Atlas Numismatics

Yorkshireman

I am very close to making my first purchase from Atlas. I understand they have a great reputation.

My question is: How accurate are their photos compared to the coin in hand?
I am especially concerned because there is a well known dealer of U.S. Material whose toned coins never look as good in hand as the photo leads one to believe.

Thoughts and experiences?

Zohar

Atlas has top end material and service. Images are at times the ones provided by PCGS or their own which to me reflect the coins appearance. I will say that the coins James buys are of the highest quality so assume that if it made it into his inventory, its a premium coin.

Stork

I think they are fantastic. Their photos are great and for my few purchases are representative.

No photo at 'web resolution' is going to be perfect but for the few things I've bought, I've been quite happy and never felt let down. Coins/medals can look very different at various angles or lighting and of course they choose pretty shots, but not juiced or photoshopped, in my small sample size.

I am also fully confident that if I were not happy with an item there would be no problem returning it.

7Jaguars

Usually nice coins, not bargain basement shopping to say the least. See the predecimal posting on bronzed 1860 penny purchased from them - not as it appears in photos (which look great), sad to say.

Yorkshireman

7Jaguars,
Thanks, but I can not find the posting to which you refer.
Please send me link or give more details.

EVillageProwler

IMO, James has a great eye for quality. Unfortunately, I find his images occasionally do not live up to the quality of the coins they represent. If you ask him for an assessment of a coin in his inventory, he will not lie to you. (Yes, he will try to make a sale, but not at the expense of his reputation which is his most precious asset.)

marcmoish

Atlas has top end material and service. Images are at times the ones provided by PCGS or their own which to me reflect the coins appearance. I will say that the coins James buys are of the highest quality so assume that if it made it into his inventory, its a premium coin.

+1

Not bargain basement indeed - but you get what you pay for.

harasha

Usually, the coin surpasses the image.

7Jaguars

Or buy it at auction yourself at 50% or less of the price....

EVillageProwler

@7Jaguars said:
Or buy it at auction yourself at 50% or less of the price....

That is a fair approach for many dealers, not just Atlas. I've had that approach backfire on me once, where I paid much more than it was listed retail. That was a huge shock to me, but I didn't want the coin to disappear on me...

But also occasionally, I find a coin in a dealer's inventory that I find within my price expectation. Obviously, dealers price at retail levels. But if the coin is special enough (to me), then I will pay up commensurate to how I value it.

For Atlas in particular, I've bought from him on impulse. Those frequently result in buyer's remorse later. But, they're also not pricey coins (and were still nice pieces). Those carefully considered, expensive pieces from Atlas are also the ones I cherish the most and will have to be pried from my cold lifeless hands a few decades from now.

worldcoinguy

I was very happy with my purchase. Comparison of pics in this thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/949621/newp-1772-salzburg-medal-sede-vacante

Revising thread to note that I thought pics were from Atlas instead of PCGS. Sorry for the mixup.

brg5658

I assume the 1887 6-pence pattern was your new purchase from Atlas. It has been on my watch list for quite some time, and disappeared as "sold" this morning or last night.

If this is indeed the coin you purchased, you may note that the images that Atlas used in their description/sale were those of Heritage from when the coin sold in April 2015. I think the images are probably a bit "flattering", but I also think that the coin is likely very attractive in hand. The only kicker for me was that Atlas was asking 2 times the HA sale price from 1.5 years ago...so I hope you made a good deal in getting them down a little bit from their $3,450 asking price.

---

If this coin below is your "NEWP" then congrats! Great coin, portrait, design, etc.

Yorkshireman

Brg5658,
That is a stellar piece, but it is not mine.

Zohar

Brg5658 you stalker !

brg5658

@Yorkshireman said:
Brg5658,
That is a stellar piece, but it is not mine.

@Yorkshireman : Well darn, it disappeared from their inventory -- I was really hoping to make a stab at it, but alas, someone got to it before me.

Take away message, you have to really do some digging when you see pictures posted at Atlas. They can come from Heritage, PCGS TrueViews, previous sales, and sometimes from Atlas photography itself.

I will reiterate and echo others though -- I have purchased a few pieces from Atlas, and I have been VERY happy with all of them. Though the prices can be aggressive, the quality is stellar. James has a very good eye for quality and marketability...I drool over their inventory often.

Yorkshireman

@brg5658 said:

@Yorkshireman said:
Brg5658,
That is a stellar piece, but it is not mine.

@Yorkshireman : Well darn, it disappeared from their inventory -- I was really hoping to make a stab at it, but alas, someone got to it before me.

