OK - here is my last coin to report from the FUN show in Orlando. A nicely toned Barber quarter was my primary objective in coming to the show as a respite from my Conder obsession. I won this coin in a live Heritage auction after reviewing the lot in hand. I feel fortunate this coin was not pictured in the auction catalogue and that the internet pictures were horrible: http://coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1121&Lot_No=2443&src=pr# So, due to the above, I think this played to my advantage to supress bidding (you will note that this coin was also sold in the Long Beach auction in 2006) or perhaps what I paid is what it is worth. It is also a heavily toned coin which is not for everyone. Nonetheless, despite the 5.4M mintage, there are few MS65 examples graded by PCGS and NGC (44 total combined, 11 in finer grades). I didn't pay attention to this fact and let this influence my decision making. I simply let my eyes drive me. My pictures do not reveal the substantial luster peaking out behind the toning and you will see that there are several scuff marks on the plastic that interfere with a good pic. Anyway, I hope you like it because I certainly do! Sadly, no more purchases for awhile now.
I love how the eagle pops out on the reverse due to the great toning. BTW: Typo? I think you mean. luster peaking out behind the toning.....
Mission accomplished! That is a gorgeous Barber! Is there an envy emoticon? Thanks for showing the difference between your pics and Heritage's.
WHAT A GREAT COIN! Were you saving the best for last? On a more serious note, just how much of an advantage is getting to see the coin in-hand, Cat?
Well, nothing beats it, of course. As you can tell from Heritage's lousy pictures, they wouldn't inspire many people to buy that coin. Being able to inspect the coin under a loupe before plopping down a significant amount of cash (for me) is a major advantage!
Mmmmmmmmm, nice. I don't collect Barbers except for the three in my type set. But I do pick up an occasional coin just because of it's appeal. Yours certainly fits that description.
Wonderful coin. Nice work, Catbert ! Looks like it still has strong cartwheel - telltale for originality. :thumb: No camera can ever capture the color of a coin like that. I'm sure it's even better in hand.
Really nice coin and that reverse image is great. While at the Fun show I walked into three different conversations about Heritage's images. The first was a really cool older dealer that was upset because the image being used to sell one of his coins made the coin look like more than it really was. He knew the buyer would feel upset with it as well. The second was a conversation about how much better the coin looked in hand. The third was a collector saying he would not sell thru Heritage because they would not use his images. I would have a really tough time selling my collection. Do you use an image that shows the coin at it's best or at it's worst? Few do this and I understand why but more than one image of each side would be a small step closer to seeing the coin in hand.
Larry - it saddened me to see the various catalogue pictures and then see the actual coin in hand during lot viewing. So many coins I reviewed were not anywhere close to the coloring in the photos. Perhaps this is nothing new, but it was educational for me.
From my experience I have to say that it is very tough to get the right color from a coin in a photograph. Much of the color comes from the play of light against the metal of the coin and is the result of diffraction. This coloration is very hard to get in a photo that has enormous detail and which takes only an instantaneous and single view of the coin. Luster is similarly difficult to capture. I think Heritage takes so much heat because they seem to do a better job than anyone else at photographing coins in mass. they are frankly very good at it and that is driving up expectation. the guy who doesn't like them because the don't use his photos is, frankly, a lunatic. How can he expect them to accept a sellers photographs? Let him sell in the hornets nest of fraud and corruption called Ebay. For complex colored coins, you probably need a moving picture and if you search back you will see I do occasionally make short movies of shiny coins for cointalk to show luster and tone. But then you lose detail. And forget about what florescent lighting does to coin colors. It turns everything yellow. Ruben Ruben
In this case the guy knew he could do a better job with what he was selling and was not a stranger to selling on Ebay or Heritage. He was a lunatic just like the rest of us in this great hobby. Imaging is tough. I get blue with florescent and yellow with incandescent. Getting the white balance right is so important.
Ruben - I guess my point is that "buyer beware". If you rely upon their pictures, you have a good chance in being disappointed. Oh, for what its worth, their 2006 pictures of this same coin were better and more accurate, but still not great. In this case, they are going down hill.
