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brg5658

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Posts posted by brg5658


  1. Sorry I am slow to this discussion.

    I have several of these - many from the original INA strikings that were sold in the Jul 2001 Spink sale, and other from more recent strikings in 2007 and 2008.

    Here are some that I have photographed.  Many more than I have not imaged.

     

    1910-Dated_Crown_Fantasy_Edward7_NGC_PF6

    1879_X81b_copper_Victoria_3graces_compos

    1879_FantasyCrown_Silver_X81_raw_composi

    1879_X82_silver_shield_crown_composite_z

    1879_X83_silver_stgeorge_dragon_composit

    • Like 1

  2. On 7/15/2019 at 2:52 PM, VickySilver said:

    Would it bother you if the US Mint were to begin trading in the classics, buying and selling in competition with other dealers? I guess we could make all the National Mints participate in the primary and secondary markets, manipulate it as they please with the backing of their governments. I would rather them stick to their own business of minting coins, and go ahead and make their monies from that enterprise.

    Why would it bother me?  No one is being forced to buy this garbage at inflated prices.


  3. On 7/14/2019 at 5:03 AM, copper123 said:

    Anyone think its a conflict of interest when a company that makes coins also makes money from selling them !

    Huh? 

    Doesn't every business that makes things also make money from selling those things?  Isn't that the definition of a business?  Provide a service (or item) and get paid for it?  If they didn't make money, why would they continue to make things?

    🤔

    • Like 2

  4. Photobucket has ruined most blogs and forums...it's outright criminal behaviour, but clearly "allowed" in their fine print that we all agreed to.  I moved my photos onto a privately hosted site that a friend manages.  I had also considered Imageshack briefly...but who knows when such a site will also hold your images for ransom.  

    :wacko:


  5. On 8/2/2017 at 4:32 PM, Paulus said:

    Question for other Conder token collectors on here - I use the following sellers to source my tokens, any others I should be looking at?

    • ABC coins and tokens (David Stuart)
    • Baldwins (of St James)
    • John Newman (johnnyqc on eBay)
    • Druids Revenge (eBay Seller)

     

    On this side of the pond (USA), the main sources are:

    • Bill McKivor (The Copper Corner; no pictures but issues a quarterly list of offerings; planning to retire soon)
    • Dr. Gary Sriro (garysriro on eBay; sporadic offerings on eBay; known for likely the most complete collection of Conder varieties ever collected )
    • Heritage auctions (occasional large collections; otherwise sporadic smaller groupings)
    • Gary Groll (I have never purchased anything from him, because I find his asking prices to be mostly absurd)
    • James Ricks at Atlas Numismatics (often aggressive pricing, but the occasional "deal" can be found)
    • Ernie Latter (cwtguy on eBay; usually has a few for sale in true auctions; some BIN also)
    • Stephen Oatway (Based in Canada; britannianumismatics on eBay; usually has a few Conders in stock)
    • Holgate Numismatics (andiepaul03 on eBay; Largely sourced material from Heritage Auctions with price mark ups)
    • Ancient Galleon, LLC (ancientgalleonllc on eBay; decent selection and variety)

  6. I'm curious now as to how eBay defines a "replica".  

    For example, CoinCraft has manufactured Fantasy coins for years.  These are not "replicas" in the definition I go by, because they do not replicate any coin that actually exists.  They are Fantasy Coins or Novelty Coins.  They are becoming more and more collectible, and the two largest TPGs in the USA (NGC and PCGS) will happily put them in plastic for you if you so desire.

     


  7. On 5/13/2017 at 0:34 PM, Paulus said:

    Fabulous! Not copper though !:lol:

    Hi @Paulus

    It is either bronzed copper or copper + a bit of impurities (likely 95%+ copper).  I think that qualifies for this thread.

    I won't be paying for an XRF analysis on this one, but I think it is likely bronzed copper -- i.e., all copper metal blank with a bronzing dust used at the time of striking to protect the surfaces and/or add sheen. ;) 

    I disagree with the PCGS determination that this was a "specimen" or "special" strike (SP designation).  The die had a bit of gunk between the horses' front legs at the time of striking, and I doubt a medal of this type had various finishes or strikings.  PCGS tends to overuse their SP designation on a lot of medals from this time period.  It was likely struck with an inordinate amount of pressure, but any medal of this size (~50mm diameter) struck in 1820 would have required a phenomenal amount of tonnage for striking, and probably multiple blows to bring up the full high relief details in Victory and the horses.


  8. 1820_medal_obv_PCGS_SP65_composite_zps07

    FRANCE. 1820 AE Medal. PCGS SP65. By Barre. 50.6mm.
    (Bramsen 1831; Slg. Julius 3685.)
    Obverse: Winged Victory in quadriga over globe depicting Europe and Egypt.
    Reverse: Legend in wreath of laurel and oak branches. / LES SOUSCRIPTEURS ASSOCIÉS POUR TRANSMETTRE A LA POSTÉRITÉ LES VICTOIRES ET CONQUÊTES DES FRANCAIS DE 1795 A 1815. ÉDITEUR C. L. F. PANCKOUCKE 1820. 
    Bramsen 1831; Slg. Julius 3685.

