I was interested in following two items during the last Stacks Bower's world coin auctions but decided against bidding because i wasnt sure what coins may look like in hand. The true view images seems to be enhanced (IMHO) compared to the auctioneers photos. I am wondering if anyone else here have similar experience buying based on True view images.
TrueViews are "glamour shots"; make no mistake about it. I do not believe they are enhanced but rather photographed under optimal conditions that show the coin in its best light (literally). I'm all for it and love having TrueViews of my coins, though I can understand the viewpoint of critics of the " glamour shot". To me, as long as the images accurately portray the coin as it looks in hand (admittedly under ideal conditions), with no dishonest manipulation or enhancement- I see nothing wrong with it. The examples posted here showcase the skill of Phil Arnold and the PCGS Photo team. This service is really the primary reason I prefer PCGS.
@lordmarcovan nailed it! I would consider TrueViews a "best case scenario" image. Most of the coins that I have had with TrueViews were fairly close to the image. A few were better than the image (although some of those images were from the early days of the service). I usually like to see an additional image besides the TrueView when purchasing. If you think that the TrueView is too unlike the other photos, then it is a wise decision to pass on the item.
Exactly. "Best Case". Nothing wrong with that, but you're right- it IS best to have an alternate set of images. That way you can " read between the lines", so to speak. In my collection, I display the TrueViews, but when I show the full-slab shots, the latter are often my own work. Sometimes my slab shots are done hastily on a cellphone or even a scanner. So they're more like "anti-glamour shots" - almost a "worst case" scenario. So if I sell one of my coins, the potential buyer can see both the best-case TrueView and worst-case slab shot, for contrast.
Without the coin in hand hard to say what is more accurate. Some of the auction scuffs could be on the slab having to shoot through plastic. Both show the hits pretty clearly. Copper coins a decent amount of time will look better than the trueviews from some of the ones I've seen. Both PCGS and the auction houses just set up to maximize accuracy for most coin. They don't have 30 minutes to spend on a coin unless it very valuable to get it exactly right a 100 percent of the time. Most will be pretty accurate, some better, some worse.
I brought this topic up not too long ago (see here). It was heavily debated. I think the consensus was that TrueView, although nice, is deceiving (not in an unethical way). I'm not saying anyone at PCGS is intentionally being deceitful but they are like a "glamour shot", as other members have referred to them.
I'll make the same point here I did in Endeavor's thread - if you light the coin as optimally for your eye as Phil (or any decent photographer) does for the camera, this coin will look like the True View in-hand. There is, however, only one set of lighting angles, one distance from your eye and one coin angle relative to your eyeballs which will work. Which is why we don't do that when observing coins in-hand.
Think of TruView like the shots you see of beautiful women in magazines - if you met them in real life, sure, they'll be very attractive, but they won't really look like they do in the magazine.
