Another Site Using Numista Pictures w/o Permission?

In my travels on the internet I landed on the site coinscatalog.net. This site claims to be a complete catalog of world coins. It has many nice features similar to Numista. It also has a search by photo which works fairly well. The interesting thing about this site is that it claims to have "Accurate world coins information, Coins value guides and data based on:" Numista among others. It also hotlinks the Numista coin page for each coin it has. All of the coin pictures have a COINSCATALOG.NET watermark in the middle of them including the ones they took from Numista. Here's one example:

Numista: © RRnumismatics


Coinscatalog.net:

I searched the forums for coinscatalog.net for any recent discussion about this and couldn't find anything.

More examples of Numista images being stolen by coinscatalog.net:

Numista: © Ulmo

Coinscatalog.net


Numista: © gef

coinscatalog.net:


Numista: © gef

coinscatalog.net:


Numista: © Monéphil

coinscatalog.net:


Numista: © radrick007

coinscatalog.net:

the worst, in my opinion, is that those watermarks spoil the image completely!

Just a few more.

Numista: © apuking

coinscatalog.net


Numista: © Ulmo

coinscatalog.net:


Numista: © Darkcid

coinscatalog.net

Just another photo thieving website. Many of my photos are on there. I gave them no permission to use any of them.

Their website is also a complete and utter dogs breakfast when it comes to Australian coins. They have hundreds missing and the ones they have are not categorised correctly.

Mike

Dog breakfast is very kind words

better words to describe it would be "radioactive industrial waste"

It has a catalog for very select countries and most people would quit the site thus rendering the ugly watermarked stolen numista pics useless

I would propose setting up a page on Numisdoc, where we would add all the ugly words and sites, which have copied and are still at copying our pictures without permission, so that every time people search this page, there would be a chance that among search results Google would connect these sites with copyright violations. If they want, they can publicly say they are sorry and we even upgrade Numisdoc with these statements.
LP

This is the very reason why I reckon Numista should copy-protect the pictures added to the catalogue. Remove the possibility to download the pictures from the catalogue altogether. If someone wants to dowload a picture, he must ask a Numista Team member, or Xavier himself, for promission, and then he can get the picture(s) menaged to him.

Quote: "ngdawa"​This is the very reason why I reckon Numista should copy-protect the pictures added to the catalogue. Remove the possibility to download the pictures from the catalogue altogether. If someone wants to dowload a picture, he must ask a Numista Team member, or Xavier himself, for promission, and then he can get the picture(s) menaged to him.

​Sometimes I download the images in numista to set up my documentations What about that use? I still think our hobby is about sharing our knowledge amongst all the coin collectors, so I still don't see, why we should not go on doing that? Anyway I'm not losing anything, if my images are used elsewhere.

Quote: "ngdawa"​This is the very reason why I reckon Numista should copy-protect the pictures added to the catalogue. Remove the possibility to download the pictures from the catalogue altogether.

​That makes it harder but just a little. For example the following are pictures of a coin in Numista (© mikimaus). One is a downloaded picture and the other is not. It's just a screenshot cropped to the coin. Takes just a little more effort.

Without putting something on the picture itself (which I'd be totally against) I think the only way to combat this type of stealing of intellectual property is to confront the offenders head on. In this case users who can identify their pictures were stolen can contact and complain here maybe even sending a link to this posts for examples.

Quote: "Sjoelund"

Quote: "ngdawa"​This is the very reason why I reckon Numista should copy-protect the pictures added to the catalogue. Remove the possibility to download the pictures from the catalogue altogether. If someone wants to dowload a picture, he must ask a Numista Team member, or Xavier himself, for promission, and then he can get the picture(s) menaged to him.

​​Sometimes I download the images in numista to set up my documentations What about that use? I still think our hobby is about sharing our knowledge amongst all the coin collectors, so I still don't see, why we should not go on doing that? Anyway I'm not losing anything, if my images are used elsewhere.

​For private use it's alwahs okay.
I personally don't care. All my Danzig photos has been replaced by pictures from a website, so after that I've stopped adding coin pictures. Seen my pictures on other sites, though, so I'm glad someone liked them.

The problem is when pictures we've been allowed to use from other websites are getting stolen. Then it's a copyright crime, and Numidt's the one who has broken the deal: "Only use on your site, and link to my site". We have failed them. We are the ones getting sued. The premissions are all in writing, so it's easy to check the deal that has been made.

