Does the same person always take the TrueView pictures?
jwitten
Posts: 5,218 ✭✭✭✭✭
The reason I ask is because I have noticed some of the pictures lately have not been that great compared to the past (sorry photographer). For example, I was looking at a $5 gold proof buffalo recently graded. Here is an example of previous pictures of them:
Here is the coin recently graded:
Am I wrong to think that is a lot worse? It looks like a harsh flash or something was used.
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That's quite a difference there. The bottom pic almost looks like a silver coin. I'd ask for a refund on that pic.
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Phil would agree too.
I haven't purchased it yet.. I saw it was in a secure holder so wanted to see the picture. I was shocked how bad it was. I recently got some $2 1/2 graded, and the colors did not show up in the pictures like I hoped. Not as bad as this, but not as good as I've seen in the past.
Hard to believe that second pic is a TrueView.
Look at these 69DCAM's of said proof 2008-W Gold Buff in CoinFacts.....not even 70's
Totally different lighting setup. The bottom coin is not even level in the images, the color is way off, the texture of the field is lost in shadow, the list could go on and on. Totally unacceptable as a professional image.
Was this a coin you paid to have TrueViewed?
Not me, no. It was a coin I saw for sell in a secure holder. I wanted to check out the pictures in case I bought it. I thought the trueviews would be a selling point, but now I think it holds it back, lol.
http://www.pcgs.com/cert/29635375
I just noticed it looks like they cropped the very bottom of the reverse out too. Oops.
This is not a TrueView.
I believe it's a SecurePlus stock image....
I think secure holders get pics but are not tru-views. I have noticed that on proofs, they have changed their focus into deep dark mirrors. The coin linked (29635375) does not have its picture on coinfacts (all images), so I do not think it is a tru-view.
The current Secure Plus service includes genuine TrueView® image.
the second picture is likely a secure photo.
the older secure photos can be bad as they did not go for the quality nor glamour of a TV photo.
TDN has a really old SP photo of a TD that is badly out of focus. I have a few that are slightly out of focus.
The second image looks like crap.
So they used to have secure pictures that were not as good as trueviews, but they now have trueview pics? When did secure start, and when did the pictures get better?
To answer the OP's question, there are two photographers who take TrueView photos.
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Don
they were slowly getting better over the years. I am not sure when they went to TV when SP is ordered. it's probably a pcgs news release or something.
It was announced about a year or so ago that TrueViews would be included with all Secure graded coins.
If the problem with the photo is caught in time contacting Phil might be the best resolution. He usually takes several shots of both sides of the coin.
- Bob -
MPL's - Lincolns of Color
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Most of the time on my peripheral toners, the part with the best toning is left in the shadows.
However, this has to take the cake for worst TV in my collection.
Here is what it looks like:
Some TrueViews are much better than others. I had one several years ago that I actually went to the SDB to see if they had the right coin.
Yes, the bottom photo is an old Secure scan image. What's the cert number?
Some proof coin images can appear quite different, whether the images highlights the cameo or the brightness of the fields, but that comes down to a customer's preference that we can sometimes accommodate.
Most TrueViews are taken by me, some by Chrissie (mostly the Secure orders). We are the only two photographers here at this time.
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232
unless I'm mistaken, you can contact Phil and let him know exactly what you want. that means not all the pictures of the same type coin will look the same and maybe even the lighting will be different. most coins look different with different lighting.
It was this coin: http://www.pcgs.com/cert/29635375
Thanks for the response! So how do we get a hold of you to ask for certain style pictures? I had a few toned golds done recently which were pretty good, but one of them did not bring out the color like I was hoping:
Some people include notes in their submissions with ATTN: Phil Arnold or ATTN: Photo Department written on it. Some people email me ahead of time - sometimes that makes it tough for me to remember as we photo a few hundred coins a day, but it can stay in my mind.
Would you like me to hide the image from cert 29635375 from our database?
As for the quarter eagle, here's a Dropbox link with all the images we have on file:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/44zix4yp2ctmk6g/AACvi4kOHqiWkh70nAs_ooqma?dl=0
There isn't too much variation between images. If you find that the image is unacceptable, please get in touch with customer service to see about returning the coin as a mechanical error and we'll reholder and image the coin as per your specifications.
Sometimes we can have much different images on file that we can recall, such as this example from above.
Although I don't have images with the greens as shown, I do have some more colorful shots rather than lustrous shots:
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232
I've had Phil work on one set of raw coins for me to produce TV images because I thought the coins (a 1953 South African proof set) would be a bear to image in order to capture their luster and color. Phil reached out to me via email and we discussed the set and he ended up taking in excess of 100-photos of the coins for me. It was pretty cool service.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Phil,
As we've discussed before, I have included TV notes in the Comments section of the submission forms whether I want the color or cameo highlighted, but you have indicated that you never see those notes on the submission form.
Are you indicating above that inclusion of an entirely separate note in the submission would be the best route?
That being said, I've had good luck having Phil change the TrueView images if they end up different than my normal preference which is black and white cameo shots on my coins. Such was the case with this Franklin that was originally shot highlighting the back grounds, but he was able to change it to highlight the contrast.
It's a little confusing. For a regular submission sent in for grading I won't see the submission form; however if you write down notes on the submission form that segment should be included in the submission box I get, and a label on the box should have a label saying ATTN PHOTO or ATTN PHIL. This depends on the receivers entering that info and labelling accordingly.
For reholder and photo only submissions I typically DO get the submission form, and it's easier for me to see who the submitter is.
@WingedLiberty1957 is the expert when it comes to making special requests, so hopefully he'll chime into this thread to outline his process.
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232
In the past they did not though. This coin predates that change.
Choice Numismatics www.ChoiceCoin.com
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All of my collection is in a safe deposit box!
The old Secure scans were phased out at the US office in mid 2015. They were phased out at the branch offices by mid-2016 and replaced with new style images as illustrated in this thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/972772/pcgs-cert-verification-slab-image
Radiant Collection: Numismatics and Exonumia of the Atomic Age.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/showcase/3232