This Week's "Buy-It-Now" Gambles

coinpictures · March 31, 2006 1:32PM

Many folks are off to CICF this week, but since I couldn't attend, might as well cruise the bay for bargains...

Always a crapshoot when relying on Ebay pictures, but for the most part I tend to do reasonably well. Most Ebay pics look very washed out, so sometimes you can get a better idea of what the coin will look like by doing an Auto-Color in Photoshop.

For example, here's one that obviously was done on a scanner:

Well, I'm guessing the coin looks more like this:

You have to be careful, but sometimes playing with an auction pic in Photoshop can help you get a better idea of what a coin really looks like. Lightening dark pictures can reveal detail; Auto-Contrast or Auto-Color can give you a better idea of lustre, etc.

Anyway, here are the ones I picked up:

Hungary 1 Forint, 1912. Looks to be at least VF, possibly XF or better. $2.99

Hungary 6 Krajczar, 1849. I don't see this type all that often. Appears at least VF. $2.99

Chile 20 Centavos, 1873/2. I just LOVE this eagle design, and these coins are so darned cheap. $1.99

Chile 20 Centavos, 1874. This one looks even nicer and original to boot. $2.99

Great Britain Farthing, 1825. Obverse looks very nice, not so sure about the reverse. $8.00

German East Africa 1 Heller, 1905. I like the surfaces on this one; looks like it may have potential. $8.00

Austria (Salzburg) 1/2 Thaler, 1695. Seller claims AU, but I disbelieve. I think it's just a nice solid XF. Not a bad deal for $115 (Krause XF = $265).

spoon · March 31, 2006 2:00PM

Y'know, I think I can count on one hand the number of people who've ever photographed that tangled Austrian heraldry right side up.

Nice grabs though!

coinpictures · March 31, 2006 2:04PM

Hehehe. I did the same thing the first time I photographed one, although this type is easier since you can use the date as the clue for orientation. Some of the klippes I have with this design don't have the date on that side, so it's easier to screw up...