B&M Video With David Hall

[TomB]

Did anyone see one of these? I was searching the B&M lots for the Baltimore auction and one of the lots, a PCGS MS68 1947-S Washington quarter, had a link for a video of the coin. This seemed like it would be quite cool, after all, the image of the coin on the B&M site was not that attractive and a video of the coin might show it rotating in the light to capture different colors.

 

Nope!

 

The video was a clip just over one minute in length that showed David Hall behind a desk, holding the slabbed coin, or something that was supposed to be the slabbed coin, and talking about the coin. Actually, he wasn't really talking about the coin, he kept repeating the mantra that this was the "only one", that it was a "pop top" and that it was a "unique pop top" so that the Washington enthusiasts better bid aggressively for it. I don't believe he actually said anything about the coin, it was all about the Registry. I wasn't happy with the video.

 

To me, it smacked of selling out and hyping big time. Others may not have seen the same, but I know how it looked to me. Let me write again, they didn't show the coin or talk about the coin in the video! Ugh.

[PQSeated]

I saw some of the videos. I also noticed that it was a lot of hype and not very numismatically oriented. It honestly makes me wonder if David Hall is in to coins because of the money or true numismatics.

 

I must say he dresses pretty slick, he almost looks like a used car salesman..........

[toyonakataro]

This seemed like it would be quite cool, after all, the image of the coin on the B&M site was not that attractive and a video of the coin might show it rotating in the light to capture different colors.

I was expecting exactly the same thing when I clicked that button.....only to find 3men chatting each other....in English

[keithdagen]

Tom,

 

If the video didn't offend you, did the link on many of the coins to the Registry sets that the coin would fit in offend you? It sure as hell did me. They are pimping the Registry program on the pop-tops, and don't even talk about the merits of the coin in question.

 

I much preferred Dave's approach, which would praise the coins worthy of praise and caution that some coins were good for points, but not for the collectors, a nice euphemism for overgraded.

[gmarguli]

TomB, what you don't understand is that this coin is a Pop Top™ and it is at the very top of the food chain and being a Pop Top™ which is not only a Pop Top™ but a pop 1 Pop Top™ that makes it a unique Pop Top™ and if you want to build a finest set you will need Pop Top™ coins like this Pop Top™ coin. Did I mention that the coin is a Pop Top™?

 

I think the video is rather funny. You're 100% correct in that you cannot see the coin at all. I'm guessing that it's just a prop coin and he's reading from a -script. You think he could have given some insight into the condition of the coin. Guess he knows that he'll be selling it to someone who doesn't care about the condition of the coin, only the slabbed grade.

 

(bias) Man, what a whore David Hall is. And with all the money he has, can't he buy a better shirt than some cheesy Hawaiian POS and a better toupee?

 

Also, these lot descriptions sure don't have the same feel since they fired QDB. Gone are the honest opinions and they are replaced by fluff. Too bad they didn't have a link for video discussing how they ran off every member of the B&M staff. (/bias)

 

As for the coin, that poor bird appears to have been shot right thru the chest with a big ugly carbon spot. I know it's small, but that would knock it out of the MS68 grade for me. Given what looks like dark toning spots and possibly carbon spots around the reverse rim, I wouldn't be happy with the coin at MS67 money.

 

 

 

[shylock]

As mentioned by a PCGS forum member, this was David's audition tape for the Coin Vault on shop at home TV.

 

[gmarguli]

I much preferred Dave's approach, which would praise the coins worthy of praise and caution that some coins were good for points, but not for the collectors, a nice euphemism for overgraded.

 

Just in case there is any confusion, Keith is referring to Q. David BOWERS, not David Hall.

[TomB]

If the video didn't offend you, did the link on many of the coins to the Registry sets that the coin would fit in offend you? It sure as hell did me. They are pimping the Registry program on the pop-tops, and don't even talk about the merits of the coin in question.

 

You are absolutely right, Keith, the links about the Registry put me off a bit. I think I fogot about them because I was struck by just how shallow the video for the coin was.

[MarkFeld]

this coin is a Pop Top™ and it is at the very top of the food chain and being a Pop Top™ which is not only a Pop Top™ but a pop 1 Pop Top™ that makes it a unique Pop Top™ and if you want to build a finest set you will need Pop Top™ coins like this Pop Top™ coin. Did I mention that the coin is a Pop Top™?

Greg, PLEASE put that to music and sing it for me!

