Buying from photographs: what an image must show

Guides · 8 September 2026

Most collecting now happens through a screen, and most disagreements afterwards come from something the photograph did not show. A good listing image is not a flattering one – it is a complete one. Knowing which views must be there, and what their absence usually means, prevents the majority of bad purchases before any money moves.

The shots a listing must include

1. Both sides, in full. Non-negotiable for every category. On stamps the back carries gum and thins; on coins the reverse is half the identification; on badges the fastening and maker's mark live there.
2. The whole item with its edges. Nothing cropped. Margins, perforation, rims and corners are where condition lives, as in the guides to perforation and coin condition.
3. One raking-light shot. Side light reveals folds on paper, scratches and cleaning on metal, and relief on struck items. Its absence is not proof of anything, but it is the shot problems hide behind.
4. A scale reference. A ruler or a known object, especially for anything where size distinguishes an original from a reproduction, as in the guide to telling an original from a copy.
5. Detail crops of the signs that matter. Serial number on a banknote, mint mark on a coin, overprint on a stamp – each discussed in its own guide.

Warning signs in an image

• Only one side shown. The commonest omission and the most expensive.
• Heavy direct light or flash. It flattens the surface and hides both scratches and cleaning – the effect explained in the guide to photographing a collection.
• Aggressive editing. Oversaturated colour and heavy sharpening invent detail and misrepresent shade, which matters for the reasons in the guide to shades.
• Shot through a holder. Plastic haze conveniently softens everything.
• A stock image. If the picture is not of the actual item, there is nothing to judge.
• Angled photography. A tilted coin or stamp hides edge damage and distorts proportions.

Questions worth asking before paying

1. Is this the actual item, and can I have a photograph of the back?
2. Has it been cleaned, pressed, repaired or restored in any way?
3. What are the exact dimensions?
4. Is there a catalogue number, and which catalogue?
5. What is the return policy if the item differs from the description?

A seller who answers these clearly is worth buying from; one who does not is answering anyway.

Use a reference before you decide

Comparing a listing image against a known-good image of the same issue catches most misdescriptions in seconds – wrong design details, wrong proportions, wrong format. The open archive holds 80,472 stamp images from 271 countries and territories, 855 coins, 635 banknotes and 3,332 badges, most shown from both sides, which is exactly the comparison a listing photograph should survive.

Open the sections: stamps, coins and banknotes, badges.

After it arrives

• Photograph it yourself on arrival, before anything else, in the same views you asked for.
• Compare with the listing images; differences are easiest to see side by side.
• Record the purchase and its provenance in your catalogue, per the guide to cataloguing a collection.
• Do not clean or improve anything before deciding whether to keep it – that decision cannot be reversed either.