TrueView Photos with Secure Grading

JeffMTampa · July 13, 2017 5:19AM

It seems that actual TrueView photos included with the Secure grading tier is somewhat new. PCGS used to photograph coins graded on the Secure tier, but the photos weren't TrueView quality. Below is an example of a 1904 S Half I submitted on the Secure tier in May, 2015. The first photo is what shows up on the PCGS site, the second is my photo:

In hand the coin looks like my photos. Obviously there wasn't any time or effort put into the PCGS shot of my coin. Does anyone recall when the TrueView quality photos came standard with the Secure tier?

Goldbully · July 13, 2017 6:14AM

Does anyone recall when the TrueView quality photos came standard with the Secure tier?

Well over a year.

oih82w8 · July 13, 2017 6:37AM

Jeff, I am almost for sure certain that the image from PCGS is of the actual Secure Plus image (different visual spectrum)and not the TrueView. I have a few images that are not exactly flattering from PCGS in which Phil replied that it was a Secure Plus image.

Great looking Half BTW!

Pandavab · July 13, 2017 9:52AM

It was sometime early-ish last year or maybe late 2015.

DIMEMAN · July 13, 2017 10:20AM

Beautiful Key date Barber Half!

MsMorrisine · July 13, 2017 12:43PM

nice looking 58

old photo highlighted mark on neck and reduced mark on chin

LogPotato · July 13, 2017 6:01PM

Wow what a difference in pictures. Having a certain familiarity with your pics Jeff, I would guess it looks a lot more like your photo. I have seen numerous terrible pics of coins when PCGS first introduced the secure service. Almost all of them are horrible.

JeffMTampa · July 13, 2017 7:01PM

Justin- When I look at the PCGS photos the coin looks like a Medieval Hammered coin to me. I didn't look at their photo until a few days ago.

OKCC · July 13, 2017 7:37PM

@Goldbully said:
Does anyone recall when the TrueView quality photos came standard with the Secure tier?

Well over a year.

Then why is it the current quarterly special?

Pandavab · July 13, 2017 9:24PM

@OKCC said:

@Goldbully said:
Does anyone recall when the TrueView quality photos came standard with the Secure tier?

Well over a year.

Then why is it the current quarterly special?

The quarterly special is free Secure tier service (which includes TrueView), instead of the normal $5/coin charge.

DoughDeo · July 13, 2017 9:34PM

TrueView is normally $10 by itself. That can't be included with a service that normally costs $5.

MsMorrisine · July 14, 2017 5:35AM

@DoughDeo said:
TrueView is normally $10 by itself. That can't be included with a service that normally costs $5.

but it is.

if you want TV, then pay for secure.

gtstang · July 14, 2017 5:43AM

wow, what an amazing difference in those photos!

ricko · July 14, 2017 5:43AM

Amazing difference in the pictures... The second (your picture) is very nice... a truly attractive coin. Cheers, RickO

JeffMTampa · July 14, 2017 8:48AM

Here's another Barber Half that I submitted on the Secure tier in 2015:

PCGS Photo:

And my current photo:

The PCGS photo of this coin is pretty good and very serviceable unlike the one for the '04 S. It's still not TV quality, however.

lordmarcovan · July 14, 2017 8:53AM

I'm pretty sure it was last year, because I had to pay for TruViews on top of Secure Plus in my last World submission.

I used to grumble about how we Darksiders are forced to use mandatory Secure Plus. Now that a TrueView image is included for free, I've stopped my squawking.

oih82w8 · July 14, 2017 8:55AM

I think that Jeff's image is quite better...different light filters/diffusion?

PCGSPhoto · July 14, 2017 9:00AM

The image in the original post was the old Secure Scan. In the database it looks like this scan comes from June of 2015. We started doing TrueViews for all US office Secure submissions a month later. Foreign offices continued for a year afterward at which time we started whole-holder imaging. The second image of cert 32099436 is also a Secure scan from March of 2015.

Neither of these images are TrueViews.

JeffMTampa · July 14, 2017 9:06AM

@oih82w8 said:
I think that Jeff's image is quite better...different light filters/diffusion?

Thanks for the compliment- the difference is in the lighting. Mt guess is PCGS shot theirs in haste with 2 incandescent lamps and no fiffusion. That develops the harsh glare that you see, but shows of the luster nicely. I prefer to get rid of the glare and emphasise the coins details at the expense of not highlighting the luster. I like the "creamy" look, not the contrasty look. To each his own.

That coin was shot with CFL lamps, but unfortunately there's no magic "one size fits all" approach to lighting in coin photography. It takes a lot of time and patience to figure out what works when.

Rexford · July 14, 2017 9:07AM

@DoughDeo said:
TrueView is normally $10 by itself. That can't be included with a service that normally costs $5.

That's because Secure service applies to the whole order while Trueview may apply to only certain coins on an order. Thus if you submit 20 coins and only want 5 imaged then selecting Trueview is cheaper, but if you want them all imaged then selecting Secure is cheaper.

@oih82w8 said:
Jeff, I am almost for sure certain that the image from PCGS is of the actual Secure Plus image (different visual spectrum)and not the TrueView. I have a few images that are not exactly flattering from PCGS in which Phil replied that it was a Secure Plus image.

Secure Plus images are scans and Trueviews are photographs. You can tell the difference by the rim of the coin in the image. If it is a Trueview the image will have a black rim added around the perimeter of the coin like in the image below. If it is a scan it won't, like with the Secure photos that Jeff posted.

JeffMTampa · July 14, 2017 9:08AM

@PCGSPhoto said:
The image in the original post was the old Secure Scan. In the database it looks like this scan comes from June of 2015. We started doing TrueViews for all US office Secure submissions a month later. Foreign offices continued for a year afterward at which time we started whole-holder imaging. The second image of cert 32099436 is also a Secure scan from March of 2015.

Neither of these images are TrueViews.

Yep- the TrueViws are MUCH nicer. I'm glad the change came about.

PCGSPhoto · July 14, 2017 9:20AM

@Rexford said:

Secure Plus images are scans and Trueviews are photographs. You can tell the difference by the rim of the coin in the image. If it is a Trueview the image will have a black rim added around the perimeter of the coin like in the image below. If it is a scan it won't, like with the Secure photos that Jeff posted.

Some photographs taken by us may not have that drop-shadow between September of 2015 to about 9 months to a year later. It wasn't there due to an earlier version of our automation process.

Rexford · July 14, 2017 9:35AM

@PCGSPhoto said:
Some photographs taken by us may not have that drop-shadow between September of 2015 to about 9 months to a year later. It wasn't there due to an earlier version of our automation process.

Ah, thanks for clarifying Phil!

-Rex

TrueView Photos with Secure Grading

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