What has been your experience/opinion with the quality of PCGS Trueview in the past couple of years?
Just looking for your honest opinions on general quality, consistency, and your overall satisfaction with the photos being provided. I have recently spoken to a photography supervisor about my opinion, and I'm looking for the opinions of other collectors and dealers.
Thanks
Comments
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There have been multiple complaints. Below is one example thread and there have been others:
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1106003/terrible-true-view-pictures
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Always the complaining.
I don't see anyone else taking better photos of coins.8 -
@Givaudan said:
Always the complaining.
I don't see anyone else taking better photos of coins.Not always “the complaining”. And even among customers who are satisfied with TrueView pictures, many would tell you that they’ve seen other photographers taking better photos of coins. Apparently, you just don’t happen to be aware of them.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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Absolute disappointment. I don't think they give the best representation of my coins.
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Mostly garbage is what I have seen since Phil left. Now and then you see a decent TV, but those seem to be the exceptions rather than the rule.
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@Givaudan said:
Always the complaining.
I don't see anyone else taking better photos of coins.You clearly are not paying attention; some amateur shutterbugs do better.
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@coinbuf said:
Mostly garbage is what I have seen since Phil left. Now and then you see a decent TV, but those seem to be the exceptions rather than the rule.Agreed, since Phil Arnold left True View shots have generally sucked, while GC Great Photos are quite nice.
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The decline in TrueView quality following Phil’s departure is one of the principal reasons I started sending most of my submissions elsewhere.
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Trueviews are the golden ticket of coin photography.
The ones I've seen are representative the subject matter as if you are holding the coin(s) in hand.
I think many here mistake glamour shots and unrealistic photo filters as offering better pictures.
Not true.
Blame your collection if the quality is lacking.
Don't blame the PCGS photos of your coins.
(Read: collect better coins.)10 -
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..
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@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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@MFeld said:
@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Please look in a mirror.
Are you stirring the pot?2 -
@Givaudan said:
Always the complaining.
I don't see anyone else taking better photos of coins.I'll play.


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@Givaudan said:
@MFeld said:
@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Please look in a mirror.
Are you stirring the pot?If stating that I believe your comments about imaging are either uninformed or insincere is stirring the pot, then yes, I’m guilty.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's
BST transactions: dbldie55, jayPem, 78saen, UltraHighRelief, nibanny, liefgold, FallGuy, lkeigwin, mbogoman, Sandman70gt, keets, joeykoins, ianrussell (@GC), EagleEye, ThePennyLady, GRANDAM, Ilikecolor, Gluggo, okiedude, Voyageur, LJenkins11, fastfreddie, ms70, pursuitofliberty, ZoidMeister,Coin Finder, GotTheBug, edwardjulio, Coinnmore, Nickpatton, Namvet69,...1 -
I think we may have found the new TrueView photographer.
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Good to see that putting someone on my ignore list is still proving to be a sound idea.
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution5 -
@Givaudan said:
Trueviews are the golden ticket of coin photography.
The ones I've seen are representative the subject matter as if you are holding the coin(s) in hand.
I think many here mistake glamour shots and unrealistic photo filters as offering better pictures.
Not true.
Blame your collection if the quality is lacking.
Don't blame the PCGS photos of your coins.
(Read: collect better coins.)TrueView's are embarrassing.
My coins are fine.
Your opinions are koolaid driven.
PCGS took the Crappy photos so I guess its Tru... Someone else's fault.
Thanks for clearing that up.2 -
I think they are more automated now with less attention taken per shot. But they are better than not having a picture at all.
Mr_Spud
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@oih82w8 said:

One of the greatest sports announcers of all time, Jim McKay comments............
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1mFGrqytaI
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@Southcounty said:
I think we may have found the new TrueView photographer.I must acquest. Those photos are outstanding.
I was wrong in thinking Trueviews couldn't be improved.
Certainly the evidence points to the fact they can be.> @FlyingAl said:@Givaudan said:
Always the complaining.
I don't see anyone else taking better photos of coins.I'll play.
>
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@Givaudan said:
Trueviews are the golden ticket of coin photography.
The ones I've seen are representative the subject matter as if you are holding the coin(s) in hand.
I think many here mistake glamour shots and unrealistic photo filters as offering better pictures.
Not true.
Blame your collection if the quality is lacking.
Don't blame the PCGS photos of your coins.
(Read: collect better coins.)Triggered troll alert!
I guess my comment really hit you where it hurts.1 -
@Mr_Spud said:
I think they are more automated now with less attention taken per shot. But they are better than not having a picture at all.Actually, I believe a poor TrueView is far worse than no image at all.
I own several coins that had images taken by PCGS when the TrueView service was spotty. That is, sometimes Phil or someone else took a good image and sometimes it appeared the coin was just slapped onto the copy stand and shot without any regard for what it actually looked like. In most cases where the TrueView was poor, it was poor because of extreme yellow color shift or wild over-exposure with some instances of poor lighting angles. Coins shot like that look like garbage and the TrueView then hangs like a terrific weight around the coin when you offer it for sale, especially when you say something like "my image is accurate, but the PCGS image taken before the coin was slabbed is garbage". Folks just don't believe that, but it's true.
Fortunately for me, I reached out to PCGS and interacted with the photography department and they either had additional images that were not used or I was able to send them images I took that showed what it really looked like and they were able to approximate color correction on their end. In my experience there are multiple unused shots for such coins, but getting someone at PCGS to change the image on their end might be impossible today.
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@MFeld said:
@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Actually Givaudan is just red rocket's new name, new name same useless nonsense. Same MO as we saw from him on the NGC forum when he trolled there under a number of names like QA. You can see the name change in this exchange of misinformation on the BST between red rocket AKA givaudan and member newbuddy. I would not be surprised if rr/givaudan and newbuddy are actually the same person.
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Here’s an example of a recent SLQ I purchased… First the “true view” and second my own attempt. One matches what the coin looks like in hand under natural light and one does not.


