Mike, I wasn't aware of another 93-S XF-45 for sale...I obviously missed that. Nonetheless, the 93-S you showed me at the FUN in Tampa was absolutely awesome...and well worth the investment...one of the finest I've ever seen. Which auction did this occur at?
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats. So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ? Or is that still the 01-s? One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness. All this talk about 1893-S halves on here makes me want to post the piece that I plucked raw from the wilderness last year. Bill has seen it in-hand and it is now in a PCGS EF40 holder.
<< <i>TOPIC ALERT! What are the "Big Four" mid-grade Barber Halves?
Mike says 01-s, 05-o, 93-s, 04-s. Historically, and practically, I have no qualms with that. That said, I've still never held an XF 97-o in my hand. >>
In my opinion, in VF30-XF45 (original, problem-free of course) the "Big Five" are: 1893-S, 1896-O, 1901-S, 1904-O, and 1905-O.
The 1897-O is probably #6, the 1904-S is #7. Once you bring F15, VF20, and VF25 into play, pops and rarity begin to change somewhat.
I have owned one 97-O in XF40 in the 13 years I've collected this series. It's the only crusty XF example I've ever seen, but I have seen a few lustrous XF examples up for sale/auction. Since I don't go for the lustrous XF look that much, I've always passed on them.
I managed to locate an old scan of the 97-O XF I once owned. Here it is!...:
>>
Cary, first you show the XF 1905-O and now this. Wow. In ten years of hard core collecting I have never even seen an original XF40 1897-O (sure there have been overgraded slabbed examples --usually cleaned), but not a REAL XF40 with all the original dirt still there.
I am half expecting to hear trumpets blaring or to see fireworks out my window. Have the planets aligned? What makes this day so special as to finally see with my own two eyes a true XF 1897-O? LOL
<< <i>Mike, I wasn't aware of another 93-S XF-45 for sale...I obviously missed that. Nonetheless, the 93-S you showed me at the FUN in Tampa was absolutely awesome...and well worth the investment...one of the finest I've ever seen. Which auction did this occur at? >>
Dave,
The other 1893-S in PCGS 45 was on eBay - on a BIN Auction; I missed it too. I was told it came from Arnie Heller. His site should be checked often as I have seen some rare coins offered by him.
BTW, Dave, congratulations on completing your set of Halves in PCGS 45. Not alot of Fan-Fare on your part - but a Feat to be Highly Recognized !!
RLD14 - Don't worry about your Grandkids finding those tough coins - they won't care. I'll find you what you want - remember the nice 01-S in VF 35 I got you ? Found you a great 04-S if you're interested. I'll send you to the right party, not to worry. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis - That's a really nice meaty/ crusty 96-S - [ you scan as well as I do... ]
Although it wouldn't have surprised me one iota if an XF 45 had an asking price of $2400.
As a matter of fact, at the ANA Tampa sale, the "hot" date was the one that Criag Petersen had trouble locating, the 1905-P. The XF 45 outsold another 1905-P in AU 58. The XF sold for $1400 plus the juice; the AU 58 sold for $950 plus the juice.
Mike Hayes ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats. So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ? Or is that still the 01-s? One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
"The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness."
Tom, maybe I am guilty of mixing metaphors, but my meaning is that like The 04-s, the "Next 04-s" will be driven to new heights of pricing and general brew-ha-ha over it's existence, especially outside of the tight circle of Barber Half aficionados. Whether or not, to your point, there simply aren't any more of these out there is sure to be borne out over time. Being what it is, even in lower grades, I'd say this issue could still be a sleeper. Maybe I should have said "blast like a rocket". Killer 93-s by the way.
We're all born MS70. I'm about a Fine 15 right now.
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats. So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ? Or is that still the 01-s? One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
"The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness."
