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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;oval_man, post: 2722227, member: 22602&quot;]I went for the first time to an HA auction preview, at Central States going on now. I was anxious to compare a varied list of coins I have been following on their website to those in hand to see what insights I might gain about the accuracy of their photography in general.</p><p><br /></p><p>HA takes great photos and my experience at the preview bore this out. I think they make a concerted effort to portray each coin to its best advantage while exposing any potentially problematic flaws<i>.</i> As I think any photographer would agree, it&#039;s often a tricky balancing act. (The coins I&#039;ve won from their auctions have all equaled or, in some cases, even surpassed their photos with the exception of one.)</p><p><br /></p><p>In this auction, I&#039;ve been following an 1861 IHC MS 65 which looks great in photos but proved problematic in hand. It&#039;s not CAC&#039;d, which was a red flag for me because I know Heritage encourages sellers to submit their better coins. (I auctioned coins through HA once; four of the five received the bean and I was very pleased with the auction results because of this).</p><p><br /></p><p>Upon seeing this &#039;61 IHC in hand I knew exactly why it hadn&#039;t CAC&#039;d: there are three parallel scratches on Liberty&#039;s face that do not show in the photo. I happened to show the coin to a seasoned dealer sitting next to me who, coincidentally, knows John Albanese well and said this coin would never pass.</p><p><br /></p><p>These scratches, while clearly evident under the right angle, took me a while to find; in fairness, it&#039;s very possible the HA photographers simply overlooked them. But they definitely compromise the coin&#039;s grade and appeal.</p><p><br /></p><p>Someone is going to win this coin and likely be very disappointed when they receive it. (The scratches are parallel with those in front of Liberty&#039;s eye. They are not as severe but expose fresh copper and thus are very noticeable at the right angle.)</p><p><a href="https://coins.ha.com/itm/indian-cents/small-cents/1861-1c-ms65-pcgs/a/1254-3493.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coins.ha.com/itm/indian-cents/small-cents/1861-1c-ms65-pcgs/a/1254-3493.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515" rel="nofollow">https://coins.ha.com/itm/indian-cents/small-cents/1861-1c-ms65-pcgs/a/1254-3493.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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