New photos of my AMCC 1 pick bin win

It only took me about a year ... but I finally got around to taking my own photo of my AMCC 1 pick bin win. My excitement for the upcoming AMCC 2 has led me to look back over my previous wins and finally give them some much needed love and attention.

This example is nothing particularly special (other than the fact that Trajan was a beast man) but I find it to be a really pleasant coin with nice metal. I was happy to snag this one out of the pick bin for a great price. I am not sure if it is the time I spend playing with a coin while getting it ready to photograph but I always feel better about a purchase after I have taken my own photo and am satisfied with the result.


Roman Empire
Trajan (AD 98-117)
AR Denarius, Rome mint, struck ca. AD 110
Dia.: 18 mm
Wt.: 3.46 g
Obv.: IMP TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P, Laureate bust right, slight drapery on far shoulder.
Rev.: COS V P P SPQR OPTIMO PRINC, Roma standing left, holding Victory and Spear
Ref.: RIC II 115 var., Woytek 287b
Ex AMCC 1, lot 396 (Dec. 2018), Ex Spartan Numismatics with tag

For comparison here is @Severus Alexander 's photo from the auction.


It's a good photo but not quite as nice as the coin in-hand in my opinion (no offense intended SA, I would rather be pleasantly surprised!).

Let's see your

• AMCC pick bin wins
• Coins you like better after photographing

 

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That's a great deal better pic Curtis, it seems to show a lot more depth with devices. This Juba coin I bought from Den of Antiquity seemed a bit washed out and more pale than the coin in hand.
Den of Antiquity Pic.
And my pic taken a few days after recieving.

 

Nice! Some of those pick bin lots were real bargains... I won't make the mistake of not buying more this time around.

Fantastic example, AA. I'm envious!

The auction I purchased this Trajan denarius from last year had some truly terrible photos. Looking at the original pics now, I have to wonder what possessed me to buy it.



Fortunately, it was a much nicer coin in hand.

 

Wow that is a nice coin AA!

What a difference in photos, Z. The auction certainly wasn’t doing themselves any favors. It makes you wonder what other gems were hiding behind those terrible photos!

 

...really, there's nothing sweeter than a "bad" seller photo of a coin you buy and find it's much better in hand....to me anyway. i've bought a few of them as such..

 

A couple years ago I suddenly got the itch to grab a few Republican coins, and by some miracle spotted a few fantastic offerings from Agora.

Aemilius Lepidus
Agora photo:

Mine:


Servilius Rulli
Agora

Mine


M Furius
Agora

Mine


Their photos are overblown and too red; mine do better to show the cabinet toning, although I have yet to properly capture the Rulli denarius - it is still a bit lustrous under a deep amber cabinet tone.

 

I remember AMCC 1 very fondly – there were a great many wonderful coins in this auction. AMCC 2, with an in my opinion even better catalogue, is going to happen on Saturday, and you can be sure that I have already picked my targets...

Here are some pick bin wins from the first auction, each with @Severus Alexander 's and my own picture. His are much better, I have to admit...



Macedonia, Eion, trihemiobol, ca. 460-400 BC. Obv: Goose standing r., head turned l.; lizard curving l. above; H to lower r. Rev: quadripartite incuse square. 12 mm, 0,71g. Ref: SNG Cop 179. Ex AMCC 1, lot 329.




Pontos, Amisos, AR drachm (Chian standard), 4th c. BC. Obv: turreted head of Hera-Tyche l. Rev: Owl with spread wings facing, ME-ΓA below, Π in left field. 15mm, 3.8g. SNG BM Black Sea 1099. Ex AMCC 1, lot 342.




Sabina, Roman Empire, denarius, 128–136 AD, Rome mint. Obv: SABINA AVGUSTA; diademed and draped bust of Sabina r. Rev: VENERI GENETRICI; Venus standing facing, head l., holding out apple in l. hand and drawing a fold of drapery from l. shoulder with r. hand. 19mm, 2.9g. Ref: RIC II Hadrian 396. Ex AMCC 1, lot 401.




Lucilla, Roman Empire, denarius, 164–180 AD, Rome mint. Obv: LVCILLA AVG, bust of Lucilla, draped, r. Rev: VENUS VICTRIX Venus standing half l., holding Victory in r. hand, l. hand on shield set on helmet. 17mm, 2.27g. Ref: RIC III, Marcus Aurelius 787. Ex AMCC 1, lot 412.

 

Here are my three children from AMCC1:




Can you tell which pictures are mine? I mixed them up with @Severus Alexander's superior photos. I know, it's really hard to tell.

I remember seriously checking out that Eion trihemiobol. I love ancients with reptiles on them.

Erin

 

Nice (re)shootin', Curtis! The coin's surfaces and toning look very appealing in your photo.

Curtis's post brings up a good point. Sometimes a seller has to err on the side of less flattering images, focusing instead on showing the devices as clearly as possible. Plus, just as we all may have different opinions about what is and isn't "fine style", we all have different preferences in coin photos. Background color, lighting direction, strength of contrast, depth of focus, etc...

An auction company has hundreds of coins to photograph at one time rather than just a few. Glad I'm not the one having to take all of those pictures!!

I haven't successfully reshot most of my AMCC1 coins. I tried and failed to take a better picture of the Themistokles but Sev's pictures were much better than mine and now my coins are thousands of miles away (I'll be reunited at the end of the year ).