Tom, maybe I am guilty of mixing metaphors, but my meaning is that like The 04-s, the "Next 04-s" will be driven to new heights of pricing and general brew-ha-ha over it's existence, especially outside of the tight circle of Barber Half aficionados. Whether or not, to your point, there simply aren't any more of these out there is sure to be borne out over time. Being what it is, even in lower grades, I'd say this issue could still be a sleeper. Maybe I should have said "blast like a rocket". Killer 93-s by the way. >>
Ahhhhhhh...my mistake. I had interpreted your earlier comment to mean that you thought the population would get much larger and that it wasn't as tough a coin as many of us believe. My mistake.
As some of you know I've been having difficulties getting my photos to show what my coins truly look like. I've tried using Photoshop to tweak things, but nothing I've done has gotten the color attributes quite right. Way to much red (even after doing red desaturation), not enough detail, and just overall too flat looking.
Well I finally figured out that my camera had a couple of settings that were defaulting to an incorrect value for what I needed. Once I fixed those settings, it's like a night and day difference (to me anyway). Now I don't have to do any post-image alteration except to crop and paste onto a black background, and the photos actually look identical to the coins in hand.
Here are a few examples of BEFORE and AFTER pictures to show you what I mean.
Cary - Thanks for showing off your new images - and I can see why you were upset trying to delete the red overtones - but now the correct colors are true to the coin in hand ? They look good !!
Another new image...
Mike Hayes ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
Cary, I actually like the before photos better...but only if that was their true reflection. Actually, I've had the same problems with my point and shoot camera...I'll look to see if I can change some of the settings on my camera. Nonetheless, you hit upon a topic that's crucial to most of us...how to portray our coins in the most natural condition. Few photographers can do this so I suppose it's up to us...since we know what they look like in hand...to get it right. Thanks for sharing...
cary ... nice pictures, and I really enjoyed touring your site recently ... I had much the same color problem until I finally figured out the tweaks on my camera ... sounds like now the pictures are much truer to life ... and it looks like they would be as well
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
<< <i>Cary, I'd love to hear about your new imaging tip. Will you share it with us wanna be professionals? >>
<< <i>I actually like the before photos better...but only if that was their true reflection. Actually, I've had the same problems with my point and shoot camera...I'll look to see if I can change some of the settings on my camera. Nonetheless, you hit upon a topic that's crucial to most of us...how to portray our coins in the most natural condition. Few photographers can do this so I suppose it's up to us...since we know what they look like in hand...to get it right. >>
<< <i>Another thought...what camera are you using and what was the trick to get the correct settings? >>
I surmise that there are two schools of thought when it comes to photographing coins:
1. Try to make the coin look as amazing as possible in the photo. 2. Try to make the coin look as realistic as possible in the photo.
I fall into the second school of thought.
I use a seven year old Olympus C-765 (only 4 megapixel) with a really good zoom feature so I don't need a specialized macro lens. I use two spot lamps with fully articulating, bendable shafts and 60W soft white incandescent bulbs. I also use a small and very cheap copy stand. Nothing fancy with the set up at all. The lamps were $6.99 each and the copystand was $24.99. I paid $279.00 for the camera seven years ago. So literally less than $325.00 for the entire set up.
The settings I changed were the White Balance and Image Output. I had White Balance set on Auto, and apparently the camera couldn't detect the slight yellow color temperature of the bulbs I'm using so it was causing my images to have a red cast to them. I switched the setting to Incandescent and it now compensates for it. I changed the image output from HQ to TIFF and the images are now sharper. This isn't as noticeable when I shrink the images to final size, but I still think it helps.
<< <i>cary ... nice pictures, and I really enjoyed touring your site recently ... I had much the same color problem until I finally figured out the tweaks on my camera ... sounds like now the pictures are much truer to life ... and it looks like they would be as well >>
Thanks, Todd. The website still has the old images up. Eventually I'll get around to changing them out, but I'm taking my time with this second round of photos so it might be a few weeks.
