What Colour is a Sovereign?

[TheGoldSovereign]

So before I embark on the final journey of photographing 1000s of sovereigns I just wanted to get one final opinion on how people perceive or prefer the "creative style" or colour representation of a sovereign to be. 

Below are a selection, please vote!

 

1#

 

2#

 

3#

 

4#

 

5#

 

6#

 

7#

 

8#

 

9#

 

10#

[danmc82]

I went 9.

[augur]

Don’t want to be mean but aren’t First Portrait Elizabethan Sovereigns much more yellow than e.g. Second Portrait or Old/Widdow Head Victorias?

You night have to ask the same question for different production batches...

[5huggy]

8 minutes ago, danmc82 said:

I went 9.

Seconded!

As @augur rightly points out differences are quite large - But I think as a median colour this is ok - IMHO

[TheGoldSovereign]

4 minutes ago, augur said:

Don’t want to be mean but aren’t First Portrait Elizabethan Sovereigns much more yellow than e.g. Second Portrait or Old/Widdow Head Victorias?

You night have to ask the same question for different production batches...

Well yes there are also many other factors in older sovereigns like the alloy materials etc. What I was trying to do is apply this poll to the actual coin in hand, and then apply the difference to all other years/images if you know what I mean

 

[sovereignsteve]

Simply use the colour balance that gives an accurate representation of the coin as it appears to your naked eye.

That way any differences between the coins of differing eras will be clearly shown.

Bear in mind though, all computer monitors and devices display colour differently.

[JunkBond]

8 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

Bear in mind though, all computer monitors and devices display colour differently.

Exactly, I am viewing the pictures on my MacBook pro and my other halves crappy pc and there is a vast difference.

[TheGoldSovereign]

12 minutes ago, sovereignsteve said:

Simply use the colour balance that gives an accurate representation of the coin as it appears to your naked eye.

That way any differences between the coins of differing eras will be clearly shown.

Bear in mind though, all computer monitors and devices display colour differently.

Yea fully aware of this using 3 monitors myself, even same brands slightly vary in colour profile, also getting it to replicate in editing software is a tricky task!

It's hard to play with styles and white balance settings and trying to compare because in hand the coins looks nothing like the photographed image, so I would prefer to get opinions on what looks best on screen as that's how i'll be displaying them

[sovereignsteve]

7 minutes ago, sg86 said:

Yea fully aware of this using 3 monitors myself, even same brands slightly vary in colour profile, also getting it to replicate in editing software is a tricky task!

For this reason then, I would go with a setting that makes all coins look reasonable on a variety of monitors. Sort of a middle of the road setting.

[augur]

Old Head would look probably #5 and 2nd Portrait Elizabeth #10. Otherwise all other are probably covered by #8 while the 1958 should look like #9 as overwhelmingly agreed. 

[Roy]

I think the pics are very clear but none are correct. They look 'cold'.

I'm trying to be helpful but perhaps confusing you.

It is definitely this colour! 😀

[AndrewSL76]

I went for 6. 

#daftie

[TheGoldSovereign]

On 15/11/2019 at 13:24, Roy said:

I think the pics are very clear but none are correct. They look 'cold'.

I'm trying to be helpful but perhaps confusing you.

It is definitely this colour! 😀

The issue here is my axial lighting setup, and I'm sticking with this because it's the best method imho to replicate coins over and over, I fully understand what you mean.

Thanks everyone for the bites, my opinion was 8# before starting the poll so good result!

[AuricGoldfinger]

I agree #8 is the closest but i think as @Roy says it’s missing that golden warmth in all of the pics. 
 

If that’s the style & format you need then #8 is the one for me!

[TheGoldSovereign]

10 hours ago, AuricGoldfinger said:

I agree #8 is the closest but i think as @Roy says it’s missing that golden warmth in all of the pics. 
 

If that’s the style & format you need then #8 is the one for me!

I do think the "coldness" described comes from the fact the coin in the photos has soooooo much lustre, even in hand it doesnt look gold to be honest, almost silvery from the light cartwheeling like crazy

[sovereignsteve]

2 hours ago, sg86 said:

I do think the "coldness" described comes from the fact the coin in the photos has soooooo much lustre, even in hand it doesnt look gold to be honest, almost silvery from the light cartwheeling like crazy

you clearly need to rub and caress it a little to give it some warmth😉

[AuricGoldfinger]

I think also the thing with these beautiful coins is that unless you have something brand new, the colour and condition really does vary - all adding to it’s story and history.

[Booky586]

I voted 8, but I think all the images are a little on the dark side. I searched your technique of axial lighting and I'll experiment with it, thanks for a great photo lighting tip.

[TheGoldSovereign]

On 20/11/2019 at 20:46, Booky586 said:

I voted 8, but I think all the images are a little on the dark side. I searched your technique of axial lighting and I'll experiment with it, thanks for a great photo lighting tip.

It's a massive headache, I'll put up a guide on my website at some point but if you have any questions email me

 

[Pipers]

On the monitor no9 looks like a fake colour red flag, so there you have it.  Roy has it right.  Remember Sovereigns are .917 Gold so colour does change