[coinman1794]

Does anyone have a link to the videos?

 

[gmarguli]

this coin is a Pop Top™ and it is at the very top of the food chain and being a Pop Top™ which is not only a Pop Top™ but a pop 1 Pop Top™ that makes it a unique Pop Top™ and if you want to build a finest set you will need Pop Top™ coins like this Pop Top™ coin. Did I mention that the coin is a Pop Top™?

Greg, PLEASE put that to music and sing it for me!

 

 

I'm not very musically inclined, but how is this:

 

It's a world of laughter

A world of tears

It's a world of hopes

And a world of fears

There's so much that we share

That it's time we're aware

It's a Pop Top™ world after all

 

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

 

There is just one moon

And one golden sun

And a smile means

Friendship to ev'ryone

Though the mountains divide

And the oceans are wide

It's a Pop Top™ world after all

 

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop Top™ after all.

It's a Pop, Top™ world.

 

 

 

I'll be happy to sing it to you at the next Long Beach. It's the least I can do to thank you for grading my bag full of Ikes I'll be bringing with me.

[nucks]

Greg,that was great! Wish I was able to link it across the street.

[chrisfuccione]

Why can't you? If you want I will. CHRIS

[Hoot]

OUTSTANDING GREG!!!

 

ROTFLMAO!!!

 

How much pop can a pop top top if a pop top could top pop?

 

Hoot

[nucks]

Why can't you? If you want I will. CHRIS

My computer is linkably challenged or I would.I think if you do it on the U.S.coin forum it will have the biggest exsposure since things are getting rather slow on the "registry forum".

[MarkFeld]

Greg, that was even better than I'd hoped for - thanks.

 

PS - I KNOW you have a great voice, too.

[dragon]

I looked at a handfull of those videos and not all of them were as bad as the one Tom describes with D. Hall IMO. The ones done by Mark Borckhardt and Tom Mulvaney were a lot less 'hype' and more just descriptions of the coins and a little about them which I thought was kinda cool. I wish however they would show better closeups of the coins themselves and focus on them a bit more, rather than the person talking about them. With a little tweaking, I think this could actually be a valuable online auction service in the future for highlight pieces in their sales, as it could give a much better online 'feel' for a particular coin as opposed to just the usual pic.

 

dragon

[EVillageProwler]

As mentioned by a PCGS forum member, this was David's audition tape for the Coin Vault on shop at home TV.

 

Which thread is this in, and did anyone link *this* thread aross the street? (Do NOT ask me to link, as I've done that before. Someone else's turn...)

 

EVP

 

[MarkFeld]

Realistically, even if the focus were on the coins, themselves, rather than on their pop rarity, etc, I don't think the videos would be of much practical use.

 

Unless the magnification were extreme and someone took the time to tilt and rotate the coins, the videos wouldn't/couldn't offer much in the way of displaying the coins. And, if the narrator is going to discuss the history, etc., that could be just as easily accomplished by a catalog description.

 

In theory, the videos might sound like a neat idea. In reality, they fall short.

[jom]

A couple of years ago I read that Heritage owner Jim Halperin mentioned that he wanted to Heritage to set up such a service. This would be a great idea, as TomB has suggested, to show off the luster of a coin. Something that is usually missing with a static picture....

 

However, I don't think this particular type of video is what Halperin had in mind.

 

jom

[Beijim]

Mark,

 

Evidently you don't watch the Coin Vault. If you did, you'd know that:

 

1. An NTSC video "photograde" is all that's necessary to get an accurate feel for the coin's grade; and

 

2. The grade on the slab removes all subjectivity from the evaluation. An MS70 is an MS70 is an MS70. In fact, it's the pinnacle of perfection. And it will stay that way forever.

 

Really, for a professional numismatist, I'm surprised you didn't know these things.

 

Beijim

[gmarguli]

I looked at a handfull of those videos and not all of them were as bad as the one Tom describes with D. Hall IMO. The ones done by Mark Borckhardt and Tom Mulvaney were a lot less 'hype' and more just descriptions of the coins and a little about them which I thought was kinda cool. I wish however they would show better closeups of the coins themselves and focus on them a bit more, rather than the person talking about them. With a little tweaking, I think this could actually be a valuable online auction service in the future for highlight pieces in their sales, as it could give a much better online 'feel' for a particular coin as opposed to just the usual pic.