Cary, Thank you for taking the time and effort to post your before/after's. Correct Lighting and the camera settings were so challenging for me; I could never master them. Thank God for the "tulip" so at least I could get the images in focus. All 4 of those you posted are beautiful in their own right, but the 1914 IS BETTER THAN THE MONA LISA!!!!!!!!!!! Pure mid-grade, Barber half CRACK ! WOW! What a looker, and rare in that grade! Double Wow!
Mike, Beautiful pieces! (for MS, that is )
Do your best to avoid circular arguments, as it will help you reason better, because better reasoning is often a result of avoiding circular arguments.
Cary, Thanks for sharing...I'll go back to my camera manual and review the camera settings...and hopefully be able to provide some quality, in-hand, realistic photos of some of my coins.
I want to share a couple of small stories with all the fellow Barber Fanatics who post here on the Barber Mega Thread.
Back in August 2008 I sold my entire set of mid-grade Barber Halves. As many of you know, there were a few pretty special coins in that set, several of which I have deeply regretted parting with ever since. One of those coins was a 1902-S XF40 with virtually perfect original medium gray toning. That coin, and about 5 or 6 others from that set, have been a constant regret on my mind since then. Once I got back into the hobby in September 2010 I began assmebling another set of mid-grade Barber Halves and I managed to acquire a very nice VF35 specimen from Chris Dudzik ("manorcourtman"). That VF35 has helped ease the pain of regret I've felt about the XF40 I use to own. But as nice and original as it is, every time I see it in my collection it reminds of what I used to have... and those feelings of regret rise to the surface once again.
Another half dollar date that I have a love/hate relationship with is the 1895-S. In my 13 years of seriously collecting this series, I have never managed to own an example above VF25 until recently when I was able to purchase a dark, kind of splotchy looking VF35 example. It doesn't possess the exact look I like, but it's crusty looking enough to keep me satisfied until a better example comes along for me (if that will EVER happen). Those of you who know me well know about how the 1895-S is my absolute nemesis date. That date has eluded me and caused me pains like you wouldn't believe. I've had three separate occasions where I was ready to buy a great example with awesome toning and through a fluke circumstance each time I was thwarted. Once was on Ebay many years ago where I was prepared to essentially "buy" an awesome VF35 coin with a huge bid. But two days before the auction was suppoed to end the seller removed the coin and closed the auction. When I realized what had happened I immediately emailed him about it. Turns out he sold the coin offline to a guy who was looking for "a random coin for his type set!" Arrrgh!
The second such "Curses!... Foiled Again!" circumstance was in 2008. I was at a coin show in Phoenix and I had another VF35 with spectacular eye appeal within my grasp. But I was literally out of cash until I could get to an ATM. So I told the dealer I would definitely buy the coin if he could put it to the side for 20 minutes for me to get to an ATM. He said "no problem" and set the coin aside. While I'm getting the cash out of the ATM, he goes on a quick coffee break. I return to his table and his assistant is there. I told him about the coin being held for me. His cheeks get bright red and an embarrassed look comes over his face. He apologizes profusely and tells me that he saw the coin sitting by itself and thought that the dealer simply forgot to put it back in the display case. So he put the coin back in the case and some guy walked up 5 minutes before I returned and purchased it! Can you say, "SON OF A ....!!!"
The third time was about four months ago when I see another great VF35 on a small coin website I frequent. I email the dealer about it, asking if he would be willing to drop his price slightly. He responds back to my request, "No problem. Let me change the price on the site so you can buy it." As he is logging on to change the price, somebody else is browsing the site and buys the coin out from under me! Un-F'in-believeable!!!
In addition to those three occasions, there have been a few others where slightly lower graded examples have eluded me as well. Recently a VF30 was sold just before I tried to get the seller to lower his price slightly. And then there was the case where an absolutely perfect VF30 was sold by an old coin buddy of mine who tried to contact me about it first, but he said my phone kept giving him a busy signal. Turns out, he had an old phone number that I disconnected years ago!
