Why are there two levels of quality in the coin images?
One of the difficulties with the original Oxford Celtic Coin Index images are the large number that are of poor quality. While there are many fine photos that were taken by Mr. Bob Wilkins of Oxford’s Institute of Archaeology, and excellent photos are also provided by some dealers, it is a sad fact that many coin photos have various problems. Often, photos have been crudely cut out and attached to index cards, making the background complicated and distracting; in other cases, the only available photos are halftone reproductions from auction catalogues and dealers’ lists. Poor scanning and image conversion has left blurriness and many digital artifacts which make it difficult to see the details of the specimen. John Hooker is in the process of perceptually enhancing the digital images, so the design on the coins can be seen more clearly for research purposes, without distraction. Improving the quality of the coin images is a major addition to the usefulness of the visual data in the Ind