 

 

I went thru a handful of the other videos today. This is what I noticed, but I might be wrong since I didn't see all the videos:

 

1) David Hall only comments on the PCG$ graded coins. He practically says nothing about the coins, only that the are slabbed at X grade by PCGS and it is a Pop Top™ and perfect for your registry set if you're buying grade and not condition. Hype, hype, hype!

 

2) The other people who do the videos at least talk about the coins, not how they'll fit in some moronic registry set. Still not much detail.

 

3) The other videos will show the coins close up. However, some look like black or grey slugs and you cannot even identify what TYPE of coin they are.

 

4) There is text on the videos which presumably are words of the English language. What those words are is beyond me. I cannot make out the tiny blurred words on the tiny blurred video.

 

Overall a useless feature. If I called the auction company and asked for a description of the coin and the "numismatist" on the other end of the phone told me what was in the video, I'd hang up on them and toss the auction catalog.

[dragon]

gmarguli,

 

I agree the videos of the coins themselves were poor, however, I think the basic idea of videotaping highlight coins in auctions is a good one if done the right way and not a useless idea. Tilting a coin up close on a video can give the online viewer and prospective bidder a much better feel for a particular coin than just a pic, and while nothing can substitute for holding a coin in your hand, video is a major leap forward for evaluating coins online IMO. I also think if they want to include people or narration in these videos, it should be numismatic oriented people like Mark Borckhardt, rather then hypesters and senior corporate salespeople like you know who.

 

dragon

[Elcontador]

I could not get those videos to play when I clicked on them, but while conceptually they might be a good idea, as someone who loves numismatics, I get really offended when I see such blatant registry set hype.

 

Yes, I realize that this area is where the big bucks are, but sometimes, how you package or sell a product is as important as the product itself.

 

It's like I could go to the bathroom, get part of the result slabbed and then claim that it's the finest known of its type. And I'd bet some babosos would get into a bidding war if I put it on E-Bay.

 

I need to find a barf bag.

[gmarguli]

I agree the videos of the coins themselves were poor, however, I think the basic idea of videotaping highlight coins in auctions is a good one if done the right way and not a useless idea. Tilting a coin up close on a video can give the online viewer and prospective bidder a much better feel for a particular coin than just a pic, and while nothing can substitute for holding a coin in your hand, video is a major leap forward for evaluating coins online IMO. I also think if they want to include people or narration in these videos, it should be numismatic oriented people like Mark Borckhardt, rather then hypesters and senior corporate salespeople like you know who.

 

I completely agree. I don't think the idea is useless, just the way they went with it. Everything they said in the video could have been done in printed words in a catalog. I think it would be a great feature if auction companies included a video or animated picture of a coin being rotated in the light. It'd be a major plus.

 

A large to download pimping video is a horrible waste of time for the buyers and money for the sellers.

[shylock]

EVP - the PCGS thread you were asking about: Link. The subject was the 1909-S 67RD in the B&M sale. Lakesammman, who has a great sense of humor, made the audition tape reference.

 

I really think the next step in online auctions will be 30 second Real Videos in which the coin is rotated under optimum lighting. Like Tom, I was hoping that's what this B&M video was before clicking on it. I'm not sure the technology is there to do this in a quality manner yet, and obviously it would be very time consuming for the auction house unless an automated setup was created to do this.

[keithdagen]

Yes, a small video of the coin being rotated and tilted in solid lighting would be beneficial, and is probably not too far off in the future.

 

What amazes me is the number of dealers who still don't scan their inventory until you request a photo.

[EVillageProwler]

Thanks, Shylock, for the link as well as the other matter.

 

My little girl will be keeping an eye on you!

 

 

EVP

 

[Leothelion]

(For the thread)

 

Yes, a small video of the coin being rotated and tilted in solid lighting would be beneficial, and is probably not too far off in the future.

 

Wow! Another one of my idea's coming to fruit......yeah, by a bunch of fruitcakes!

First they stole my "pop top" word, , (I like to think so), now they've stoled my 15 sec. coin movie idea. What's next, my idea on the 3 joint company graded, shared slab?

 

With my FD91 mavica camera, I have made movies of rotating coins, I haven't uploaded any to date. Oh how tempting!

 

Leo

 

 

[BushMan]

So THAT is how they, CLCT, hope to raise B&M's profile in the auction business?

 

So THAT is part of the plan CLCT implemented upon gaining the $30MM line of credit to improve B&M's auction results??

 

That stock is SUCH a short. I just shake my head in amazement.