Quote: "rsirian1"It's just a screenshot cropped to the coin. Takes just a little more effort.

​Then put a block to screenshot thr coin pages. Banks, fir instance, has this block, so it's too difficult to implement.

Quote: "Sjoelund"​

Quote: "ngdawa"​This is the very reason why I reckon Numista should copy-protect the pictures added to the catalogue. Remove the possibility to download the pictures from the catalogue altogether. If someone wants to dowload a picture, he must ask a Numista Team member, or Xavier himself, for promission, and then he can get the picture(s) menaged to him.

​​Sometimes I download the images in numista to set up my documentations What about that use? I still think our hobby is about sharing our knowledge amongst all the coin collectors, so I still don't see, why we should not go on doing that? Anyway I'm not losing anything, if my images are used elsewhere.

​Would you feel the same way if your image was stolen then published like this?

Quote: "ngdawa"​​​The problem is when pictures we've been allowed to use from other websites are getting stolen. Then it's a copyright crime, and Numidt's the one who has broken the deal: "Only use on your site, and link to my site". We have failed them. We are the ones getting sued. The premissions are all in writing, so it's easy to check the deal that has been made.

Numista hasn't broken the deal as Numista hasn't changed. ​Numista is using the images in the same way we were using third-party images when we were allowed to use the images, there has been no change in Numista's behavior. It is the third party taking the pictures from Numista and posting them elsewhere who is violating the copyright.

That isn't to say that Numista couldn't be sued -- anyone can sue anyone for almost any reason . But the party suing Numista wouldn't get anything out of the suit except a bad reputation and legal bills.

Quote: "rsirian1"​

Quote: "Sjoelund"​

​​Would you feel the same way if your image was stolen then published like this?
​

​I have already seen that done, but since my documentations are NOT copyrighted, why would somebody need to change anything?

Quote: "Sjoelund"​

Quote: "rsirian1"​

Quote: "Sjoelund"

​​​Would you feel the same way if your image was stolen then published like this?
​​

​​I have already seen that done, but since my documentations are NOT copyrighted, why would somebody need to change anything?

​Don't know. Maybe they won't like the new NC#'s. How about now?


My point is, stealing and then claiming ownership is just wrong.

I’m pretty sure that coping/using someone else’s photos of anything without their permission is illegal and if they want to use it they should either contact the website/owner of the scans or don’t use them in the first place.

Hi

Q1: Is it possible to have double pictures (at least main pictures), one with watermark (WM) and the same without. The user who reaches lets say 50 confirmed swaps all with different users automatically gets to see pictures without WM. Would such approach stop or severely limit copyright violations?
Q2: A Numista poll to check over adding WM to pictures once and for all?
Q3: Which WM to add - username of user who uploaded the picture or Numista or both? Also possible question for a poll.
Q4: Mandatory WM for pictures granted for use/display by third person and not mandatory added by Numista users?
...

As already written before, here are some solutions:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Reusing_content_outside_Wikimedia/licenses
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Credit_line
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Copyright_tags
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Watermarks

I guess sooner or later watermarks will be added, so why wait till all of our pictures are stolen? If we do not protect our work, others will certainly not respect it either, as proven countless times already. Admins, please make a decision already, approve it for upgrade or cancel it and let everyone take what they need for free.

LP

Quote: "ngdawa"​​
​​Then put a block to screenshot thr coin pages. Banks, fir instance, has this block, so it's too difficult to implement.

​
You can't block a screenshot. For ANY image appearing on a computer screen all you have to do is press the "Print Screen" key.

Then open any graphics program like "Paint Shop Pro", click on Edit, Paste as New Image, and hey presto you have got a .jpg file you can edit, crop, rotate etc.

Mike

Quote: "brismike"​You can't block a screenshot. For ANY image appearing on a computer screen all you have to do is press the "Print Screen" key.

​Yes, you can. For instance, when I log in to my back to check my account history, I cannot take a screenshot of the screen.

My biggest isdue is what rsirian1 is saying, it's not just the stealing, but by adding watermark on the pictures they are claiming ownership of them. It like I'm at someond's house, steal few books and write my name in them. Who does that?

