IN THE BEGINNING . . . of my auctions, in 1985, I made coin pictures on a xerox machine. How bad were they? Have a laugh! - www.fsrcoin.com/xerox.jpg

Then I got a state-of-the-art "Lepcyzk box." Named for auctioneer Joe Lepcyzk, it had a built-in Polaroid camera and lighting, to photograph several coins at a time. Initially,I used it to provide photos on request, charging $1 per shot, the cost of film. Then around 1995 I started sending out, with auctions, a printed sheet of about 100 coin pics.Making the layout was very time-consuming (and the film and printing were expensive).

Then new technology: a scanner, with photos produced on my printer. Picture quality was better, but there was still the tedious cut-and-paste.

Eventually I progressed to a digital camera, making my own set-up stage, and now, instead of printing, putting pictures online, of every lot: in layouts of twenty or so coinstogether in each image.

As other online auctions proliferated, I had to raise my game again, to now show individually each coin's obverse together with the reverse. I never did figure out anefficient way to get them side-by-side. Still, it took around 30 hours of work, with individual coin photoshopping of brightness/contrast, color, etc.

Ever trying for improvement, I did some research and got a better digital camera. A problem is lower resolution and increasing distortion outside the center of an image,limiting the number of coins in each shot.

When I mentioned to my wife starting on the pictures for this latest sale, she remarked, "My new phone has a really good camera." It's not an iPhone or other top-of-the-linemodel. But I tried it - with definitely better results. I could do more coins in each shot, with better image quality, needing less photoshop adjustments.

Ever upward. One day we'll be uploading the pictures directly into bidders' brains.

Happy New Year

Lot 31: "Make Dioskourias Great Again"

DIOSKOURIAS, Æ16, 1st-2nd cent BC, Caps of the Dioscuri inscribed "Make Dioskourias Great Again" (in Greek of course; stars above/Thyrsos & lgnd; S3629; ChoiceVF-EF, unusually good centering for this with obv design virtually complete, rare thus; smooth olive-brown patina.

Lot 38: Kamnaskires V

38 Kamnaskires V, 54-33 BC, Ar Tet, Bearded bust l., anchor at rt, star above/ lgnd & bearded bust left, GIC 5884 (£250); VF, obv perfectly centered & well struck,unusually good; rev typically very crude & weak. Silver with lt grey-brown tone.

Lot 51: Istros Stater

ISTROS, Stater or Drachm, 400-350 BC, Two facg hds, left inverted/Eagle atop dolphin, A below, as S1669 (£225); Nice EF, good centering & strike with heads complete &well detailed; decent bright silver. Much above average. Some scholars suggest the heads represent the Dioskuroi. Others say Bert & Ernie.

Lot 72: Antigonos Gonatas

Antigonos Gonatas, 277-239 BC, Tet., Pan head in shield/ Athena Alkidemos stg l, helmet in field, TI at rt; Choice EF, well centered amp;& struck, good metal with lt tone,unusually nice example with strong detail. Scarcer variety.

Lot 358: Majorian

MAJORIAN, Æ4, VICTORIA AVGGG, Victory stg l, MD, LRBC 582, RIC 2645; F-VF or better for this, obv sl off-ctr, lgnd off at rt but MAIORIAN present, rev sl crude with lgnd partlyoff at rt, mintmk quite clear. Lt brown with traces of pale green. Portrait fully clear. Really a good example, which most anyone else would grade VF (as did I, on my originalenvelope). Very rare -- more so than his gold. I got this, unidentified, out of a bagful of small late bronzes. Oddly enough, years later, I found an even nicer one for mycollection, in the same way - from the same dealer! (A "VF" [but rough, off-ctr & weak] brought $1700, Artemide 4/07.)

For more information, or to bid, see:
http://fsrcoin.com/j.html