When selling a coin how important is the image?

2 things we never seem to have enough of, time and money.

I'm wondering if it's worth the time to circle crop the image.

 

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No I wouldn''t.

 

I don’t think the circle crop is worth it. Usually when people do that they end up adding a new background anyway

 

I do and I think the image is very important

 

I am an impulse coin buyer. If the image strikes me I am going after it. And to me, the circle cropped image lends an appearance of chicanery. That’s only the first thought that goes through my mind when I view it.

 

To me it all depends on the price of the coin.

 

Since I don't buy online, or by photos, virtually at all anymore, I'd say circle crops are worthless. I'm an "in person, in the hand" sort of guy.

 

Cropping like that gives an unnatural appearance that I don’t care for. I’d just as soon people put all their effort into the quality of the image itself.

 

You need other background around the circle. In order to better see the rim, etc.

 

I did a Google search for coin shows in my area. The only one listed is 150+ miles away in Bossier City in July, there are no real coin shops near me either. In-person-in-hand would be nearly impossible for me.

 

If I were considering your 1987 ASE, I would be more interested in your feedback record. For a coin like this one, a stock photo would be fine for me. I would put your listing in my auction sniper at the price I would be willing to pay then hope for the best.

 

It's not so much coin shows, per se, it's public auctions - the "crack" of the Pennsylvanische Deitsch. You can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting an auctioneer.

 

What a horrible horrible place

 

You're right about coin shows, though. CoinZip lists ONE in Louisiana, and Pennsylvania's don't even all fit on one page, and there's 30 per page. No sales tax on coins here, either.

 

I'm going against the grain and saying that I much prefer the cropped picture. I want to see the coin; I couldn't care less what the holder looks like.

 

As a buyer, the coin background does not matter to me. What is important is the quality of the image and the coin itself.

 

You should add a poll to this thread; I'd love to see a numerical analysis of the responses.

Personally, I believe that (if you have the time and ability) you should always crop for two reasons:

1) It looks more professional (again, IMHO), and
2) Any background distracts me, even to a small degree.

For inexpensive coins, it might not matter. But for anything of any substantial value, I'd invest the extra minute. I think it would pay off in the long run.

 

When I shop online for a slabbed coin I like to see photos of the slab and a circular crop of the coin itself. When I shop online for a raw coin I would love to see the coin with some tasteful background which allows me to see the edge a little better. Coins photographed on a multi-colored checked or otherwise patterned background, or coins held in someone's fingers don't appeal to me. It also seems that auction houses, CNG for example, which deal predominantly in raw coins, do a nice job of cropping coin photographs so that the edges are visible.

 

Here are some images to make my point.

No distractions:


Slight distraction:

 

There’s always a background though. Even white is a background. I do agree that backgrounds should be a solid color though