Hi all, I'm again looking for opinions of the showcase below: https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/co...-rare/u1tonings-eclectic-world-toned-set/9797 Please share any comments or suggestions. For example, would you change any of the descriptions? If so, which ones and why? I have updated the world map (added a few coins), added two coins to the showcase (and a third is pending removal from another person before I can add it), and subtracted a coin that did not really fit. Please also like on that page (need to login to facebook) and/or leave a comment (need to login to your pcgs account). New map: Old map:
What is a showcase? I'm not sure I get what this is supposed to be. To me, it looks like a middle-school science fair poster board with pictures randomly attached on a globe. Or, a first year photoshop fail with poorly edited images superimposed on a generic map. There are random coins with random shades of blue backgrounds floating mid-ocean, with no context, no information, no info to tie them to any point.... I just don't get it. They are absolutely gorgeous coins, of course, and the pictures of the coins themselves look quite nice. I just don't understand what this presentation is supposed to be? I'm really sorry if those comments sound harsh. Maybe I'm missing the point. It just looks completely amateur.
Factual portion of my response: All the included coins are absolutely gorgeous. The images speak for themselves. Opinion/constructive criticism portion of my response: Aesthetically I would recommend circle-cropping the images (except the square coin) and using .png files without a background so there aren't squares around the images. In my opinion, the squares of blank color detract from the attractiveness of the images of the coins. Getting rid of this helps the viewer focus solely on the images. If you'd like me to do it for you, I can do the circle cropping/creating a .png image for free. It won't take more than a couple minutes. I would also recommend eliminating the sole black corner in one of two ways: 1) make all the background the deep blue color or (preferable) 2) enlarge and crop the globe, eliminate the deep blue background, and create a title plate for your text that's superimposed over one edge (top, bottom) of your globe. The enlarged globe will give more room for your coin images, the symmetry of the title placement will allow the images of the coins to be the focal point of your image, not the high-contrast black corner that doesn't match anything else. I feel like it's a little confusing to include a globe, have some of the coins near their geographical origin, but some way off (The thaler over Antarctica, for example.) I wonder if you could outline the country in a particular color, and have a similarly colored ring around the matching coin? This might be a bit more work than it's worth, just an idea. It's an interesting group of coins, and an fun way to present them. Thank you for sharing!
Oh... and I just noticed... the custom set you have listed below the picture has 11 coins, but you only have 10 pictured. Either show all the coins on your display board, or remove one of the coins from your set! (Given that your Kazakh apple coin is completely untoned, it feels significantly out of place in this set...) Again... maybe I'm just not understanding what this "showcase" thing is.
I agree with physics fan and stldanceartist. I am struggling to see why a world map when it's not quite representing the world or continents. Coins are nice but the theme doesn't seem right.
@stldanceartist those are good suggestions and I will attempt the circle cropping plus matching the coins to the countries (with an outline/arrow) unless it would be better to eliminate the globe completely? @physics-fan3.14 and @gxseries the showcase is something relatively new from PCGS to display toned coins with TrueViews (all the coins must have them and that needs to be the main picture). There is an overall description text section which allows some input on the set (including adding an image). My coins don't cover the entire world, but the idea is to represent as much of it as possible (within the max of 20 coins allowed; I only have 12 coins but they do cover North America/Central/South America/Europe/Asia).
If you're going for a global Box of 20, then a world map isn't a bad idea. But, the pictures need to be cropped properly, and they need to be tied to the place they came from. If you were going to do that, it might also be more beneficial to have the coins closer to their countries.... Having a French coin in the Bering Straight isn't the most informative. If your goal is to highlight certain countries, don't be afraid to cover up other ones (for example, put the French coin in the North Sea, and if it covers up England... I'm sure the French won't mind).
Or maybe have the globe centered with a border around it large enough to have the coin images surrounding it, then find a way you like to tie the coins to their geographical locations? Kind of like:
What about a series of squares with the country in them and the circle cropped coin in the center of it? You could do that in a 5x4 grid and just country outlines not necessarily to scale with each other and title the square by country or coin or whatever you're trying to convey. I'm not a fan of maps. Like even the state quarter map books run into a "available space" issue and put them nearby instead of where they should be because then the map would need to be huge. That map is gonna look crowded and busy when you get to 20 on there. Just an idea of another way to go with it. It's just gonna get more spacially confusing the more you add on the way to 20. I don't know where the heck you put the next 10 coins the way it is now before it's all just coins and hardly any map. Maybe like Stldanceartist suggests with a centered map and 7x5 frame of boxes, 7 across the top, 7 across the bottom and 3 on each side framing the map. Or 8x4. Ideally I'd think you'd want a way to expand it to 20 without having to reinvent the wheel each time to add a coin.
Very nice looking set. In the comments section perhaps you could add some flowery description of the toning on the coins. (Like the major auction sites do).
A high school science fair project? That is rude and gratuitously insulting. No need to put down someone’s efforts. I found it colorful, and interesting. Is it perfect? No. Does it display the coins in an attractive and positive way? Yes. It is not intended to be a perfect representation of the physical world, and it’s coinage, but one’s attempt to relate world coinage to the actual world. Criticisms like this are not only counterintuitive; they are a sad attempt at bullying. Frankly, I liked the display as a first effort. I left my positive comments on PCGS.
Thank you @Beefer518 ! I like the one he made. I also started a second version. Here is the preliminary version:
I liked the other one—it was more colorful. The negative comments were not constructive. It does not have to have the coins telegraphed to the country of origin. PCGS showcases are for show, and dazzle. With my World Coin registries, I go for color and pizzaz.