Coin Photos in Registry Sets

[Bennett]

I hate taking coin photos.  Not good at it and not worth the time for me.  At the same time, I'd like people to be able to easily see my coins when they look at my registry set.  The NGC coin lookup photos can be accessed by entering the cert number and the grade, but those photos are copyrighted and can't be cut and pasted into the registry photo slots.  I guess I understand that, but why can't there be a link to those photos in the registry.  Why  make it so hard for others to see my collection when the photos already exist?

[jgenn]

I hope you get a good reply from NGC but I can say that a year or two ago NGC removed the ability for people (other than the owner) to see the cert number for coins in sets.  There were probably several reasons why (I'm guessing privacy and registry set cheating are a few), so linking to your coin photo would reveal its cert number and that seems to be against current NGC policy.

[Ali E.]

Thank you for the inquiry.

The photos on the NGC coin site are proprietary, low-resolution photos. They are taken for certification verification and for security purposes. We do have imaging services available which include much higher quality resolution images. If you are interested, please contact NGC Customer Service at 1-800-642-2646. Or, you may take your own photos and upload them via your personal computer to your NGC Registry sets. You may reach us at registry@ngccoin.com, if you need assistance with this. We also do prefer to keep certification numbers private. It is up to the discretion of the owner if s/he would like to display a cert. number in an image. Thank you.

[physics-fan3.14]

On 5/23/2017 at 1:47 PM, Bennett said:

I hate taking coin photos.  Not good at it and not worth the time for me.  At the same time, I'd like people to be able to easily see my coins when they look at my registry set.  The NGC coin lookup photos can be accessed by entering the cert number and the grade, but those photos are copyrighted and can't be cut and pasted into the registry photo slots.  I guess I understand that, but why can't there be a link to those photos in the registry.  Why  make it so hard for others to see my collection when the photos already exist?

Just a suggestion - there are a wide number of very good photographers on the boards here (or other coin forums) who take superb pictures for a low fee, or free. They may be worth looking into. 

[Star City Homer]

Nowadays the cell phone cameras can do a pretty good job.  With a simple crop feature and taking shots in a good light and a plain background you could get serviceable shots.

That said, if you dislike the process of photographing/storing/uploading etc. that is still a step you'd probably like to skip.  On the other hand, maybe pick a short series and give it a shot (hah! see what I did there!).  You may find the process interesting enough that you'll decide you like it.

Or, as pf-3.14 said...it's not too hard to find an excellent photographer.  I started my photo career by getting beauty shots done of one of my sets by Todd/BluCC photo/something-vette on the boards.  I dropped them off at his table at a coin show and he emailed me the shots (combo shots plus white background ones suitable for the registry).  Loved them!  But now, after a few additions to the set, I'm taking my own which aren't quite professional but it's turned out to be another way to enjoy the coins.  If you want to see the work he shot the majority of this set:  Linkage .

[physics-fan3.14]

At this point, it may be better to start a new thread in the "Numismatic General" forum (or maybe move this one there). 

I'll just say - Todd/BluCC does well with Morgans, which are his specialty. Depending on what you collect, there are dozens of other photographers which can do better with other series.