Another post on auction pics vs. the actual coin.

worldcoinguy

I purchased this on a whim to compliment a few Salzburg talers I already own. Immediately after the purchase, I feared would regret the hasty decision. The coin arrived today and I was pleasantly surprised with the patina. It is quite colorful. My pics are crummy, mostly due to my lighting, but I thought the contrast was interesting.

The auction pics:


My attempt at pics (despite the poor lighting today):

JZrarities

Very nice indeed!

coinpictures

Very nice. The color and image detail is there; it just needs to be "pulled out."

A few seconds in Photoshop... is this closer to how the coin looks in hand?

worldcoinguy

Yes indeed - that is a big difference. I really need to read up on Photoshop and spend some time playing with it. Photoshop can be such a negative word in this hobby at times, but it can also be a great tool when used properly.

coinpictures

Yes, a lot of Ebay sellers abuse Photoshop, especially with toned coins, blasting the hue and saturation off the deep end, to the point where the coins look unnatural.

Used properly though, Photoshop is indispensible. It can overcome poor lighting (in many cases) and really heighten the level of presentation and clarity.

Here's a tutorial I wrote which explains how I use it for my raw coins. It is far from *the* method, since there are so many different ways to accomplish good results, but it works well for me...