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Subpar auction pics often hide gems!

Just got a coin in the mail that the auction pictures don't do justice to (and it's a good thing, or it probably would have gone even higher). Wasn't cheap as it was.

Ireland 1/2 Penny, NGC PF63BN CAMEO. Auction pics look decent, although there's nothing about the coin that makes you jump up and down. I bought it because it's the only brown cameo that NGC has certified, and... well... you know how I feel about dark copper. Thought that a brown cameo would be something unusual to add to the collection.

Seller re-emphasized over and over how incredible the coin was in hand. Yeah, ok sure, whatever. image

First the auction pics:

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I got the coin and from straight on, the above pictures are very close:

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However, once you tilt the coin to the light, a COMPLETELY different coin emerges! I took the photos below using the angled glass technique, and yes, when you hold the coin up to the light, it REALLY DOES look like this... (what looks like a hit on the reverse at the base of the harp is on the slab, not the coin).



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Before anyone thinks I went nuts in Photoshop and juiced the pics, all I did was do an auto-contrast and adjust the brightness. Here are the original raw pictures (very washed out due to low light):

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