I sent this to be slabbed by ANACS in May 2007, and it got the bodybag slab. My dealer swears it is natural toning, and the graders got it wrong. I have a good relationship with him: he offered to reimburse my purchase price and grading fees. I just kept it, because I liked the look (it's a bit different).
Oh, I forgot to apologize in advance for the blurry pictures: I try to hold the camera as still as possible, but I tremor and usually can't get a razor sharp picture. Any ideas? I have heard some posters talk about using tripods and the like. I don't yet know how far I want to go/can go with this picture taking 'thing' (how much I want to spend, whether I have the skill to justify the expense, etc.)
Thanks for the suggestion. Another poster on a different thread taught me about that last evening. Unfortunately, I was already using the macro setting when I took these pictures. Without the macro setting, the picture I take are hopelessly blurry (much worse than these). I guess I just shake too much I'm trying to brainstorm solutions; I've thought about putting the camera on the table and placing the coin perpendicular to the table by taping it against a book or something. But, I've found that the natural lighting gets screwed up and the images are too dark (if I use the flash, all of the pictures turn out blinding white).
Your coin looks NT to me. You don't need a tripod to take nice still shots. Lean the coin upright on a table and hold the camera down with your hands. http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o81/blauvelt407/loupe.jpg
Diocletian, Thanks for the suggestion. I've actually been experimenting with a set up similar to what you describe. But, I didn't think of tilting the coin so that it isn't at a perfect ninety degree angle; this seems to solve my problem with not enough light shining down from the ceiling onto the coin. Richard
With the macro setting make sure the coin is far enough away from the lens. Plus a cheap tripod really does help, but as mentioned you can hold the camera on firm flat surface. As to the original topic - I am not an expert, but it looks NT to me and that was very nice of the dealer to offer to accept the coin back(returning fee's also).
Looks perfectly NT from the pics, but better pictures would be helpful for a more authoritative answer.
Going by the pictures, it does look like an attractive coin. BTW; you can get a cheap tripod from Walmart for around $12.00, and they are more than adaquate. Good luck!
I have tripods and different lights and bulbs for different coins. But mostly I like keeping it simple. I'm tall enough to photo coins on top of my fridge ( a few feet away from the florescent light) Lean them on a cereal box and sometimes drape an opened napkin between the light and the coin.
Very nice coin. Its NT from what I can see and with the crescent toning it makes it a rather nice find. Not too many crescents out there on Peace $. It will get slabbed. Send it NGC though.
I like it and have seen that type of tone on peace dollars before. I believe that it is NT and as frattlaw said you don't see the crescent moon toned on peace dollars often.
I've been thinking about that. Maybe I can tilt the coin at a 45 degree angle so that it picks up more of the light from the ceiling?
I think these pics are a little clearer than the ones I originally posted. I took them with my camera pressed flat against the top of my ping pong table. Hopefully, they allow for more accurate assessment. Thanks!