    Struck for the subscribers to a work by C. L. F. Panckoucke, on the victories and conquests of Napoleon. Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke, born on 26 Dec 1780 in Paris and died on 11 Jul 1844 in Meudon, was a French writer, printer, bookseller, and publisher. His most famous published work as editor was that for which this medal was created, published in Paris in 1820.

    Ex E. J. Haeberlin collection. Ernst Justus Haeberlin (born 19 Jun 1847 in Frankfurt, Germany, died 5 Dec 1925 ) was a lawyer and commercial councilor in Frankfurt am Main. However, Haeberlin became known primarily as a numismatist. In 1906 he was a co-founder of the Frankfurt Numismatic Society. His coin collection was dispersed after his death, with the Aes-Grave portion and other items entering the coin cabinet of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin .

    • Like 1

  9. 18 hours ago, secret santa said:

    No-one yet has answered my question as to how PGCS managed to produce such fantastic photos.......

     

    The biggest advantage PCGS has, is that they are photographing the coin outside of the plastic.  I have no idea what Spink is doing (also out of the plastic), but their images are awful.  The truth is clearly somewhere in between.  It is clear to see that the coin as photographed by Spink had PVC residue, and Atlas/PCGS likely actually saved the coin from being completely ruined.  

    As for how PCGS manages to produce such "fantastic" photos, it is because they photograph coins, particularly proof coins, tilted into the light source.  Thus, the surfaces are often completely blown out with light, hiding hairlines and other potential problems or things that a buyer would want to know/see.  But, accentuating and overemphasizing color.

    Phil Arnold (the PCGS lead photographer, who developed the TrueView service line) is mostly interested in photographing coins from an "artistic" standpoint.  He wants to show them in their best clothes.  For those of us who are also numismatic photographers, Phil's photos are known in the business as the glamour shots of a coin.  They are flattering and often hide surface attributes, but they sure are "pretty" (if you collect photographs, instead of coins!).  

    Lastly, I will state that PCGS TrueView images are consistently and annoyingly red-shifted.  They are not doing any "funny business" in Photoshop or in post processing (they have to photograph WAY too many coins per day to have time for that), but the lights they use and the white balance they use always shifts the colors and over-saturates the colors toward the higher end of the red spectrum.  This annoys me to no end, and I have told Phil directly that it is not an honest way of presenting coins, but the opinion seems to be it has always been that way, and we don't want to change it now.  

    Sigh...

    :wacko:

    • Like 1

  10. Lighting is immensely important - I'd say the most important ingredient for taking good coin images.  The type of light bulb (LED, incandescent, fluorescent) you use is less important, but understanding how to use that light source is key.  For example, being able to set a custom white balance in your camera for your particular lights is key to getting realistic colors.  The size of the light source (small bulb vs. large bulb) or the apparent size of the light source (e.g., a small light source diffused acts like a larger light source) is also important for fully lighting the coin's surface.  The angle of the lights changes the appearance of the coin's surfaces a lot -- and your lights should always be placed above your mounted camera lens, if not even higher.  With regard to lighting (in particularly angle), I wrote up a little article on the NGC forums some 3+ years ago, and I think it may be helpful.  Keep your lights at a high angle to the surface on which the coin is placed, and diffuse them enough or use large enough light point surfaces to avoid hot spots on the coin.  See my little schematic below of what my photography rig looks like.

    Lighting_Schematic_zps8afa4412.jpg

    Second to lighting, I would say that mounting your camera on a solid copy stand or tripod is very important.  Images taken with a hand held camera will be a bit "shaky" or lacking in detail.  I have seen hand-held images of coins that get the message across, but the ability to zoom in and see details or inspect surfaces is very limited.  Not only is mounting your camera on a sturdy surface important, but it is also important that your camera is aligned to the flat surface of the coin properly.  By that I mean, the camera's detector (a small rectangular flat surface at the back of the lens where the image is focused) needs to be perfectly parallel with the coin's surface (i.e., in parallel planes).  This is important for focusing reasons.  The easiest way to make sure your camera is mounted parallel with the surface on which the coin is placed is to use a little mirror.  Place the mirror where you would place the coin, and adjust your camera in the x, y, and z planes as needed until the center of your lens' reflection is perfectly centered in the camera's viewfinder.  See the little schematic I created below.

    Centering_the_viewfinder_zpsedabc3fb.jpg

    Lastly, practice, practice, and practice some more.  I have now taken somewhere around 20,000 images of coins over the past 7 years.  I have only been happy with my images for the past 4.5 years.  It takes a while to get up to "happy" quality -- and I'm still improving my images and tweaking things today.  I try to take at least some coin photos 2-3 days of every week.  It just keeps me in the "zone".

    I hope some of these hints help a little.

    Best, Brandon

    • Like 8

  11. 56 minutes ago, azda said:

    CGS had a table of their grades and their equivalents on the LCs website, i think it's since been taken down, but if you hit the link below you"ll see the American grades and the British equivalent along with the others from other various European countries

    http://www.pcgseurope.com/grading/comparison?l=en

    I happened to have made a copy of the table from their site a couple years back.

    CGS_grading1_zpsbd855043.jpg
    CGS_grading2_zpsba612376.jpg

    • Like 1
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