year for UNLIMITED storage space and you can use the pics on ebay or anywhere when you use the HTTP reference under the pics that you upload. My site: "My Metal Detector Finds" Listed below...Shows my coins and detector finds, along with family photos...It will show you what it is like.....If you have a homepage that you can reference the photos to, then you are there!... I haven't go so far as to make a homepage, but it would be simple from here on out.....

IrishMike

I think it's a terrific idea. I have neither the time, ability or desire to develope what you have described. Like many anything outside of point and click for a photo shot is a task. My concern is that these sites have come and gone in past leaving the subscribers holding the bag. Comcast limits me to 15 mb therefore limiting the number of pictures I can post.

millenium that is a nice page.

coppercoins

Cosmic - No way I'd give open FTP access away. The gallery would be customizable to the person's taste based on a selection from a standard group of backgrounds and from a standard group of frames for the pictures. Like I said, the idea layout you saw would be for a single possible example from many possibilities.

millennium - The photos on your page are really nice, and the subjects in them are really nice. Thing is, they are on a drab, plain page that has nothing to do with coins. Tht was the point here - to produce basically what you have there with that funny sounding site except make it very specific in look and feel to coin collectors as opposed to some sterile blue on white web page.

Irishmike - I've been in coins and coin websites from the earliest time possible in my life for each, and I'm not going anyplace soon. If something happens and this gets bigger than planned, I'm fully willing to do what it takes to keep the hardware and programming running as fast as it needs to. In other words, regardless of how small it may remain, coingalleries.com will be here to stay.

millennium

Coppercoins......The idea was that you can LINK to Fotki and make a simple HTTP reference home page that does NOT have to be the storage site... It's like taking your original post link, and tying the pics to the fotki site just for viewing.........Once you get the pics stored you can pull them up for any page ....this pic is from fotki:



All I did was link to it, much like you could do with a simple home page that Yahoo or Geocities will give you for free... AND.....I can link them to Ebay....When needed....

stujoe

Good idea. Sounds like a lot of bandwidth and space, though!

I have a limited photo gallery for users on my site (nothing like what you are proposing either in scope or concept) and I have to limit how many pictures and sizes and such. I tell users straight up that I may have to delete for space reasons and it is not permanent storage. No way, I could let them use them on Ebay either (mega bandwidth!)

I think what you are proposing would be very popular and, as always, your designs are outstanding!

mgoodm3

Good ideas. I think your designs are some of the nicest out there. keep it up.

airplanenut

<< <i>Coppercoins......The idea was that you can LINK to Fotki and make a simple HTTP reference home page that does NOT have to be the storage site... It's like taking your original post link, and tying the pics to the fotki site just for viewing.........Once you get the pics stored you can pull them up for any page ....this pic is from fotki:
>>

I'll speak for Chuck here... with his idea, you upload pictures, and they are stored in an online gallery that you can link and show people. Then you can also get the address for a given picture, and have it load anywhere else on the web.

Jeremy

clackamas

There are already a million image hosting companies... why would this be any different?

Google Search

millennium

<< <i>I'll speak for Chuck here... with his idea, you upload pictures, and they are stored in an online gallery that you can link and show people. Then you can also get the address for a given picture, and have it load anywhere else on the web. >>




This can all be done with FOTKI too..I did it two years ago, but the time to keep it going was too much for me. I had a main page that had the links to individual coins and links to other collecting sites. All the images in Fotki can be linked to ebay or ANYWHERE else on the internet.....

coppercoins

The point here folks is the graphics package of the site - attractive. The "other" image hosting services are simple, underdesigned holding tanks for pictures...this is a website in its own right where your images are dressed in a nice "feel" for a web site. Yes, there are a ton of image hosting services - but that's all they are. You might have a gallery, but it looks like crap because it's plain white, obviously not well personalized, and extremely generic to any subject or cause. These galleries are graphically enhanced to support a particular theme - numismatics. That in addition to the fact that the URL to your gallery would be very simple - not some cryptic series of 100 characters that could change over time to get to one of your pictures that are inevitably wrapped in their oversimplified graphics scheme. Take a look at the example picture again and compare the graphic feel to what you have at your image host - you'll immediately see the difference.

coppercoins

Okay...more thought has been put into the process, and this is now the plan...

1. Limited to unlimited photo uploading based on the plan selected. Photos can be connected to a number of galleries, and the number of galleries a person can have is unlimited. For instance, if you have a photo of a toned Morgan, you could put it in a gallery called, "My Morgans," and it could also be placed into a gallery called, "My Toned Coins," in which there may be photos of other series toned coins. Any gallery may be made public (anyone can view it) or private (only the member can view it). "Galleries" for a single member are only a way of organizing and linking to groups of photos uploaded by that member. One photo may be linked to any number of galleries, but would still be the exact same photo with the exact same web address regardless of where ever else you might use it on the internet.