Quote: "ngdawa"​

Quote: "brismike"​You can't block a screenshot. For ANY image appearing on a computer screen all you have to do is press the "Print Screen" key.
​
​

​​Yes, you can. For instance, when I log in to my back to check my account history, I cannot take a screenshot of the screen.
​

​Sorry you are wrong. If something is on your screen you can copy it easily via screenshot. Maybe you just don't know how to do it?

Mike

Quote: "brismike"​​Sorry you are wrong. If something is on your screen you can copy it easily via screenshot. Maybe you just don't know how to do it?
​
​Mike

Lol. I guess you guys just don't have that technology yet.

Quote: "ngdawa"​

Quote: "brismike"​​Sorry you are wrong. If something is on your screen you can copy it easily via screenshot. Maybe you just don't know how to do it?
​​
​​Mike

​Lol. I guess you guys just don't have that technology yet.

​Lol back at you .. We have the same tech as you. We invented wifi too .. :)

Quote: "brismike"

Quote: "ngdawa"

Quote: "brismike"​​Sorry you are wrong. If something is on your screen you can copy it easily via screenshot. Maybe you just don't know how to do it?
​​​
​​​Mike

​​Lol. I guess you guys just don't have that technology yet.

​​Lol back at you .. We have the same tech as you. We invented wifi too .. :)

​Good on ya, mate.

Quote: "rsirian1"It's just a screenshot cropped to the coin. Takes just a little more effort.

​Then put a block to screenshot thr coin pages. Banks, fir instance, has this block, so it's too difficult to implement.

Quote: "ngdawa"​​​Then put a block to screenshot thr coin pages. Banks, fir instance, has this block, so it's too difficult to implement.

That's technically impossible. You can always use a tool to make a screenshot.
​

Quote: "smvdbrink"

Quote: "ngdawa"​​​Then put a block to screenshot thr coin pages. Banks, for instance, has this block, so it's too difficult to implement.

​That's technically impossible. You can always use a tool to make a screenshot.​​

​As stated in the quotation, it already exists. But yes, you can always take a photo of the screen.

The best way to sort this out is to contact a Numista admin about this issue and somehow contact the other sites admins to explain that them or it’s users/members have been stealing scans of coins without Numista or the owners permission.

Quote: "Worldwide collection"​The best way to sort this out is to contact a Numista admin about this issue and somehow contact the other sites admins to explain that them or it’s users/members have been stealing scans of coins without Numista or the owners permission.

​Do you think that hasn't been attempted before? There are many threads on Numista about other sites stealing pics from here. The worst one is that pic stealing Coin Site Colnect. They just make it very very difficult to get pics removed from thier pages. In the end you just give up. Believe me I have tried.

Quote: "brismike"​

Quote: "Worldwide collection"​The best way to sort this out is to contact a Numista admin about this issue and somehow contact the other sites admins to explain that them or it’s users/members have been stealing scans of coins without Numista or the owners permission.

​​Do you think that hasn't been attempted before? There are many threads on Numista about other sites stealing pics from here. The worst one is that pic stealing Coin Site Colnect. They just make it very very difficult to get pics removed from thier pages. In the end you just give up. Believe me I have tried.

I bet it has been attempted several times before. I think it’s the rival sites issue because they either fail to research were new requested photos come from or the admins don’t follow the law and do these illegal actions.​

Maybe its time for ads. "Come to Numista, the best site to steal pictures, everyone does..."

Quote: "mikimaus"​Maybe its time for ads. "Come to Numista, the best site to steal pictures, everyone does..."
​

Why not try to be a realist​? How many times have you seen the images from the national banks being used in numista long before the actual coins were put out? Don't be more catholic than the pope.

Quote: "Sjoelund"​

Quote: "mikimaus"​Maybe its time for ads. "Come to Numista, the best site to steal pictures, everyone does..."
​​

​Why not try to be a realist​? How many times have you seen the images from the national banks being used in numista long before the actual coins were put out? Don't be more catholic than the pope.

Hi

​I don't need to be catholic to say I stand behind my work. I also dare to say, that very low percentage of Numista members read the Guidelines. Every current member or new member upon registration should be forced to click "Yes I have read the Guidelines". Such demand should be requested from all members upon every Guidelines update. This will not solve or better say prevent the publication of pictures without copyright approval by the owner, but will put a step forward with people understanding their role and that Numista is not and cannot be responsible for the material they published.