If you patiently read through all of that, you are now ready for the payoff!
This morning I received a package in the mail from Steve Huson ("Patches"). In it were two coins I bought from him this week: a 1902-S PCGS XF40 and an 1895-S PCGS XF40. The 1902-S is the EXACT coin that was in my set that I sold in 2008 that I've regretted selling ever since! I am BEYOND thrilled to be able to reacquire this coin! The 1895-S is, without question, the nicest looking example of this date I've ever had the privilege of owning. And what's more, the monkey of owning an example of this date that I'm thrilled with... that monkey is FINALLY off my back! It only took 13 years! LOL!
So please allow me to give a huge Mega Barber Thread "Thank You!" to Steve! You have absolutely made my YEAR! Every now and then the Barber gods smile down on me. This was DEFINITELY one of those times!
Here are my newly taken images of these two amazing coins:
Great coins, Cary. I know we each have our nemesis date; mine was the 1901-S. You now own my 2nd tier coin which was one of my all time favorites in that set.
I have always felt that the 1895-S was an unappreciated date and I too have had my problems locating one I wanted in my 1st or 2nd tier sets. I once had a decent looking original VF 25 in the Dansco - and finally found a solid 55 in a PCGS holder - and ended up upgrading it with a coin out of Tim Hansch's collection in an eBay auction, grading MS 63.
BTW - that 02-S is sweet !! Now that you've acomplished what you've set out to do [ photography wise ] all of your images seem to be "spot on" and look very natural. I assume the images look like the coin in hand.
<< <i>Now that you've acomplished what you've set out to do [ photography wise ] all of your images seem to be "spot on" and look very natural. I assume the images look like the coin in hand. >>
I'm still having one bit of difficulty with slabbed coins. I'm getting a very faint amount of glare from the plastic which is causing a slight haziness on some parts of the image. Once I figure out how to correct for that, I'll be satisfied.
Great story! And those are gorgeous NEWPs indeed. I have a 95-S in 25 but it's one that I would like to upgrade.. it's not that nice really but, well.. I guess patience is a virtue!
Also agree that it's a very underrated date.
Bear's "Growl of Approval" award 10/09 & 3/10 | "YOU SUCK" - PonyExpress8|"F the doctors!" - homerunhall | I hate my car
Comments
Thanks for posting the 13-s and 96-s quarters Mike.
Cary, I'd love to hear about your new imaging tip. Will you share it with us wanna be professionals?
<< <i>It's actually pretty amazing that two XF-45 93-s coins were on the market at the same time. You probably won't see that again anytime soon.
Thanks for posting the 13-s and 96-s quarters Mike.
Cary, I'd love to hear about your new imaging tip. Will you share it with us wanna be professionals? >>
Soon? I'm 36... no kids yet.
My GRANDCHILDREN might not see 2 of them in original XF45 for sale at the same time!
While I don't have a 93-s anymore to share I do sport this 96-s. No slouch date either.
I promise I'll get this imaging thing down sooner or later.
I wasn't aware of another 93-S XF-45 for sale...I obviously missed that. Nonetheless, the 93-S you showed me at the FUN in Tampa was absolutely awesome...and well worth the investment...one of the finest I've ever seen. Which auction did this occur at?
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats.
So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ?
Or is that still the 01-s?
One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness. All this talk about 1893-S halves on here makes me want to post the piece that I plucked raw from the wilderness last year. Bill has seen it in-hand and it is now in a PCGS EF40 holder.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
<< <i>
<< <i>TOPIC ALERT!
What are the "Big Four" mid-grade Barber Halves?
Mike says 01-s, 05-o, 93-s, 04-s.
Historically, and practically, I have no qualms with that.
That said, I've still never held an XF 97-o in my hand. >>
In my opinion, in VF30-XF45 (original, problem-free of course) the "Big Five" are:
1893-S, 1896-O, 1901-S, 1904-O, and 1905-O.
