I visited my bank vault today to change out my little desiccants (Silica Gel 40 Grams) for a much larger canister sized one (750 grams), since I am visiting the coins a lot less these days. With no new purchases and nothing being sold for past 6 months, I just don't get to the bank very often now and I haven't been handling anyone else coins for CAC submissions or photos. So I spent time with my coins, looking at each one for maybe 15 seconds each, around 90 coins or so. Not a terribly long time for each coin, but enough to say "hi" to each one and get an idea of the overall quality of my collection. It sort of got me excited for coins again, and I wanted to point out the key realization I came away with after leaving the bank. We spend so much time as coin collectors looking at coins in excruciating detail, with super high rez photos that are 2x, 5x, 10x life-sized. These photos make it fun to share with others, check for varieties and errors, check for problems, and generally just "see" our coins without having to always run to the safe or the bank. The downside of course it that all the flaws are exposed, magnified, accentuated. I have a few coins that I regret buying, but almost completely due to how they photograph (badly) and how flaws like rim hits are exaggerated. When I'm looking at my coins in person, under normal lighting, my coins look pretty darned good and there maybe only 1 or 2 coins I would sell, since they sort of bug me. Overall, I really think I have a great group of coins that are mostly problem-free and enjoyable in-hand, with pleasing colors or even, pleasing wear. Actually, they are quite attractive. So, on this Father's Day, my simple observation is that sometimes our coins are not as bad as we think they are based on exaggerated photos. Remember to visit your coins, hold them, look at them at give them a quick holistic viewing. I bet the coins that bug you every time you see the 3x photo on your 27" inch monitor will look alot less harsh in person. A small rim hit may be barely visible with the naked eye and not bother you at all. Maybe your "dogs" are really pretty, but just are not photogenic. Of course, if they are still dogs under normal viewing conditions without magnification, time to get them out of your bank vault and onto eBay. Happy Father's Day!
That is true how large pictures exaggerate minor issues. Of course on the same token, when a coin has little to no flaws, it is shown as well. Come to think of it, these coins probably deserve a premium.
One of the reasons why ya don't use anything higher in magnification than a 7x loupe. Happy Fathers Day Pop..........
I noticed recently that I have pretty much stopped looking at my coins after cataloging them and putting them away. Sad but a whole lot easier to open a database than get them all out.
