Buying coins from a digital photograph

Justacommeman

hit me real good



mark

keyman64

Well written.

SeattleSlammer

Pinnacle is first rate. But from experience I can tell you that their coin photography overplays contrast and underplays color saturation....as far as their photos vs. in-hand. Other than that they're spot on.

bolivarshagnasty

Yeah, it's pretty much a crap shoot buying online. As he said in his article, make sure the Seller has a return policy.

BryceM

It's remarkable, really, how a person can become adept at interpreting photos from different dealers. I can consider coins from Tom Bush, CRO, Pinnacle, Laibstain, Wnuck, or Shapiro and have a pretty good idea of how it will look in-hand. All of them shoot their coins a bit differently. Some are "better" than others, but they're each consistent enough in their methods to allow someone who is paying attention to make a good guess.



It's still important to have a return option. Even the best photos can fall short sometimes.

OldIndianNutKase

I do not recall ever being disappointed in a coin that was represented by a major dealer. I primarily collect proof IHC's and have purchased them from Legend, Eagle Eye, The Penny Lady and Full Eagle and I trust their description and do not feel their digital images are juiced in any way. In fact many are TrueViews.

On the other hand I have bought coins at auction mostly for their numerical grade, where the auction house pictures were awful. And in many of those cases I bought a coins that in hand was gorgeous at a very reasonable price. Most of the coins I buy are <$10K and I could spend more in travel and per diem thqn I risk in buying a coin based on an overstated digital photograph.

Relative price is a definite consideration when deciding the need to see a coin in hand. You are pretty safe with a dealer with a return policy. Buying at auction or on eBay does pose a significant risk, but many eBay sellers offer return privilidges.

OINK

Broadstruck

Great article and a good read



I will say that those in the hobby who have taken the time to learn how to photograph their own coins will have the upper hand at deciphering others photos. The monetary investment for a quality rig might seem steep for some, however quickly you learn all the coin photography tricks along the way. Knowing the impact a slight rotation, tilt, or light glare can have on coin will teach you to score a prize others collectors are staying away from or run far from something that is on fire with multiple bidders that has you scratching your head. So if you've been on the fence about doing your own photography think of it as training your eye toward being a superior online shopper and yielding minimal returns.

mercurydimeguy

learning how to photo coins has made me a much better online buyer



i've take 10,000 photos at all different lighting angles and know pretty much immediately what the coin looks like in hand.



the only variable is usually post image editing, where people mess with contrast, saturation, vibrance, etc., to make a coin develop more attractive colors than reality. the post image editing is harder to tell, but not impossible.

Broadstruck

Originally posted by: mercurydimeguy

learning how to photo coins has made me a much better online buyer

A majority of my purchases these days are raw with many bought from international sellers. Something I'm very comfortable doing although a decade ago would have seemed way too risky.