Background for images... which do you prefer?

lkenefic · February 8, 2026 9:39PM

I've been playing around with the camera and photo-finishing/processing. Which image do you prefer?
1. Tan Crosshatch

White Fade In
Black Fade In
Black 2 Fade In

MsMorrisine · February 8, 2026 9:41PM

background colors have been discussed here a number of times, ultimately white gets the best reviews

lkenefic · February 8, 2026 9:42PM

Something like this?

TomB · February 8, 2026 9:42PM

Of the four you have offered to us, I think "Black 2 Fade In" is best, but that doesn't mean I like it.

FlyingAl · February 8, 2026 9:48PM

Keep it simple. Black and white have always been in style because they put the coin as the focus. Even GC uses dark blue for that reason, and even that color pushes it a little.

I used to think black was the move, but I always gravitate to white backgrounds as my personal favorite. White is often more requested than black as well when people have a preference.

MsMorrisine · February 8, 2026 9:48PM

@lkenefic said:
Something like this?

yeah

i got the feeling something wasn't 100%, and i checked a tv. pcgs puts an artificial shadow around them. but yeah, boring white, unless you want to hand edit a different color for each coin.

my choice of the 4 given would be the tan

MidLifeCrisis · February 8, 2026 9:58PM

These are old pictures of coins I don't own anymore, but I've always liked the background.

dcarr · February 8, 2026 10:19PM

For a dark (copper) coin I like a neutral dark background.

lkenefic · February 8, 2026 10:20PM

How about Greyscale? The all white background makes my eyes hurt after a while... lol... I guess I'm working on my cataracts...

johnny9434 · February 8, 2026 11:19PM

Get what your happy with

PerryHall · February 9, 2026 1:50AM

The doily background seems to be popular with many forum members here.

Rule556 · February 9, 2026 4:07AM

I’ve been playing with this blue color and a drop shadow. I kind of like it.

Namvet69 · February 9, 2026 4:39AM

Greyscale is the way to go, IMHO. Peace Roy

lkenefic · February 9, 2026 7:59AM

@MsMorrisine said:

@lkenefic said:
Something like this?

yeah

i got the feeling something wasn't 100%, and i checked a tv. pcgs puts an artificial shadow around them. but yeah, boring white, unless you want to hand edit a different color for each coin.

my choice of the 4 given would be the tan

My latest TV's have a background with a light grey "PCGS logo" running at 45 degree angles... look in the lower corners, it's very subtle and blended in. I agree, I'm not a huge fan of the shadow effect either...

ChrisH821 · February 9, 2026 9:45AM

@lkenefic said:
How about Greyscale? The all white background makes my eyes hurt after a while... lol... I guess I'm working on my cataracts...

This one gets my vote

Peasantry · February 9, 2026 9:58AM

I really like @MidLifeCrisis background above.

One thing you may want to specify is how the image will be viewed; full-screen or otherwise. Eg. Within a webpage with a white background versus a selectable image that expands to fill the screen when selected. If it's not full-screen, the other colors will effect how the image is received by the eye. Imho

Catbert · February 9, 2026 11:00AM

I prefer white since I want it to be all about the coin, not the background. That said, I do like your greyscale example. I think with dark copper, a light background color is much preferable to a black background that some prefer.

lordmarcovan · February 12, 2026 4:32AM

How about Greyscale? The all white background makes my eyes hurt after a while... lol... I guess I'm working on my cataracts...

There's the winner, if you ask me. Since some coins look better against a dark background and others look better against a lighter background, the greyscale/gradient gives you the best of both worlds, in a way.

I use it myself. I usually create seven or eight images of each of my coins to save on my OneDrive, though I'll probably only end up using five for each coin when I finally have a website up and running.

This is my current standard. I wish I used 1,000 pixels wide, but I've been using an 800-pixel standard width for so long that it would be too much of a pain to go back and change 'em all.

#1- The primary display image. 800 x 500, greyscale background, with slab label added.
#2- The TPG's image, if there is one. Resized to 800 x 400.
#3- Black background. 800 x 400.
#4- Gradient background. 800 x 400.
#5- White background. 800 x 400.
#6- Full obverse. 800 x 800.
#7- Full reverse. 800 x 800.
#8- The slab image. 800 wide; height varies slightly.

Regarding those "shadowbox" or "reflective" templates like @MidLifeCrisis posted, I really like those. And that used to be my standard, but since I lacked the photo editing skills and software to make them myself, I had to rely on others to do them for me, and it was too much of a hassle. So I switched to the more simple grey gradient standard you see above, which I have no problem doing by myself.

Here's one of my older "shadowbox" style images.

lordmarcovan · February 12, 2026 4:38AM

Once in a while, just for giggles, I'll also do a themed, scenic "coinscape" image like I did for this Greenland polar bear coin.

safari_dude · February 12, 2026 4:39AM

How about a chrome background? 🤔

lordmarcovan · February 12, 2026 4:58AM

@safari_dude said:
How about a chrome background? 🤔

Might be too sparkly.

