Toned coin photography- Greattoning vs. PCGS photo service

Kimchee

Hi all. I've bought and sold coins through seller Greattoning on Ebay for 2-3 years now and I think his skill at coin photography is amazing. I've never submitted coins to PCGS for photography, so I wanted to ask how accurate PCGS service is in showing colors on toned coins. Does PCGS photography show toned coins' colors accurate to what they look like in hand or are the colors subdued or somewhat faded? How good are they compared to Dick's (Greattoning) photography? Thanks in advance. On price, PCGS photo service is $10 per coin and Greattoning charges $15 for 2 photos, $20 for 3 photos and $25 for 4.

Broadstruck

bushmaster8

Both are good. Both are different from one another. Which is better? I can't say. Sorry for not being much help!

Colorfulcoins

They each may have somewhat different objectives.......Greattoning strives to take pictures of any coin to make them as attractive as possible - by taking the most flattering picture. PCGS likely takes whatthey consider to be the most accurate picture. I have seen coins photographed by PCGS that are nice but in hand, look much nicer by tilting the coin differently, or lighting it differently etc. Different goals.

kryptonitecomics

Sorry but Dick's photo's certainly are a bit more neon then the coin in hand for the reasons craig pointed out. You want to show the coin in the very best light and the toned coins that greattoning sells on consignment are usually really attractive coins but the colors have been adjusted a bit in my opinion.

determined

I have bought toned coins from greattoning and have been happy with them. But, the photos were always better than the coins in hand. Not enough for me to complain, but what you see is not quite what you get.

Having said that, I will still buy from him. Especially now that I know to add a fudge factor to his pictures. He does have nice coins!

PCcoins

Personally, I don't think his images are excellent. There are nice but I've seen much better, IMO. I think PCGS true view, is excellent for showing toning and excellent quality images. Send your coins to me and I'll only charge you $5 a coin!

messydesk

The traditional way to see who has the best photos is to start a contest with one of your coins. It will take about 4 months, you will end up with many pictures and just as many opinions as to whose is best.

poorguy

This may be a shameless plug but I'll get what I can right now.








These are the packages I offer:

$5/coin - (Archiving Package) -Digital 12 Megapixel images for archiving. You get an Image of the Obverse, an Image of the Reverse, and an Image of the Slab. This package is great for those who want to crop and resize the image to suit their own personal uses. These are the images that come directly from my camera. If you submit more than 40 coins, I pay shipping to and from you. Please submit a minimum order of 5 coins for this service.

$20/coin - (eBay/Seller Package) - Digital images for selling your coins on eBay. You get a Gallery Image 200x200px, a Horizontal 535x260px image, a Vertical 535x1080px image, a Slab image of both the front and the back (required for eBay), and the Original Photoshop format images of the front and back cropped. Add $5 for a description. If you submit more than 10 coins, I pay shipping to and from you. Please submit a minimum of 3 coins for this service.

Custom Posters up to 24x36in large. The price for these varies from poster to poster.

All packages sent to us or sent from us are covered by our 3rd Party insurance up to $50,000.00. The coins are also covered while in my possession. No worries.

You should at least know that there is another service out there that offers coin photography. I like both Greattonings and Phil Arnold's photographs for the record.

commoncents05

Honestly, I'm not a big fan of greattoning's pictures. They are awfully grainy for my tastes, and I would think TrueViews would be much nicer. For what it's worth, Brandon would be the way I would sell if I didn't sell on eBay myself.

-Paul

Cladiator

Brandon you need to send me that '32 Half Dime.

poorguy

<< <i>Brandon you need to send me that '32 Half Dime. >>



Ooooh yeah. That was a superbly nice one. Someone on the boards owns it but I'd send it to you if I still had it. I'll keep you in mind when I go down to Heritage today or tomorrow to view lots and let you know if there are any in the sale that might be of some interest to you.

PTVETTER

Brandon,
those buffalos are very nice
wold love to have somethine like that in my cases at the PAN show

poorguy

<< <i>Brandon,
those buffalos are very nice
wold love to have somethine like that in my cases at the PAN show >>



Oh man, I see that you have a proof 1938 registry set. Take a gander at these sweet cameo walkers, mercs, and buffalos. (These are all from my archives and are no longer available.)

MikeInFL

<< <i>Does PCGS photography show toned coins' colors accurate to what they look like in hand or are the colors subdued or somewhat faded? How good are they compared to Dick's (Greattoning) photography? >>



PCGS does a better job at capturing the true color of coins than Greattoning does (who uses a combination of color and/or contrast enhancement, i.e. juicing, which is disingenuous at best and dishonest at worst). All IMHO and respectfully submitted...MIke

MikeInFL

p.s. I would send coins to Mark Goodman or Brandon before sending to Greattoning or PCGS.

mrearlygold

Kimchee

Thanks for the great replies, I love the popcorn-munching icon, and Brandon, those buffalos are absolutley gorgeous. Can anyone point me to Phil Arnold and Mark Goodman's website or auctions?

MICHAELDIXON

I am STILL impressed with the pictures in this thread!