I think they’re just a bit color adjustment happy. If there’s any tone to the coin, they’re oversaturating it too much.
Honestly, I want them very high resolution, and shot honestly with typical daylight temperature lighting. Capture the luster and tone as your eyes see it. Adjust color and exposure only in that pursuit.
Show me the flaws as well as the good points.
Newbie collector of type and circulated Peace dollars, photographer of places and animals, player of instruments and builder of amplifiers, espresso industry professional, and a person distracted by shiny objects.
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...

.
.From my cheap phone
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@coinbuf said:
@MFeld said:
@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Actually Givaudan is just red rocket's new name, new name same useless nonsense. Same MO as we saw from him on the NGC forum when he trolled there under a number of names like QA. You can see the name change in this exchange of misinformation on the BST between red rocket AKA givaudan and member newbuddy. I would not be surprised if rr/givaudan and newbuddy are actually the same person.

Thank you for that information. That’s too bad, as he seems to waste his knowledge playing games, fairly frequently.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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They seem to be consistently over exposed and yellow.
What is just so disappointing is that PCGS doesn’t seem to care. This is a wholly solvable problem so why not solve it? I would venture to guess that if this was on the PSA side of the business there would have been more action.
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I was never happy with how TrueViews seem to present the utmost nicest possible presentation of a coin, but at least color and hue seemed reasonable. In recent years, though, these two crucial aspects seem to often be far from accurate.
But my biggest complaint is with TVs for coins that are cleaned or altered or whatever, when the resulting images are such that the coin looks perfectly fine and problem-free.
Official PCGS account of:
www.TallahasseeCoinClub.com
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@coinbuf said:
@MFeld said:
@2windy2fish said:
@Givaudan This may be the most misdirected comment i have seen on this app in a long time..I suspect that, rather than being sincere, someone is going out of his way to stir the pot.
Actually Givaudan is just red rocket's new name, new name same useless nonsense. Same MO as we saw from him on the NGC forum when he trolled there under a number of names like QA. You can see the name change in this exchange of misinformation on the BST between red rocket AKA givaudan and member newbuddy. I would not be surprised if rr/givaudan and newbuddy are actually the same person.