The 1897-O is probably #6, the 1904-S is #7. Once you bring F15, VF20, and VF25
into play, pops and rarity begin to change somewhat.
I have owned one 97-O in XF40 in the 13 years I've collected this series. It's the only
crusty XF example I've ever seen, but I have seen a few lustrous XF examples up for
sale/auction. Since I don't go for the lustrous XF look that much, I've always passed
on them.
I managed to locate an old scan of the 97-O XF I once owned. Here it is!...:
Cary, first you show the XF 1905-O and now this. Wow. In ten years of hard core collecting I have never even seen an original XF40 1897-O (sure there have been overgraded slabbed examples --usually cleaned), but not a REAL XF40 with all the original dirt still there.
I am half expecting to hear trumpets blaring or to see fireworks out my window. Have the planets aligned? What makes this day so special as to finally see with my own two eyes a true XF 1897-O? LOL
<< <i>Mike,
I wasn't aware of another 93-S XF-45 for sale...I obviously missed that. Nonetheless, the 93-S you showed me at the FUN in Tampa was absolutely awesome...and well worth the investment...one of the finest I've ever seen. Which auction did this occur at? >>
Dave,
The other 1893-S in PCGS 45 was on eBay - on a BIN Auction;
I missed it too. I was told it came from Arnie Heller. His site should
be checked often as I have seen some rare coins offered by him.
BTW, Dave, congratulations on completing your set of Halves in PCGS 45.
Not alot of Fan-Fare on your part - but a Feat to be Highly Recognized !!
Well Done !!!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JMW - Glad you liked the 96-S & 13-S Quarters.
I'll post more images later.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TomB - Very attractive 93-S - and you picked it up "raw" you say ? Great Catch !!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RLD14 - Don't worry about your Grandkids finding those tough coins - they won't care.
I'll find you what you want - remember the nice 01-S in VF 35 I got you ? Found you
a great 04-S if you're interested. I'll send you to the right party, not to worry.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dennis - That's a really nice meaty/ crusty 96-S - [ you scan as well as I do...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cratylus - What new tricks have you discovered ? Looking forward to the before/
after images !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lastly, a big thank you to BigRick for showing off his 1911 Half in MS64 !! Thanks !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Ken
My bad - I misread the PM - sorry about that.
Although it wouldn't have surprised me one iota
if an XF 45 had an asking price of $2400.
As a matter of fact, at the ANA Tampa sale, the
"hot" date was the one that Criag Petersen had
trouble locating, the 1905-P. The XF 45 outsold
another 1905-P in AU 58. The XF sold for $1400
plus the juice; the AU 58 sold for $950 plus the juice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats.
So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ?
Or is that still the 01-s?
One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
"The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness."
Tom, maybe I am guilty of mixing metaphors, but my meaning is that like The 04-s, the "Next 04-s" will be driven to new heights of pricing and general brew-ha-ha over it's existence, especially outside of the tight circle of Barber Half aficionados. Whether or not, to your point, there simply aren't any more of these out there is sure to be borne out over time. Being what it is, even in lower grades, I'd say this issue could still be a sleeper.
Maybe I should have said "blast like a rocket".
Killer 93-s by the way.
TTT - w/ new images !!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I was at CAC today... I brought 7 Barber Quarters. I think that I did well.
NEWP 1895-S as posted the other day...
1899-O
1898-O
1901-O
1904-O
1911-D
1913
I don't have a lot of these guys so far but I'm going for these in VF-XF again...
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>Nice 93-s, congrats.
So this date must be the "Next 04-s" ?
Or is that still the 01-s?
One of these two is gonna pop like a rocket soon, and I think it's started. >>
"The 1893-S will not pop like a rocket. There are simply too few of this issue extant in anything above a full rimmed G4. There might be one or two mini-hoards of the date, but folks can hunt all they want and only the sporadic original, mid-grade piece will come out of the wilderness."
