An odd conundrum

Danye West

I do far more buying and selling online that I think I'm better at grading from pictures than from actual coins! Anyone else feel the same way?

morgandollar1878

Nope, not me, pictures can hide so many things depending on lighting, angles, and the over all quality of photos. I will say that pictures can give an overall impression of the coin, but is in no way a substitute for viewing the coin in hand.

dib

Even though I buy all my coins online, I'm a much better grader when I have a coin in hand. Everyone has their own way of taking pictures, and WAY too many people take glamour shots instead of focusing on accuracy.

TigersFan2

I think the hardest thing about viewing a picture of a raw coin on Ebay is whether or not it's cleaned. In a picture, you loose all ability to move a coin about in the light and see how the surface reflects the light.

Kccoin

There is a difference between a coin and a picture of a coin. I understand what you are saying, as coin photographers can be very talented. Gotta love a coin in hand though

Boosibri

Are we talking about grading or guessing?

crazyhounddog

I would much prefer to judge a coin in hand. However, I do understand the advantage of images you can enlarge to the size of a dinner plate. Also, I do a lot of coin imaging so with that said I feel I have a slight edge understanding what the camera sees, to a degree. As someone has already said, some unscrupulous sellers can and do edit out blemishes and juice up the colors, it's also hard to see cleaning lines in images.
In hand trumps images for judging coins in my opinion.

ricko

For grading purposes, a coin should be 'in hand'. The art of photography allows for many potentially concealing processes. Cheers, RickO