A follow up to a previous post posted by Yankeejose

[CSJournals-migration]

Coin in hand

 

A follow-up regarding the 1936D AU53 quarter I won at a Heritage auction. I wrote that I will never know if I got this coin at 30-40% off the previous auction prices because the market felt it was that bad, because it was Super Bowl Sunday and fewer people were bidding, or that since there was no live bidding afterwards no dealer could scoop it up cheap to resell. I came up with another option- the photos did not completely show the true coin as it looks in hand.

I have now received the coin and I am happy with the purchase. The coin has better luster and more detail in the breast feathers that what showed in the auction photos. It does have some small dark spots as I expected, but they are not as distracting as the auction photos would suggest. This has happened to me several times now, especially with AU graded silver quarters. I am guessing the partial luster on silver AU coins is harder to capture with standard photographic methods. In general when I get the coin in hand they are better than pictured. This has happened not just on silver coins also on other purchases from EBay, Great Collections, Teletrade, and now Heritage. One example, I bought a 1931 S PCGS Lincoln cent, MS64RB and was concerned whether it was truly RB. When I received the coin it had a great strike and had more red than brown. I can't find fault with any of these companies because I know I can't get a better picture myself. I have included a picture from my digital camera that captures some of the luster but doesn't clearly capture the breast feathers. I do know now that if I ever sell my coins I will need to get a very good cameral to make sure that I can get the most dollars for my coins.

 

See more journals by Yankeejose

[Ultra Cameo Collection]

I would rather buy a coin and feel it looks better in hand, than see a picture that is basically a glamor shot of that coin. I purchased a 1967 SMS 25C MS67CAMEO that in the picture looked UC and was on the low end of cameo in hand. After I upgraded, it did help me to sell that coin, but I took the risk of having someone complain because the pic was overstating the coins Cameo.

[Mr Bo Jingles]

Beautiful coin and outstanding that it came to you looking better than you expected. I always worry about that when I buy online from pictures and not from a show, but like you most of the purchases have been good and I have had a few that really surprised on being much better looking than the pictures.

 

I've had issues on the rare occasion putting coins up on ebay. I am not a good coin photographer. I know there is a trick to it and I haven't learned it yet.

 

Have a great week!