Tom, maybe I am guilty of mixing metaphors, but my meaning is that like The 04-s, the "Next 04-s" will be driven to new heights of pricing and general brew-ha-ha over it's existence, especially outside of the tight circle of Barber Half aficionados. Whether or not, to your point, there simply aren't any more of these out there is sure to be borne out over time. Being what it is, even in lower grades, I'd say this issue could still be a sleeper.
Maybe I should have said "blast like a rocket".
Killer 93-s by the way.
Ahhhhhhh...my mistake. I had interpreted your earlier comment to mean that you thought the population would get much larger and that it wasn't as tough a coin as many of us believe. My mistake.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Thank you...I've already been challenged on the XF-45 collection...but pics are coming soon...so we'll see.
vr,
Dave
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
<< <i>I'm digging that '11-D quarter, Bill.
You mean the one that I bought as a raw VF?
Thanks! I gotta check but I got that from Glenn Holsonbake or JJ... forget which... doh!
I've tried using Photoshop to tweak things, but nothing I've done has gotten the color attributes quite
right. Way to much red (even after doing red desaturation), not enough detail, and just overall too flat
looking.
Well I finally figured out that my camera had a couple of settings that were defaulting to an incorrect
value for what I needed. Once I fixed those settings, it's like a night and day difference (to me anyway).
Now I don't have to do any post-image alteration except to crop and paste onto a black background, and
the photos actually look identical to the coins in hand.
Here are a few examples of BEFORE and AFTER pictures to show you what I mean.
1898-O BEFORE:
1898-O AFTER:
1907-S BEFORE:
1907-S AFTER:
1914 BEFORE:
1914 AFTER:
Doug
Cary - Thanks for showing off your new images -
and I can see why you were upset trying to delete
the red overtones - but now the correct colors
are true to the coin in hand ? They look good !!
Another new image...
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I actually like the before photos better...but only if that was their true reflection. Actually, I've had the same problems with my point and shoot camera...I'll look to see if I can change some of the settings on my camera. Nonetheless, you hit upon a topic that's crucial to most of us...how to portray our coins in the most natural condition. Few photographers can do this so I suppose it's up to us...since we know what they look like in hand...to get it right. Thanks for sharing...
Mike,
I really like that 08 65...verrrrry nice.
Another thought...what camera are you using and what was the trick to get the correct settings?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Its seems to take three posts to forward this Thread from the bottom of the page
so it opens another page - same thing happened the other night.
Todd... patience ... you'll have your chance at it sooner than you think !
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
rld ... nice group of quarters!
and
cary ... nice pictures, and I really enjoyed touring your site recently ... I had much the same color problem until I finally figured out the tweaks on my camera ... sounds like now the pictures are much truer to life ... and it looks like they would be as well
“We are only their care-takers,” he posed, “if we take good care of them, then centuries from now they may still be here … ”
Todd - BHNC #242
Cary and Mike: Thanks for posting more "coin porn"
That 98-O Half... wow is that coin NICE.
then again, Cary's got good taste in Barbers.
Another new image:
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>Cary, I'd love to hear about your new imaging tip. Will you share it with us wanna be professionals? >>
<< <i>I actually like the before photos better...but only if that was their true reflection. Actually, I've had the same problems with my point and shoot camera...I'll look to see if I can change some of the settings on my camera. Nonetheless, you hit upon a topic that's crucial to most of us...how to portray our coins in the most natural condition. Few photographers can do this so I suppose it's up to us...since we know what they look like in hand...to get it right. >>
<< <i>Another thought...what camera are you using and what was the trick to get the correct settings? >>
I surmise that there are two schools of thought when it comes to photographing coins:
1. Try to make the coin look as amazing as possible in the photo.
2. Try to make the coin look as realistic as possible in the photo.
I fall into the second school of thought.
