Can I post a picture too?

[EVillageProwler]

Here's a coin I got from my trip to the Angkor Tom ruins a couple of years ago. For those who don't know, Angkor is in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

Now, the reverse...

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

And, one of 4 crown-sized silver coins that my Mom's family carried with them when they escaped from the Communists in China...

 

Needless to say, this coin has tremendous sentimental value to me!

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

And the reverse...

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

Sorry. I forgot, this is the U.S. coin forum. But, I think you'll all agree that trade dollar aficionados will find my pictures interesting...

 

EVP

 

[davefperry]

They are nice looking coins and were probably traded by US merchants overseas so maybe they're in the grey area.

[EVillageProwler]

Here's a U.S. coin, BB-91. Very rare, R.7 (that's 4 to 12 extant).

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

And now the reverse...

 

EVP

 

[Edited to add that I really wish the file size limit would be greater than 70KB. I'm using the worst quality setting at 640x480, and I'm still having problems getting the file size small enough while keeping the picture at a reasonable size.]

[keithdagen]

Slightly better pics (of the US coin at least)

 

The pic you uploaded is only about 245x239 pixels, so you have room to work with here. Let us know what image editor you are using to work with the pics and maybe someone can help you resize the photograph. At the resolution you are using, I can almost double the size of the pic with no real loss of resolution with your source files.

 

[keithdagen]

Reverse

[Coinosaurus]

Good pics. How about some SD pics too

[Oldtrader3]

No you can't because you will just show off.

[nwcs]

Ahh, I have two of those myself. I know one is 1900, but I cannot remember the date of the other. Seems to be in roughly the same condition, too. They are quite historical (the coins) as well.

 

Neil

[nwcs]

Now, I have a question. On the British trade dollar, why did they call it a dollar? And what does the rev say? I have a 1930B one in AU that I like but curious to know of some of these things. But I know this is US Coins, so maybe a tangential reference to the US is in order?

 

Neil

[GP_]

crown-sized? just how big are they? Looks pretty cool though!

[nwcs]

The piastres are roughly the size of US dollars. Nice meaty silver coins.

[Guest]

Cool coins.

 

I love the Bust Dollar!!!

[jtryka]

Nice coins EVP, and nice stories to go with them! I love those old bust coins, I am currently saving all my state quarters in a jar to buy me some early gold one day!

[EVillageProwler]

The pic you uploaded is only about 245x239 pixels, so you have room to work with here. Let us know what image editor you are using to work with the pics and maybe someone can help you resize the photograph. At the resolution you are using, I can almost double the size of the pic with no real loss of resolution with your source files.

 

Here's what I do, but please don't laugh while you read this. Please understand that I'm still trying to figure out what to do...

 

I set my settings to smallest size (640x480) and worst quality (1:16 compression). My camera makes JPEG files out of them of approx. 70KB or so, but usually *just* over. I edit the picture by first bringing up the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. From there, I click on ``edit'' to bring up Paint. I crop off the peripheral junk and save to a BMP file (because that's all I can do). I choose a 24-bit Bitmap file, because the lesser quality BMP types comes out looking unnatural.

 

With this new, cropped file (in 24-bit BMP), I open it again using the Windows Pic and Fax Viewer. In that, I save it as a JPG file. But, it is too big still. So, within Paint (somewhere earlier in the process), I shrink the image dimensions (LxW) by 25% or so length and width.

 

Mark Hooten PM'ed me overnight suggesting that I use Paint as well. I'll play with it some more, but it would be nice if someone can give me *exact* step-by-step instructions (as if I were a child)...

 

In the end, I want large-sized pictures (LxW) crammed into the smallest file size (byte-wise).

 

And, as a reward, I'll post many more pics of my coins. I have a wide array of stuff, U.S. and foreign. Coins and notes. No ancients though. Classical and moderns (for U.S. only).

 

I have some weird Cambodian hammered silver ``coins'' too.

 

Thanks!

 

EVP

 

[PQSeated]

I also need a crash course in making images smaller. I have a Sony Cybershot and I make the images 640X480. Then I just upload them on my computer. But the pictures are still way too big. How do I make them smaller? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[keithdagen]

PQSeated,

 

Do you have any kind of imaging software on your computer? MS Paint, Adobe Photoshop, or the like? Software of this nature is required to edit the images.

[PQSeated]

I have Microsoft Picture it, and I also have Paint.

[EVillageProwler]

Thanks, Keith and Mark, for your help.

 

Let's see how the BB-91 came out this time...

 

EVP

[EVillageProwler]

And for the reverse of this very rare variety...

 

EVP

[PQSeated]

Awesome coin. What grade is it?

[keithdagen]

OK, using MS Paint, you can choose an option under "Image" to "Stretch" the picture. Instead of increasing the percentage, decrease it (length and width same percent decrease) and that will shrink your picture. Play around with it, and that should help you get the photo under the 70K limits.

[keithdagen]

OK, now that we can see it, what differentiates this variety and makes it rare?

[EVillageProwler]

And, my 1877-CC Trade Dollar, graded MS64 by NGC.

 

The picture is too dark, even though the coin is pretty much a flashy white coin. I tried to get the lighting correct, but I couldn't manage it w/o creating shadows or glare.

 

The 3 marks in the right obv field are caused by planchet flakes; they're not post-Mint problems...

 

EVP

 

[Edited to add that most of the marks on the left side do not exist; I have no idea where they came from...]

[EVillageProwler]

And for the reverse of my Trade Dollar...

 

EVP

 

[Edited to add that the arc on the left side is a phantom mark; it doesn't exist on the coin nor on the holder... Strange!]

[EVillageProwler]

Awesome coin. What grade is it?

 

Thanks. It is graded VF30 by PCGS but they were very brutal with the grade.

 

This variety is one of those that really should be graded by the reverse due to the characteristic obv weakness resulting from misaligned dies. (The upper left quadrant of the obv is most severely affected because the dies weren't parallel.) This situation is similar to what happened with the 1794 dollar shortly after the production run.

 

Of the very few extant, I have seen 2 that are well struck in that area: the San Marino specimen (which is the finest by a very far margin and looks like an UNC), and a somewhat beat up specimen that sold at a Bowers auction during, I think, FUN '02.

 

EVP