2. Photos can be edited on the fly within the site. You could upload a photo from your computer that is any one of 90 different image filetypes and the photo editor on the site will allow you to transform that photo to an internet ready format. Within that editor you can also resize the photo AND add a digital signature to the photograph that signs that photo as yours. Once you have edited the photo and are ready to add it to your galleries, it will save the photo AND a system generated thumbnail of that photo to your member-space and give you the URL to use in linking to the image from ANYWHERE on the internet AND through email. It will also display boxes of code that you can cut and paste into any application anywhere that allows HTML or BBcode so you can post the image or a link to the image without having to know anything about the code.

3. Upon upload, members will be able to title their images and type out a description of their images that will give them the chance to include information such as when and where they bought the coin, any specific flaws or markings on the coin, or whatever they want to type about it - OR - they can opt out of typing a description altogether...member's choice. The description, if there is one, will show when the large format photo of the coin is being viewed.

4. Search capabilities will be by username or keyword among all of the public galleries and will display results in a list broken down by pages. If you type in 1897 to the keyword input box, it will find all images linked to public galleries on the database that have 1897 in the description of the image. More search criteria will come up in the future, I'm sure...we haven't fully explored that idea yet.

5. Membership will be offered on a 3-month, 6-month, or annual basis, with monthly savings increasing as your term of membership increases. Membership will start at $3.95 per month for the limited space package and go down from there within that package based on how long you sign up for. We are considering $2 per month more for the unlimited space package.

6. If you are a cross-topic collector plans have been made to start other galleries of other types, and members of one galleries site will be able to pay a heavily discounted rate to be a member of other galleries sites. I know LucyBop could take advantage of this being a coin and comic collector.

7. Other considerations include using the digital signature to verify that the photo is linked to the server and the page it is being linked to is registered with us as being from the member who owns the picture. This would allow you to place a small link with the picture that people can click on to see that it is verified as being YOUR picture. If anyone steals it and uses it elsewhere, they would have to know your account password with CoinGalleries and register their page with us using your information to have the same thing show on their page. Once people get used to the idea that most CoinGalleries photos are verified, they will be leary of those that are not.

8. Yet another consideration is having member profiles like CU has and allow people to communicate with one another in a community setting. Communication would be limited where the member chooses, but it could possibly give members the opportunity to craftily use the system as a sales showroom...upload the picture, put the price in the description, and turn their profile and messaging on in case someone comes along and wants to message an offer to you. The messaging and profile viewing would be offered to members only.



A new example has been put together of the second galleries site - for card collectors:

CardGalleries layout example.

again, as with the CoinGalleries example, this image is HUGE, so be forewarned.

Now...all that, wrapped in the graphics packages lined in this thread, should at least raise the ears of the nay-sayers who think this is just another image host. The differences are now not only in the topic specific atmosphere and nice graphic galleries, but also in how the site behaves, editing photos, user driven galleries, and communication with other users. So NOW what do you think?

mgoodm3

Sounds like a nice idea if implemented properly. The ability to edit images online is nice. The frillls are what will sell it, so what ever cool functionality/uses you can build in will be good.

coppercoins

Yes...functionality and ease of use through button click interfaces are the key - along with this being an idea that has not yet been properly carried out on the internet to date.

mgoodm3

Ask the populace what they want in an image hosting service. There are probably some good ideas out there.

coppercoins

erm....I thought that's what I was doing with this thread. I know there will always be nay-sayers regardless of how fancy it is, but my concern is that my presentation of the idea here seemed to lack the ability to drive the point home to a few individuals who thought this was an enclosed gallery site or who thought this was just another image hosting plan. This idea is different from anything like it that I could find through an exhausive search through domain names, message boards, newsgroups, and search engines. As far as I can tell, it has never been used before, and I want the nay-sayers to go back, read through the entire thread, and still be able to honestly say that for the price and functions allowed, what they have is still better....then show me why.

jbsteven

I would highly consider using the coin picture service to save on my Ebay supersize photo fees.

Barry

Don't most Internet accounts include Web/FTP space? I know mine does... If so, why demand for such a service? There aren't that many WebTVers, are there?

coppercoins

<< <i>Don't most Internet accounts include Web/FTP space? I know mine does... If so, why demand for such a service? There aren't that many WebTVers, are there? >>



I don't quite understand why the webtv thing came into it, and I don't understand why you can't see that this isn't a simple image hosting service. If it were a simple image hosting service, would it need the full graphics package and image editing online I described in my lengthy posts? I'm beginning to think that some would just pick to be picking and are not reading what I posted about it.

I'll post again when I have the full site tour done, but until then I won't bother mentioning anything else about it here. For those who did read all the features and make recommendations as well as realize and comment on how unique an idea this is, I appreciate it.