Ah hah! I had previously blocked the OP and recent did the same with RR. Good to see I'm consistent.
Seated Half Society member #38
"She comes out of the sun in a silk dress,
running like a water color in the rain...."1 -
It's always amazed me how much of the hobby seems to care so little about good imaging. We collect coins largely on eye appeal which is why it's so important to me that I can share with others what my coins look like and the eye appeal they have. The recent TVs since the 49xx era have been largely a disaster and mostly inconsistent. It's embarrassing for us to go from such incredible quality to such a massive step down. Hope the future is has better in store.
https://numismaticmuse.com/ My Web Gallery
The best collecting goals lie right on the border between the possible and the impossible. - Andy Lustig, "MrEureka"
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This is literally impossible. Did no one review this before posting it?
(BTW I purchased this medal and that’s not what it looks like.)
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That's a classic, @pruebas!
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@MFeld said:
Apparently, you just don’t happen to be aware of them.Condescending and nasty.
I took Givaudan's comment to mean of the TPGs which is completely reasonable.
No informed person would claim that PCGS takes the best coin pictures in the world.Yes, Phil was the man when it came to customer service.
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@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
Apparently, you just don’t happen to be aware of them.Condescending and nasty.
I took Givaudan's comment to mean of the TPGs which is completely reasonable.
No informed person would claim that PCGS takes the best coin pictures in the world.Yes, Phil was the man when it came to customer service.
If you wish to take his comments seriously, that’s your prerogative. But if you’re going to do so, you should probably become more familiar with his posting history under his multiple forum(s) usernames.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
1 -
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
Apparently, you just don’t happen to be aware of them.Condescending and nasty.
I took Givaudan's comment to mean of the TPGs which is completely reasonable.
No informed person would claim that PCGS takes the best coin pictures in the world.Yes, Phil was the man when it came to customer service.
That is close to exactly what I meant. Mr. Feld owes me an apology.
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@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
Apparently, you just don’t happen to be aware of them.Condescending and nasty.
I took Givaudan's comment to mean of the TPGs which is completely reasonable.
No informed person would claim that PCGS takes the best coin pictures in the world.Yes, Phil was the man when it came to customer service.
That is close to exactly what I meant. Mr. Feld owes me an apology.
@ReadyFireAim, let me introduce you to his latest username. But by “latest”, I merely mean as of the time I’m posting this message. All things considered, I choose not to take such a poster seriously.
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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I stopped submitting coins to PCGS when Phil left. It is a wild disappointment to put together a bespoke set with variability in the photos displayed to the world.
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@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
@ReadyFireAim, let me introduce you to his latest username. But by “latest”, I merely mean as of the time I’m posting this message. All things considered, I choose not to take such a poster seriously.
PCGS allows the changing of a user's name. It is not a violation of their policy.
Speaking of violating PCGS policy and rules for this forum and of note, out of all the participating members here on this thread, there is only one who was not only jailed for a period of time but also eventually banned. That is you MFeld.
You remind me of a photo featuring both Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart on a Dias with the caption, "one of these two is a convicted felon" (and it isn't Snoop Dog).
Mark, you snipe at the heels of members here with snide and sometimes condescending remarks. Many times you are humorous. Other times you are just mean.1 -
@SollaSollew said:
@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
@ReadyFireAim, let me introduce you to his latest username. But by “latest”, I merely mean as of the time I’m posting this message. All things considered, I choose not to take such a poster seriously.
PCGS allows the changing of a user's name. It is not a violation of their policy.
Speaking of violating PCGS policy and rules for this forum and of note, out of all the participating members here on this thread, there is only one who was not only jailed for a period of time but also eventually banned. That is you MFeld.
You remind me of a photo featuring both Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart on a Dias with the caption, "one of these two is a convicted felon" (and it isn't Snoop Dog).
Mark, you snipe at the heels of members here with snide and sometimes condescending remarks. Many times you are humorous. Other times you are just mean.Sorry binky, I was given the hammer almost 20 years ago. And although today is my 68th birthday I can admit it took me a while to grow up and more importantly Shut up.
Wish you the best.3 -
@ELVIS1 said:
@SollaSollew said:
@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
@ReadyFireAim, let me introduce you to his latest username. But by “latest”, I merely mean as of the time I’m posting this message. All things considered, I choose not to take such a poster seriously.
PCGS allows the changing of a user's name. It is not a violation of their policy.
Speaking of violating PCGS policy and rules for this forum and of note, out of all the participating members here on this thread, there is only one who was not only jailed for a period of time but also eventually banned. That is you MFeld.
You remind me of a photo featuring both Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart on a Dias with the caption, "one of these two is a convicted felon" (and it isn't Snoop Dog).
Mark, you snipe at the heels of members here with snide and sometimes condescending remarks. Many times you are humorous. Other times you are just mean.Sorry binky, I was given the hammer almost 20 years ago. And although today is my 68th birthday I can admit it took me a while to grow up and more importantly Shut up.
Wish you the best.Happy birthday!
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
3 -
@SollaSollew said:
@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
@ReadyFireAim, let me introduce you to his latest username. But by “latest”, I merely mean as of the time I’m posting this message. All things considered, I choose not to take such a poster seriously.
PCGS allows the changing of a user's name. It is not a violation of their policy.
Speaking of violating PCGS policy and rules for this forum and of note, out of all the participating members here on this thread, there is only one who was not only jailed for a period of time but also eventually banned. That is you MFeld.
You remind me of a photo featuring both Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart on a Dias with the caption, "one of these two is a convicted felon" (and it isn't Snoop Dog).
Mark, you snipe at the heels of members here with snide and sometimes condescending remarks. Many times you are humorous. Other times you are just mean.I’m aware that PCGS allows the changing of a user’s name and didn’t state otherwise.
Sometimes, you are humorous. Many other times, you just play games. And yes, I realize that’s not against forum rules, either. The name changes, combined with the game playing causes me to not take you seriously (anymore), but I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Enjoy yourself.Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
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@ELVIS1 said:
@SollaSollew said:
@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
Sorry binky, I was given the hammer almost 20 years ago. And although today is my 68th birthday I can admit it took me a while to grow up and more importantly Shut up.
Wish you the best.Happy Birthday!
68 is quite the accomplishment.1 -
@SollaSollew said:
@ELVIS1 said:
@SollaSollew said:
@MFeld said:
@SollaSollew said:
@ReadyFireAim said:
@MFeld said:
Sorry binky, I was given the hammer almost 20 years ago. And although today is my 68th birthday I can admit it took me a while to grow up and more importantly Shut up.
Wish you the best.Happy Birthday!
68 is quite the accomplishment.Pure luck and thank you.
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Name changes are also reflected on the ignore list, by the way.
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution1 -

Their photos are fine (gold) by me. Then again, I don’t need photos to deal with people. I need coins.3 -
Why does @redrocket, @coinpop,@givaudan + a TON of other alias, keep changing his name? Currently known as @SollaSollew
Micah Langford - https://www.oldglorycoinsandcurrency.com/
0
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