toned morgan ... artificial or natural?

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by WingedLiberty, Jun 18, 2010.

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  1. BadThad

    BadThad Calibrated for Lincolns

    Quiet Doug...you're giving away my secrets. (my avatar) :)

    bbruff22 - The camera angle and/or lighting make all the difference. Learning to judge coins by pictures is an art. It takes a LOT of experience and we have many of those types people on the forum.

    My advice to you is to visit some dealers and coin shows if you're looking for toners. They are far easier to evalutate in hand. You should also spend a lot of time on ha.com, it's well worth joining (free). A lot of my photograding skills came from looking at a million Lincolns on there.
     
    BadThad, Jun 22, 2010
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  3. Leadfoot

    Leadfoot there is no spoon

    Lesson #18 in toned coin collecting....

    Learn to recognize dark spotted toners from photos.

    Sorry you had to learn the hard way -- at least it only cost you postage.
     
    Leadfoot, Jun 23, 2010
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  4. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    yes ... the education i got was well worth the $4 !

    this is why only buying coins that have a return policy is a good idea

    (amazed how many ebay listings have a "no returns" policy)
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
    #43 + Quote Reply
  5. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    come to think of it ... i have bought perhaps 15 coins on ebay over the past 9 months ... and i have returned 10 (keeping 5) ... it's kind of amazing that even with large photos the coins often look quite different in hand

    some of my mistake was buying a bunch of raw (ungraded) coins early on ... the photos looked great ... but when they came they were obviously cleaned (those telltale hairlines) or they just looked uglier than the beautiful photo's displayed.

    It's kind of unfortunate that even after I switched to PCGS and NGC grades coins only ... i still get these "surprises" in the mail ... a photo of a coin can be played with ... but in hand there are no illusions.

    So my advice to online buyers is always look for a return policy and make sure it doesnt exclude third party graded (TPG) coins.
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
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  6. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    Leadfoot ... i realize you were probably joking ... but I love the idea of a top 10 list of toned coin buying suggestions.

    If any of our resident toned coin experts could post something like that ... i bet a lot of people would benefit!
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
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  7. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Let me show you something. The pics you see below are of the same identical coin. It was my coin and I took the pictures. Both pictures were taken with the same camera, at the same time, with the same settings on the camera.

    The only thing that changed was the angle of the camera in relation to the coin and the angle of the lighting. Nothing else was different.

    Pictures can be quite deceiving, but yet honest at the same time. Both of these pictures show the coin exactly as it looks in hand. It just depends on the angles of your sight line and the angles of the light.
     

    Attached Files:

    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
    #46 + Quote Reply
  8. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    And for good measure, one last pic of the entire set in its original holder.

    The coin in the other pics is the large on on the upper left.
     

    Attached Files:

    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
    #47 + Quote Reply
  9. bbruff22

    bbruff22 Junior Member

    Thanks for the advise. That's good stuff.
     
    bbruff22, Jun 23, 2010
    #48 + Quote Reply
  10. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    Thanks for posting that GD ... i guess this just makes me want to buy stuff live instead of off the internet
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
    #49 + Quote Reply
  11. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Absolutely ! And never forget, a picture only tells you what the owner of that picture wants you to see. Ask anybody who takes coin pics how many pics they took before they got the pic they wanted. I have taken as many as 100 pictures of a single coin just trying to capture a particular look to share with others.

    The same thing that I did can be done with virtually any toned coin.
     
    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
    #50 + Quote Reply
  12. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    You know what would be cool GD ... is if people could make 3D interactive videos of their tones coins ... like this shown in the link below ... that's probably the only realistic way to show off a toner

    http://usmint.gov/mint_programs/ultrahigh/coin.html
    This is a screen capture of stills of the coin at various angles

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
    #51 + Quote Reply
  13. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    i have one last question GD ...

    Do ANY toned coins show the toning from all angles including straight on?

    Or if you see "colors" on a coin in a photo ... then you know it was hit with light at an angle and will only show the colors at that lighting angle?

    For example ... would all these coins look much worse (more drab) than these photos when viewed in normal lighting conditions?

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
    #52 + Quote Reply
  14. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    They can. Heritage even has some coins shown in video format now.
     
    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
    #53 + Quote Reply
  15. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Some will show some color from any angle. But every angle will look different than all the rest. And some will show no color whatsoever unless viewed at one specific angle.

    I used to own a particular original '58 Mint Set. One of the halves in that set looked quite oridinary - unless you got it tilted just right in the light. When you did, the entire obv had this absolutely gorgeous translucent red toning. I worked for a week to get that picture.

    This is true in every case. As I said, whatever colors, or lack of colors, you may see at any given angle - you will only see them at that particular angle.


    Yes, they would.
     
    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
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  16. WingedLiberty

    WingedLiberty Well-Known Member

    Thank you GD ... You just taught me a boatload!
    I really appreciate it.
     
    WingedLiberty, Jun 23, 2010
    #55 + Quote Reply
  17. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    Hopefully you realize that not everybody wants you to know what you just learned.
     
    GDJMSP, Jun 23, 2010
    #56 + Quote Reply
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