Attn of Barry Murphy: Smoothed NGC slabbed syracuse decadrachm in auction

The coin has been smoothed in between the 2 auctions and the NGC slab does not mention the smoothing

 

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Maybe the current images show the coin in a more flattering light. Sometime I take dozens of pictures of a single coin with varying angles of light, different tilt of the coin, different camera settings, etc. In some of those pictures the coin might look hideous with terrible surfaces and in others it’s a beauty pageant winner.

 

smoothed ? Looks like a rim repair at the bottum end

 

To my eyes, this is purely a photo image difference. I randomly compared SEVERAL features from one photo to the other, and each feature was in BOTH photos. As to the rim, it looks like an illusion where the photo imaging software created a pure round cut-out, making "dark" spots of the original rim breaks.

These are photo / photo imaging differences, not deception.

Why was this posted?

 

I think the white “gasket” is obscuring the true edges, hiding the raggedy flan.

 

I also think they are photography differences, as surprising as that is. I recognized the coin from both sales: it's coming up at Heritage and was sold at Bertolami. It is certainly vastly more attractive in Heritage's pictures.

I did some Photoshopping of the Heritage image to see if I could mimic the lighting in the original Bertolami/ACR image. It didn't take long for the "unsmoothed" die rust to pop out.

This just further indicates why it's necessary to view coins in-hand before purchasing them:

 

And, here's a bit of Photoshopping on the original ACR/Bertolami image to try to make it a bit more Heritage-like. Note that in all cases, I'm just adjusting lighting effects, not painting or blurring over any part of the coin:

 

Very interesting discussion on how dramatic a difference lighting and photography can make. I don't blame the OP for posting and asking the question as it would be a large problem if smoothing to that degree went unlabeled by NGC. Kudos to
@TIF @Alegandron and especially @AncientJoe for slowing down a bit, giving the auction houses the benefit of the doubt, and doing a photoshop legwork.

 

Photography is more key to sales than many people realize. There is the photo which makes a coin look good, then there is the photo which shows the coin more closely in hand. I try to shoot for in hand. But that makes for smaller sales

 

This coin hasn’t been smoothed. It’s just a lighting difference and the light reflecting off the slab.

Barry Murphy.

 

One really good reason to learn to take coin photos is that it helps you learn to read coin photos taken by others. If you can tell how a photo was shot poorly, you might be able to find coins you know you want, or want to avoid, when the photo might suggest otherwise to most people.

 

Absolutely, and it's especially useful to understand the idiosyncrasies of particular auction houses as everyone shoots coins differently.

Practicing photographing my coins allowed me to be comfortable enough to buy this Boscoreale aureus off of eBay several years ago. It wasn't described as such but I've since pieced together about a dozen catalog entries for it back to its find in 1895.

Seller's pictures, in the highest resolution available:



My pictures (in sunlight, not saturation-enhanced):

 

Joe,

Do you use direct sunlight on a cloudless day or is this indirect sunlight?

Your photographs are amazing, I was surprised to read that you said you use a relatively inexpensive camera. Do you use a macro lens or diopter rings? Do you use manual focus?

Thanks,

John

 

Has a more surreal statement every been seen on CT?

One of the perennial favorite coins belonging to AJ and he bought it on eBay?! Priceless .

 

Don't tell us it is from Highrating_Fakeprices!

 

Definitely not! But it was from a US dealer that didn't know/couldn't care less about what they had. Needless to say, I quite happily paid their asking price.

I shoot on partly cloudy days, usually around 11am so that the ambient light is decently bright. I've tried replicating the lighting with artificial lights: Ottlite comes closest but I haven't been able to fully replicate our local fusion reactor.

I use a Canon Powershot G15, purchased from BestBuy for ~$300 a few years ago, just with the in-built lens and tend to rely on auto focus with minor tweaks if it doesn't focus directly on the high points.

 

But happier customers willing to buy from you again. Which is why you are near the top of my favorites dealers list, as I always known exactly what I'm getting based on your pictures.

Here is a coin I got from a different dealer. His picture showed a really shinny coin.



The coin I got looks a little different from the shinny picture above, and frankly I'm glad as I like the way it looks in hand better. However, it does get anoying not being able to figure out what a coin looks like at the time of purchase based on the seller's image.

 

Good posting! I prefer the in hand approach. It has taken a lot of trial, error, and experimentation. If you can properly photo copper/bronze, gold and silver are a walk in the park.