Take away message, you have to really do some digging when you see pictures posted at Atlas. They can come from Heritage, PCGS TrueViews, previous sales, and sometimes from Atlas photography itself.

I will reiterate and echo others though -- I have purchased a few pieces from Atlas, and I have been VERY happy with all of them. Though the prices can be aggressive, the quality is stellar. James has a very good eye for quality and marketability...I drool over their inventory often.

Brandon (and others) -
Thank you for the words of sage advice. If I can come to terms with James on this particular coin, I will post a photo.
As a (half) Brit, the history and art of certain British cons excite me.

7Jaguars

Frankly I feel that although they have some nice coins and occasionally glance over their list, that such aggressive action in pricing - and almost predictably so - is not what many including me are accustomed to and may look elsewhere for quality coins; it remains to be seen where the market for "middies" (1500-7500 USD) will go.
Not that it particularly matters, but I originally flirted with buying this last coin but decided that it was not a RM product, and not a "have to have" so barely passed at the Heritage price & def. one I would pass on at the inflated price.

bidask

Atlas gives-generous return privelage terms so don't worry about it.

He travels the world and sources great coins.

He is also a very knowledgeable world coin numismatist .

brg5658

@7Jaguars said:
Frankly I feel that although they have some nice coins and occasionally glance over their list, that such aggressive action in pricing - and almost predictably so - is not what many including me are accustomed to and may look elsewhere for quality coins; it remains to be seen where the market for "middies" (1500-7500 USD) will go.
Not that it particularly matters, but I originally flirted with buying this last coin but decided that it was not a RM product, and not a "have to have" so barely passed at the Heritage price & def. one I would pass on at the inflated price.

You can't really say you had "passed" at the Heritage price. It was an auction and no one knows how high the bidding would have gone against the Atlas folks. Probably not $3500, but whatever your max was...

TwoKopeiki

I haven't dealt with James in years, but my previous experience have been stellar.

7Jaguars

No, I will go ahead and say "I passed" because I can compete with them and indeed have successfully in the past as well as being able to pay what is likely a higher price for a particular item as he would have to make a profit whereas I would not. I will not beat my chest but suffice it say that I have a "representative collection of Victorian 6d and shillings".

Analyst

James Ricks has been honest and straightforward in my many conversations with him.

lordmarcovan

Much of Atlas' PCGS inventory seems to be in new Secure Plus holders with Trueview images.

I just did my third purchase from them and have been delighted every time.

Are they a bargain basement? Not a bit. Do they sell top quality, high eye appeal material? You betcha.

Sometimes quality is worth the price.

And I've dealt with Chris Baker there each time. Each time I've also asked and been granted a modest discount. So there is at least a little bit of flexibility there, at least in my three experiences.

They have climbed to pretty much my favorite site for shopping (even if it's just window-shopping much of the time).

On my second purchase, I bought one slabbed coin, as usual. It arrived in a PCGS box, with a raw but blazing Red Gem BU 1967 British large penny as a freebie, presented in a nicely printed flip.

A classy operation all around.

lordmarcovan

Here.

All Atlas. All discounted a tad when I bought them, as mentioned.

I just sold the first one, at a reasonable profit.

The next two are newps from the last month or so.

The pix are made from the Trueviews, with Michael Kittle (Illini420)'s help.

Zohar

Takes a lot of work to find such nice coins - travel, cataloging and purchasing. The coins are priced at a premium, yet are generally top end. I just bought this coin at a premium. yet they don't come nicer when looking at past auction offerings.

Yorkshireman

Nice looking coins, guys!

marcmoish

@Yorkshireman said:

Thank you for the words of sage advice. If I can come to terms with James on this particular coin, I will post a photo.

Hey tell em I sent you - that'll get you another 5% off

7Jaguars

"I promise to be nice if I can charge you an extra 150% over what I bought this coin at auction for"(not an actual quote).
I do like that business philosophy and probably can get you some top notch material also. And if you're nice to me I'll give you a 3% discount...

Personally I don't like what this has done to the market as it is short term inflationary and portends poorly for the future of many Brit coins bought at the current prices, but if it sustains then all the more power to him. Part of the success is that higher quality Brit coins have been going up and up and UP, but possibly might not last.

Yorkshireman

I decided not to pull the trigger on the piece. While it is truly beautiful (and only $250) I have chosen to step up my game and aim only for very "special" pieces as I can afford them.
I recently read a great essay by Larry Shepherd entitled "Make every purchase special" (see the SIMCO website) and also Don Kagin's new book.
I already have ten pieces in my "Box of 20" which I really love. A few more have been sent to auction.
I want the next 10 to be amazing (whatever that means)!

As those 10 spaces fill up, maybe I will reevaluate.