As far as stolen pictures go, I find it really strange, that you can upload a picture and you can state whatever the &%$# you like in the field where you put in your "authors" name. This should be automatically your user name if in case you select “I made the picture myself”, and also automatically linked to your Profile page after validation. Such solution would also make easier navigation to the creators Profile who uploads many similar stuff, since sometimes you just cannot or it is very had to find her/him otherwise. The question here is also, what if the author checks out of Numista, who is then responsible for pictures?

In case of third party pictures, the copyright name should be with a link to the official owners site - or better a possible commercial online add of this site to the right. I bet my @ss that this would put more clicks on these sites and everyone would be more happy.

Regarding "images from the national banks being used in numista long before the actual coins were put out". Well, referees should be more vigilant over this.

As already stated before, watermarks should be added at least to the pictures in case “I made the picture myself”.

LP

Quote: "mikimaus"​​As far as stolen pictures go, I find it really strange, that you can upload a picture and you can state whatever the &%$# you like in the field where you put in your "authors" name. This should be automatically your user name if in case you select “I made the picture myself”, and also automatically linked to your Profile page after validation. Such solution would also make easier navigation to the creators Profile who uploads many similar stuff, since sometimes you just cannot or it is very had to find her/him otherwise. The question here is also, what if the author checks out of Numista, who is then responsible for pictures?

Agreed - I suggested that quite a while ago. It should automatically put your 'name' below the
pictures if you said they were yours - and that 'name' should be a link to your profile. Furthermore,
the 'Personal picture' that then appears below that should be there once - NOT twice.

Quote: "mikimaus"​​Q1: Is it possible to have double pictures (at least main pictures), one with watermark (WM) and the same without. The user who reaches lets say 50 confirmed swaps all with different users automatically gets to see pictures without WM.

​Q1: So your going to punish good members with ugly watermarked pictures, just because they don't want/like to swap?

Quote: "Essor Prof"​

Quote: "mikimaus"​​Q1: Is it possible to have double pictures (at least main pictures), one with watermark (WM) and the same without. The user who reaches lets say 50 confirmed swaps all with different users automatically gets to see pictures without WM.
​
​

​​Q1: So your going to punish good members with ugly watermarked pictures, just because they don't want/like to swap?

​I agree 100% with EssorProf, what a horrible idea.

Quote: "mikimaus"​​Q1: Is it possible to have double pictures (at least main pictures), one with watermark (WM) and the same without. The user who reaches lets say 50 confirmed swaps all with different users automatically gets to see pictures without WM.

Sorry, but I don't even understand your proposal. Do you mean that the pictures in the coin and banknotes catalogue will change if you swapped enough? I mean, why?

Who has missed out on anything because of the stealing of our images? The way it goes, I think the only ones being punished are the Numista members and that by numista members

Where is the logic in that

Quote: "Sjoelund"​Who has missed out on anything because of the steeling of our images? The way it goes, I think the only ones being punished are the Numista members and that by numista members

​And now I have to agree 100% with Sjoelund. Of course it's not nice when others steal our pictures without asking, but as a reaction we're going to punish ourselves and change our beautiful catalog with beautiful pictures into a catalog with ugly watermarked pictures?

Hi
I am not retracting my position over watermarks. It can be just an N for Numista in a corner of the coin/token/note. I would also not accept a watermark of NIKE volcano magnitude sign on a cheap T-shirt.
LP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncbEucjsNFU

A minor victory! I sent coinscatalog.net the following message on 5 May 2021:
I've read on a forum on Numista that coinscatalog.net is stealing pictures off the Numista website and watermarking and publishing them as their own. Is this true? If so, how do you justify that blatantly illegal action?
I received an immediate reply saying, We need some time to process each email that we receive, but we will write back to you personally as soon as we can. They never replied back. However, when I checked today they still had the same pictures but they have removed the "coinscatalog.net" watermark from everyone of their pictures.

Just few comments on the coin pictures copyright.


1. Copyright is protecting originality and creativity. There is no creativity by taking realistic picture or scan of the coin or banknote. See Corel vs British Museum case.
2. In most countries, you cannot get copyright protection for unoriginal work even though you had to make an effort or expense to create it. Exception is for example United Kingdom, where they use "sweat of the brow" doctrine. Not in EU countries or USA.
3. If anyone owns copyright, it is designer or issuer of the coin or banknote. How many of you ask mint or print company if you can take and use picture of their works? This is valid mainly for the modern and collectors pieces.
4. Everything published in USA before 1925 falls into public domain. You cannot take realistic picture of public domain work and claim copyright on it.
5. Design of official coins and paper money issued by US Government (and some other countries) also fall into public domain. So the above is valid for modern US money too.

