So, recently I discovered a couple of the nicer coins in my German collection are photographed in the PCGS database. Apparently they were slabbed recently enough to have their photos taken. Having not known this at the time...I photographed them on my own as best as I could. This gives me an interesting chance to compare my photos to theirs. One thing I noticed in theirs was they used a lot more lighting. The photos they took seemed to really jump out...but aren't quite what the coins look like in hand. My photos, although a bit darker, give a more true in hand look. Here they are - let me know what you think. This first coin is a 25 pfennig pattern. Their Photo My Photo I feel that neither really captures the true beauty of the colors on the reverse. Here is the next coin. This is a Military Issued coin during the German occupation during WWII. Their Photo My Photo I think both photos here give a good look at the surfaces...but theirs really seems to kill the luster. What do you think?
Looks like two coins that are rather difficult to get a completely accurate picture of. I'm guessing the in hand is probably somewhere between the two sets of images? All of them though are nice enough to make a judgement on and I really like the coins you chose. The 25 Pfg is beautiful and its hard to match the historical significance of the 10
I slightly prefer the PCGS photos, but yours are good. I see you had the disadvantage of having to shoot the Nazi piece through the plastic.
I've been sort of looking for 1941 dated "Military Issued coin during the German occupation during WWII". I believe there are two face values for that year. I want them for my birth year set. But I'm not going to get REAL serious about find them since they are quite expensive. At least from your post I get to see one kinda close up. Thanks.
Yes, that's a cool type. I get Nazi and occupied country zinc in bulk lots fairly often, and occasionally prewar minors in the "better" base metals, but I've never had any of those Military issues.
I think you are completely right. The 25 pfennig piece has very reflective PL fields and the colors are really hard to capture. The reality is a bit between. The colors on the reverse are more vivid than the photos show. It's really a beautiful piece and is my favorite coin in my collection. In both cases yes. The slab on the 1940 has a couple little scuffs in it that showed up in the photo. PCGS has the benefit of imaging before slabbing. I'm glad you like it. These coins were issued in two denominations as you said...5 and 10 Reichpfennigs. Both were issued in 1940 and 1941 but the 1941 examples are extremely expensive. 1940-A (Berlin) coins can be found in both denominations. That is the most common date/mm and even then they can be spendy. They also tend to have significant condition issues because the zinc is so prone to corrosion. I can tell you I bought this coin in 2011 raw for $160. It's one of only 3 coins I have ever had slabbed. The Military issues can be tricky to come by. The 1, 2 and 10 Reichpfennig zinc non-occupation coins were minted in huge numbers and are typically what is found in bulk lots.
Your picture of the 10 Reichspfennig shows the depth of the design better, such as there is one. The beveled interior of the swastika and the shape of the leaves is apparent on your photos, but not so much in the PCGS photos. The eagle's feathers also show up better on your photos. Not just polish the scratches out of the slab and they'll be even better.
It's clear that PCGS uses a good amount of axial light to emphasize deep toning, and axial light does not present luster. It's hard to do axial once it's in the slab due to reflections off the slab surface.
The PCGS photos are always red-shifted pretty heavily. I don't know why, but they need to correct their color.
