The Toning Premium Thread

Okay, the price you paid is based on a Shane photo. His photos are comparable to the finest coin photographers in the world. My opinion of the coin is based on your photo which leaves me thinking that the toning is some light peach and nice powder blue on a low grade common date "O" mint Morgan.

Numismedia Wholesale is $38 which means that $50 is a 30% premium. Normally, I would put this coin in the 2X wholesale category, but you have a penchant for picking up coins just like this one for much smaller than average premiums. In essence, if someone else posted the coin, I would have guessed $78, since it was you, I knocked it down to $50. Now that you have told me you got it from Shane, $85 sounds more realistic.

BTW, here is an $85 1883-O Morgan from Heritage archives.

http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=29062&Lot_No=22906

IMO, the Heritage coin is much more attractive, so a $50-$75 range for your coin is not out of line. Not knowing the venue, I went with the low end of the range.

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I wasn't guessing what I could sell it for or I would have said more than $70 I was guessing what you paid and you have posted some coins you got realy good deals on so I thought you might have gotten this one cheap....I have sold 3 or 4 1883-O's with similar toning and I believe they all sold in the $115 to $125 range but because I have sold that many that are nearly identical...I can't always tell if it's a coin I sold if the image isn't the one I took. The bottom of the coin isn't well lit so it doesn't look that colorful although I suspect the toning seen in the well lit right side of your images is the same that covers the whole obverse

 

I made the same assessment of his buying style and thought he would get it cheap. On a side note...the coin you linked Paul was sold in 2009 and I can tell you the market is a lot stronger for these common date morgan toners now then it was then....but you probably already know that and may have missed the original sale date. I could get $125 to $150 out of that Heritage coin in today's market with little effort

 

Shane, let's see your pics of Baha's coin, if you don't mind.

 

I believe this is the one...

 

Damn them are good pics .
rzage

 

< just got back from the watering hole, so excuse me,,, but r u kidding.. blech.

 

I'll double that , Le I bet you wouldn't let that coin near your collection , even at bid .
Rusty

 

Pretty amazing, huh... I'll tell ya'll what <hickup.. sorry waterin' hole speaking> But,,, I took 75 pictures of this coin with my wifes xmas present from a few years ago, which consisted of $1,500 worth of camera, plus all the accessories (all filters, tripod, lenses, and badazell...)... friggin 75, just of that obverse. I took them under direct lamp lights, under sunlight, and under flash,,,,,,, and the best I could do out of the 75 was the partially out of focus pic that was a marriage of sun light and flash, which is my standard method (that being, taking a coin, putting it on a cracker barrel chair,, placing it by a window, and then incrementially closing the window unitl enough light has been blocked that the flash automatically starts to work).. method works really well for most coins,,, and from what I have seen produces pics of proofs color that I haven't see on the 'bay or from shane to day (coarse' I haven't seen any proof pics from shane yet.)........... anyway, lehigh say's "world class",, and that folks, is a big word....
however, as a generally anti'toner premium advocate, and deal scoring only collector, I will say....<gulp>... ol' shane's pics are as advertised. I got this coin in the mail and really hoped I could slam him and have abit of fun on the forum... but that pic is as close to having the coin i received in hand as is illustratively possible....
anyway,, don't want to pump too much air into shanes head.. but yeah, Lehigh does not overstate shane's pics.. they are friging dialed in. My next purchase from him may be a darker toned "monstor",,,, just so I can see if those are as representitive as this lightly toned example. Anyway, Shane,,, please keep those ocean view coming,,, I'll ensure you do o.k. if $115'ish nets you abit of play.,,, which by the way, makes RLM's, once again, 3rd time in a row... the winner.

Final note to shane,, I don't know if this space is beyond your liking or not,,, but I feel I can produce very attractive pics of RB cents,,, not like Charmy's, but very nice and honestly representative pics. You should give the RB cents a spin IMO within your business space given your ability... as you know, nice pics = premium, and from what I have seen in this one sample, you would do very well expanding into the mid range cent rb space, similar space as your dollar toners,,, a level or two below Charmy's.....
... same advise for you EYE.
... and a give for RLM's.
.... what I'd really LOVE to see is a contest of the 5 cents ! .. between Charmy's boy, Shane, RLM and EYE, and even Lehigh...... probably take awhile to sent the cents around the table...but man ! that would be fun to see as a cent lover.

Anyway,, hope you enjoyed the commentary,, I'll leave you with two final statments..
1 - in line with my anti-toner stance... "be careful buying these newbee's",, stick with key dates first.
2 - last words of a good southern boy,,,,,,, "hold my beer and watch this..................."

 

To be blunt, I wouldn't want either coin in my collection. As a matter of fact, I consider every MS63 Morgan Dollar I have ever purchased a mistake.

 

Highlander !......... anyone who's lived by a swamp or by the ocean would love that coin

 

Baha, I live in Atlantic City ya know. Do you like it because of the sea foam green patina? Here is one with some nice blue/green action.

 

Yeah,,, I love the sea green and light ocean (deep water) blue... you'd have to have had gone out to know what blue (neon) water is, or deep water, or know how it colors as it mixes with inshore green water... but that water that exists in the bahama's, or in baha' california,,,, or in which 'bully dolphin swim in either place (coast).. to understand the colors of which I speak (or of which the parrot sings) to understand.

... anyway, I've been to port in NY and have seen the waters off AC.... you gotta get way offshore up there,,,, and no 'bully's up there either.....great place to party, but not exactly prestine ocean.

Your coin, however, is pretty close...... and a great marriage of both deep blue water and inshore green.. and would be a great sample to add to my collection except that I already have that date in a lesser grade, but more awash in a caribbean sea green than that....
give me that same color in another date and you got a buyer.

 

Well I'll go ahead a fill the air in Shanes head for ya....... Shanes photos top all of them....Pure and simple......Never been disappointed by a single coin I purchased from him.Matter fact, when I get a coin in the mail my wife can already finish my sentence. "Shane will make this coin look so good." Its actually a inside joke in my house between her and I......I keep saving the coins up and havent sent them yet, but I plan to very soon.Todd takes great pictures but I think Shane has a leg up on him.... Paul is obviously another great photographer, sometimes his coins look cartoonish.....But I like it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the commentary, Ill leave you with one final statement.
In line with my pro-toner stance.... " Keep hunting:thumb:"

 

I apologize if I asked you this before. What camera settings - lens and lighting set up are you using for the toned morgans?

 

Beautiful coins everyone. Lehigh, your Morgan is just stunning. I favor blue toning on about any coin, but Morgans really bring it out.

 

Thanks for the kind words all...it's nice to be mentioned with other top photographers especially since I don't have a coin photography business but I think if you get coins imaged from Todd, or me or Jeremy Katz or Mark Goodman or any number of super imagers on the different forums you are going to be happy with what you get.


My set up is a Nikon D5000 with a sigma 150mm lens and a copy stand. I use GE reveal bulbs as I think they work the best with toned coins which is what I specialize in...and to critique my own work....I think the full slabbed images I took look fine but that obverse shot is a bit overexposed so I should have adjusted the exposure to compensate...

 

Lets keep a fun thread going

PCGS MS67FB Purchased Via BST in 2011

 

Hoooo I like.
What's book value on it?

 

PCGS Price guide = $200