The_Dinosaur_Man · February 12, 2026 6:05AM

I've been going without backgrounds and saving as .png or .tiff files. I'm a fan of the transparency.

lkenefic · February 12, 2026 7:12AM

@lordmarcovan Thanks! I looked at your US Coins website and saw you were using it already... I realize these things aren't proprietary, but I also don't want any confusion either... I've been playing around in Powerpoint with backgrounds and whereas I still like the greyscale I also like this dark blue to medium blue gradient too:

messydesk · February 12, 2026 7:39AM

Of those in the OP, I prefer the black to blue gradient. The cross-hatched one has too regular of a pattern and becomes distracting. If you have a copy of Penny Whimsy, shoot a picture of the back of the book and use that as is for big copper. You could use any clothbound hard cover book, of course, but cents look good on that background. If you want tan instead, you can change the hue by about 100° and you have tan. A black outer glow or drop shadow helps set the coin off from any colored background.

safari_dude · February 12, 2026 8:28AM

@lordmarcovan said:

@safari_dude said:
How about a chrome background? 🤔

Might be too sparkly…..

…..

Sparkles are nice though! 🤪😉

coinbuf · February 12, 2026 11:35AM

The reflection template has always been my fav. The only coins that are difficult are very dark copper coins like this 22, they do tend to blend into the background. @lkenefic If you want to test out this reflection style I can send you the template, it was made available/public here by a member many years ago.

Mr_Spud · February 12, 2026 12:08PM

I love backgrounds more than most, but they do distract from the coin images. So I normally just post images with a white background unless I’m in a mood to be more artistic and less focused on the coins themselves. But here’s one I really like that’s a takeoff of greyscale

But here’s my normal background I use

But if I’m feeling more artistic I tend to use one like this

But sometimes I like to use a more basic greyscale, like for this where I wanted to show 3 types of SLQ

messydesk · February 12, 2026 6:50PM

Here's the Penny Whimsy cover (green). Adjusted the hue by -52 to get the tan version. Picked a vintage font and textured it to look hot stamped. Added a black outer glow. Those prongs, though.

ambro51 · February 12, 2026 7:06PM

I like raw coins and “keep it honest”

lkenefic · February 12, 2026 8:11PM

Thanks for sharing.... Everyone! There are some talented folks on these boards.... I'm narrowed down to these two.. greyscale gradient or dark blue gradient. Here's Gold, Silver, and Copper on both:

Copperindian · February 12, 2026 8:36PM

Voted “Other” - prefer black:

But white’s a close second:

alaura22 · February 12, 2026 9:25PM

Other
Black backround

lordmarcovan · February 12, 2026 11:28PM

@lkenefic said:
Thanks for sharing.... Everyone! There are some talented folks on these boards.... I'm narrowed down to these two.. greyscale gradient or dark blue gradient. Here's Gold, Silver, and Copper on both:

The blue's not bad, but I prefer the greyscale.

johnny9434 · February 13, 2026 3:35AM

@coinbuf said:
The reflection template has always been my fav. The only coins that are difficult are very dark copper coins like this 22, they do tend to blend into the background. @lkenefic If you want to test out this reflection style I can send you the template, it was made available/public here by a member many years ago.

Love the 56 large cent

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:17AM

Depends on the coin. This one it was butterflies>>>

Butterflies in the background and house plans in the reflection?

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:18AM

How about a Savanna?

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:19AM

House Plants?

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:20AM

Stain Glass

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:20AM

Old Carpeting

gashmios · February 13, 2026 5:21AM

Fine Grain wood

robec · February 13, 2026 11:40AM

@FlyingAl said:
Keep it simple. Black and white have always been in style because they put the coin as the focus. Even GC uses dark blue for that reason, and even that color pushes it a little.

I used to think black was the move, but I always gravitate to white backgrounds as my personal favorite. White is often more requested than black as well when people have a preference.

My thought process as well. I started with black but as time went on I also found I preferred the cleaner look, plus the drop shadow doesn’t work well with a black background.

pursuitofliberty · February 13, 2026 9:25PM

I thought I posted this but it was in my Drafts folder.

.

Different coins seem to do better with different colors. This is especially true of dark copper.

While I normally feel white, and then black, I think grey has a place as well, and your grey fade was good.

Too much color and other distraction takes away from clean and enjoyable images, in my opinion.

lkenefic · February 13, 2026 9:52PM

@pursuitofliberty said:
I thought I posted this but it was in my Drafts folder.

.

Different coins seem to do better with different colors. This is especially true of dark copper.

While I normally feel white, and then black, I think grey has a place as well, and your grey fade was good.

Too much color and other distraction takes away from clean and enjoyable images, in my opinion.

I think my initial thoughts after looking at the poll results and thinking "greyscale" was good. Most of what I'm going to image is copper but I wanted to settle on a background that would be decent for Silver and Gold as well... Thanks all...

oldabeintx · February 13, 2026 10:48PM

White.

Background for images... which do you prefer?

Background for images... which do you prefer?

Background for images... which do you prefer? 52 votes

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These are old pictures of coins I don't own anymore, but I've always liked the background.

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