I use a seven year old Olympus C-765 (only 4 megapixel) with a really good zoom feature so I don't need a specialized macro lens. I use two spot lamps with fully articulating, bendable shafts and 60W soft white incandescent bulbs. I also use a small and very cheap copy stand. Nothing fancy with the set up at all. The lamps were $6.99 each and the copystand was $24.99. I paid $279.00 for the camera seven years ago. So literally less than $325.00 for the entire set up.
The settings I changed were the White Balance and Image Output. I had White Balance set on Auto, and apparently the camera couldn't detect the slight yellow color temperature of the bulbs I'm using so it was causing my images to have a red cast to them. I switched the setting to Incandescent and it now compensates for it. I changed the image output from HQ to TIFF and the images are now sharper. This isn't as noticeable when I shrink the images to final size, but I still think it helps.
<< <i>cary ... nice pictures, and I really enjoyed touring your site recently ... I had much the same color problem until I finally figured out the tweaks on my camera ... sounds like now the pictures are much truer to life ... and it looks like they would be as well >>
Thanks, Todd. The website still has the old images up. Eventually I'll get around to changing them out, but I'm taking my time with this second round of photos so it might be a few weeks.
Thank you for taking the time and effort to post your before/after's. Correct Lighting and the camera settings were so challenging for me; I could never master them. Thank God for the "tulip" so at least I could get the images in focus. All 4 of those you posted are beautiful in their own right, but the 1914 IS BETTER THAN THE MONA LISA!!!!!!!!!!! Pure mid-grade, Barber half CRACK ! WOW! What a looker, and rare in that grade! Double Wow!
Mike,
Beautiful pieces! (for MS, that is
Thanks for sharing...I'll go back to my camera manual and review the camera settings...and hopefully be able to provide some quality, in-hand, realistic photos of some of my coins.
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
I hear alot of talk about all the new camera equipment that
everyone has gotten recently ... not a lot of images to show
for it though...
Ok... continuing with the newer Quarter pic's...
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
If that coin could tell of its Provenance...
what a story it could tell !!
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>If that coin could tell of its Provenance...
what a story it could tell !! >>
Absolutely! Very cool!
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
They say money talks, but all it says to me is Goodbye.
"Sacre Bleu !! "
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Back in August 2008 I sold my entire set of mid-grade Barber Halves. As many of you know, there were a few pretty special coins in that set, several of which I have deeply regretted parting with ever since. One of those coins was a 1902-S XF40 with virtually perfect original medium gray toning. That coin, and about 5 or 6 others from that set, have been a constant regret on my mind since then. Once I got back into the hobby in September 2010 I began assmebling another set of mid-grade Barber Halves and I managed to acquire a very nice VF35 specimen from Chris Dudzik ("manorcourtman"). That VF35 has helped ease the pain of regret I've felt about the XF40 I use to own. But as nice and original as it is, every time I see it in my collection it reminds of what I used to have... and those feelings of regret rise to the surface once again.
Another half dollar date that I have a love/hate relationship with is the 1895-S. In my 13 years of seriously collecting this series, I have never managed to own an example above VF25 until recently when I was able to purchase a dark, kind of splotchy looking VF35 example. It doesn't possess the exact look I like, but it's crusty looking enough to keep me satisfied until a better example comes along for me (if that will EVER happen). Those of you who know me well know about how the 1895-S is my absolute nemesis date. That date has eluded me and caused me pains like you wouldn't believe. I've had three separate occasions where I was ready to buy a great example with awesome toning and through a fluke circumstance each time I was thwarted. Once was on Ebay many years ago where I was prepared to essentially "buy" an awesome VF35 coin with a huge bid. But two days before the auction was suppoed to end the seller removed the coin and closed the auction. When I realized what had happened I immediately emailed him about it. Turns out he sold the coin offline to a guy who was looking for "a random coin for his type set!" Arrrgh!