@zumbly, wow-- that's a dramatic difference!

 

My AMCC I capture from Thomas


APULIA Luceria 211-200 BCE AE Quadrunx 9.7g 24mm Hd Herakles R lion skin headdress 4 pellets behind - LOVCERI Quiver club bow SNG Cop 660
Ex: @Severus Alexander 1st Auction (AMCC 1)
Ex: @Justin Lee Collection

 

Don’t feel bad, I haven’t been completely successful yet either! Sev took a really nice photo of this Septimus Severus that I still need to try and photograph again.

Coupled with your correct observation about how many photos are taken per auction it just goes to show what a nice job SA did. Good photos that still left room to be pleasantly surprised.

Thanks TIF

 

I've been so busy I didn't get a chance to respond to this thread! Thanks for the many kind words above, and I'm glad I had a few photography wins at least. It is indeed challenge to take and assemble 500+ coin photos... and I have to force myself not to spend too long on the pick-bin coins. (More bargains, I guess!)

@Curtisimo, your new photo of the Trajan is magnificent!!

Here's my favourite (only?) pick-bin win from last time:

Han dynasty "goose eye" wu zhu, Hartill 10.29

What makes this particularly cool is its size: only 0.64g and 11.5mm. (Also it's ex @TypeCoin971793!) According to Hartill, these have been found in Western Han tombs of 73-33 BCE.

I do like the pick-bin and will be continuing with it, even though it sure ain't no moneymaker. I think of it as a service to the hobby, and maybe will even bring in some new collectors? I hope so, anyway.

Here's a grid of pick-bin coins from tomorrow's auction. (Hopefully appropriate to post here... it's a fun image, yes?) I think my photography is improving. One big help has been to use a remote for the shutter. Now I'm much less likely to get a little blur, as on the obverse of the wu zhu (though that's also partly softness on the coin). I'm also using more direct lighting to highlight the devices, like Curtis did in the OP.

Wait, I lie... not all of these are my photos, some are @dougsmit's who kindly gave me permission to use his awesome work. (Thanks again, Doug!)

 

Fantastic digital collage! If a single bidder buys every pick bin coin you should print and send them this poster .

 

Glad to see you’re finding some extra time to catch up on CT with AMCC 2 getting close to being wrapped up.

...now when does AMCC 3 post!

Just kidding brother. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

 

Nice coins all, I've just put some bids down on 4 coins I'm wanting

 

Not going to lie, I really want a @dougsmit pedigree coin... my phone will be on fire tomorrow

 

@TIF posted in another thread a coin @dougsmit gave her that had proven challenging for the both of them to photograph. It made me think of this thread, and also reminded me of my own ex Doug coin purchased two years ago that has (annoyingly) defeated on multiple occasions my attempts to take a decent photograph of it. I wasn't hopeful, but I decided to give it another go.

Here it is in JA's original auction photograph. The coin is as dark as it appears int he pic, but not as green. The underlying colour is more brown.



I don't consider my latest efforts great, but I can live with them, and more importantly, I now like the coin more than I did before.


SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
AE28. 12.33g, 27.7mm. MOESIA INFERIOR, Nicopolis ad Istrum, struck AD 193-195. Pollenius Auspex, consular legate. Varbanov -; Hristova-Hoeft-Jekov (2018) 8.14.32.1 (same dies). O: [AV KA]I CEΠ CE[VHPOC ΠEP], laureate head right. R: VΠA ΠOΛ AV[CΠIKOC NIKOΠO]TΩN ΠPOC ICTP, River god reclining left, holding cornucopia and resting on inverted vase from which water flows.
Ex Doug Smith Collection #1698

On the topic of AMCC pick bin wins, two of the three ex Doug coins I won in AMCC 2 were from the pick bin. I think the photos featured in the auction (Doug's?) are great. I suspect I won't be making the mistake of trying to take my own.


SELEUKID KINGDOM: Seleukos IV (187-175 BCE), AE20, serrate. 7.00g.
Obv: Wreathed bust of Dionysos right, thyrsos over shoulder; monogram behind
Rev: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ/ΑΡ/ΣΕΛΕΥΚΟΥ, prow left
SC 1316.2b
From the Doug Smith collection, acquired in 1995 from Guy Clark.
Smith notes that the centration dimple on the obverse is oddly off centre, with respect to both the design and the flan.


Constans (337-350), AE centenionalis, issued 348-50. Heraclea, 3.8g.
Obv: D N CONSTANS P F AVG, bust left holding globe
Rev: FEL TEMP REPARATION, SMH? in ex., Soldier advancing r., head l., holding spear, leading small figure from hut beneath tree
RIC 7 (p. 435)
From the Doug Smith collection, acquired in 2000 from Pete Burbules.
On some examples from Heraclea, including this one, the barbarian emerging from the hut appears to be holding a bow.

 

Doug Smith provenance coins are no big deal. I have over 3000 of them. Nine got no bids in AMCC2. ex. Windsor coins 2002. That was the peak of my collecting phase. I retired for the last time in 2003 which really limited my purchasing of coins for a few years. About that same time, I bought my first Canon dSLR (a Digital Rebel/300D) and spent a bit off time learning to use it. I wish my pictures taken this year were as good as some I did then but I'm hit and miss these days.

 

Well, it looks like all this time, I should have just asked you for your pic of it! Thanks for the added sale info.