Here are four of the coins I purchased from the MSNS. Sorry they are scanner pics haven't quite mastered the photo thing yet. The two toned Morgans look much better in hand. The 1914 D looks ok has a spot of corrosion on face. Jack looked at it and said I did ok for what I paid. Hey its a decent 14 D.
Keep working on the photographs. These are really too small for my old eyes. The morgan on the left looks nice, but the one on the right looks dipped in the scans. Could just be the scan - scanners to funny things to the coins. The other two coins look good to me - AJ is more of an expert on lincolns than I ever will be.
In general scanners don't do well imaging coins. [NOTE: As with most generalized statements there are exceptions, often many.] 1. Scanners are designed to work best with 2-dimensional items like pieces of paper. Coins are 3-dimensional. Therefore focus is often a problem. 2. Scanners are designed to work best with the object directly on the scanning glass. Slabs keep the coin's surface away from the glass surface by a millimeter or two. Therefore focus is VERY often a problem. Macro-capable digital cameras are the best for imaging coins. So how can you improve your scanned images until you can get a camera? 1. Scan with a higher resolution. Your coin images are too small for us to get a good look. 2. Crop your images. Your coins are taking up only about one-third of the space of your picture. You need to chop off all that extra unused space around them. Finally, restrict your slab purchases to the major TPGs. IMO those are PCGS, NGC, ANACS and ICG. The grading from other TPGs ranges from questionable to out-and-out fraud. Looks like you have a good start. Read what the pros in here have to say AND pay attention to them. They may not always agree but they'll get you going the right direction.
Thanks Kanga for the information in regards to posting pictures in a thread. I had been talking with borgavan at the show and he was explaining his set up for taking pictues. It actually seems quite simple and he stated that he gets really high resolution pictures off his camera. I will have to try it out when I get some spare funds to buy one. I usually do not buy slabs from other than TPG's but the one I bought this time was at least what was advertised or better. The Morgans slabbed and raw were bought after close examination and comparison to other coins and look much better in hand. Actually the pictures were so fuzzy I was suprised you could read the graders name. The 14D is a fine overall and no more. Thanks again for the information.