The second such "Curses!... Foiled Again!" circumstance was in 2008. I was at a coin show in Phoenix and I had another VF35 with spectacular eye appeal within my grasp. But I was literally out of cash until I could get to an ATM. So I told the dealer I would definitely buy the coin if he could put it to the side for 20 minutes for me to get to an ATM. He said "no problem" and set the coin aside. While I'm getting the cash out of the ATM, he goes on a quick coffee break. I return to his table and his assistant is there. I told him about the coin being held for me. His cheeks get bright red and an embarrassed look comes over his face. He apologizes profusely and tells me that he saw the coin sitting by itself and thought that the dealer simply forgot to put it back in the display case. So he put the coin back in the case and some guy walked up 5 minutes before I returned and purchased it! Can you say, "SON OF A ....!!!"
The third time was about four months ago when I see another great VF35 on a small coin website I frequent. I email the dealer about it, asking if he would be willing to drop his price slightly. He responds back to my request, "No problem. Let me change the price on the site so you can buy it." As he is logging on to change the price, somebody else is browsing the site and buys the coin out from under me! Un-F'in-believeable!!!
In addition to those three occasions, there have been a few others where slightly lower graded examples have eluded me as well. Recently a VF30 was sold just before I tried to get the seller to lower his price slightly. And then there was the case where an absolutely perfect VF30 was sold by an old coin buddy of mine who tried to contact me about it first, but he said my phone kept giving him a busy signal. Turns out, he had an old phone number that I disconnected years ago!
If you patiently read through all of that, you are now ready for the payoff!
This morning I received a package in the mail from Steve Huson ("Patches"). In it were two coins I bought from him this week: a 1902-S PCGS XF40 and an 1895-S PCGS XF40. The 1902-S is the EXACT coin that was in my set that I sold in 2008 that I've regretted selling ever since! I am BEYOND thrilled to be able to reacquire this coin! The 1895-S is, without question, the nicest looking example of this date I've ever had the privilege of owning. And what's more, the monkey of owning an example of this date that I'm thrilled with... that monkey is FINALLY off my back! It only took 13 years! LOL!
So please allow me to give a huge Mega Barber Thread "Thank You!" to Steve! You have absolutely made my YEAR! Every now and then the Barber gods smile down on me. This was DEFINITELY one of those times!
Here are my newly taken images of these two amazing coins:
1902-S PCGS XF40
1895-S PCGS XF40
Notwithstanding all of the connections you seem to have Cary, the set you have assembled in such short order continues to entertain and impress.
my 2nd tier coin which was one of my all time favorites in that set.
I have always felt that the 1895-S was an unappreciated date and I too have had my problems
locating one I wanted in my 1st or 2nd tier sets. I once had a decent looking original VF 25 in the
Dansco - and finally found a solid 55 in a PCGS holder - and ended up upgrading it with a coin out
of Tim Hansch's collection in an eBay auction, grading MS 63.
BTW - that 02-S is sweet !! Now that you've acomplished what you've set out to do [ photography wise ]
all of your images seem to be "spot on" and look very natural. I assume the images look like the coin in hand.
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I left off at 1912 Quarter...
Another new image:
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
<< <i>Now that you've acomplished what you've set out to do [ photography wise ]
all of your images seem to be "spot on" and look very natural. I assume the images look like the coin in hand. >>
I'm still having one bit of difficulty with slabbed coins. I'm getting a very faint amount of glare from the plastic
which is causing a slight haziness on some parts of the image. Once I figure out how to correct for that,
I'll be satisfied.
This thread is stuck again - so - here's a little something to prime the pump...
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Coin collecting is not a hobby, it's an obsession !
New Barber Purchases
Great story! And those are gorgeous NEWPs indeed. I have a 95-S in 25 but it's one that I would like to upgrade.. it's not that nice really but, well.. I guess patience is a virtue!
Also agree that it's a very underrated date.