I understand it is not nice to use someone else work, but claiming it is protected by copyright is false.

Quote: "Ivan3138"​Just few comments on the coin pictures copyright.
​
​
​1. Copyright is protecting originality and creativity. There is no creativity by taking realistic picture or scan of the coin or banknote. See Corel vs British Museum case.
​2. In most countries, you cannot get copyright protection for unoriginal work even though you had to make an effort or expense to create it. Exception is for example United Kingdom, where they use "sweat of the brow" doctrine. Not in EU countries or USA.
​3. If anyone owns copyright, it is designer or issuer of the coin or banknote. How many of you ask mint or print company if you can take and use picture of their works? This is valid mainly for the modern and collectors pieces.
​4. Everything published in USA before 1925 falls into public domain. You cannot take realistic picture of public domain work and claim copyright on it.
​5. Design of official coins and paper money issued by US Government (and some other countries) also fall into public domain. So the above is valid for modern US money too.
​
​I understand it is not nice to use someone else work, but claiming it is protected by copyright is false.

​Sounds logical to me, since there is no intellectual effort in making an image of a coin.... hence you can also make macros of parts of an image. If you use those small pieces of a coin image to prove something or other, that would make the result an intellectual effort and thus it can be copy righted?

I just looked at coinscatalog.net, it is not using hotlinking as far as I can see.

Hotlinking is using resources such as images or videos directly from someone else web site and thus stealing the bandwidth.
If you click on Numista or other catalog sites link from coinscatalog.net, it will open web page in new browser tab from original web site.
This is (in most cases) completely legal technique called deep linking. It creates traffic to the original web site, you can even call it free advertisement.

Quote: "Sjoelund"​​​Sounds logical to me, since there is no intellectual effort in making an image of a coin.... hence you can also make macros of parts of an image. If you use those small pieces of a coin image to prove something or other, that would make the result an intellectual effort and thus it can be copy righted?

In my opinion picture has to be either:

a) artistic
b) object on the picture is protected by copyright and the author of the picture has rights to take a picture

Quote: "Ivan3138"​Just few comments on the coin pictures copyright.
​
​
​1. Copyright is protecting originality and creativity. There is no creativity by taking realistic picture or scan of the coin or banknote. See Corel vs British Museum case.
​2. In most countries, you cannot get copyright protection for unoriginal work even though you had to make an effort or expense to create it. Exception is for example United Kingdom, where they use "sweat of the brow" doctrine. Not in EU countries or USA.
​3. If anyone owns copyright, it is designer or issuer of the coin or banknote. How many of you ask mint or print company if you can take and use picture of their works? This is valid mainly for the modern and collectors pieces.
​4. Everything published in USA before 1925 falls into public domain. You cannot take realistic picture of public domain work and claim copyright on it.
​5. Design of official coins and paper money issued by US Government (and some other countries) also fall into public domain. So the above is valid for modern US money too.
​
​I understand it is not nice to use someone else work, but claiming it is protected by copyright is false.

​
Hi
Dear Numista member. From first hand account, in couple of years or better say after many hundreds of hours of work I have added almost 3000x2 pictures to the Numista catalogue. From what you are saying, you are OK with someone else cumming here and no questions asked steals many thousands of your pictures for its personal gain. Well, then you are a true outspoken Samaritan. Still I would prefer you actually adding 3k new sites and then deciding and speaking out loud whether you are OK with this. I also don't mind if someone takes a picture or two. But when someone systematically copies hundreds of pictures, I dare to say that this lowlife creature doesn't give a shit (and I am not changing the word here, admin may). Please let me know if I can put it more bluntly.
LP

Hello,
What Ivan3138 mentions is sadly the truth. In many countries, copyright offers no protection for hard efforts to take faithful pictures of coins (even if this is sometimes disputed). You may read more here: https://www.jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.1021217/
Even if we don't agree with these facts, nor with the unfair reusing of Numista pictures by other websites, please respect each other and stay polite.

Quote: "mikimaus"​
​Hi
​Dear Numista member. From first hand account, in couple of years or better say after many hundreds of hours of work I have added almost 3000x2 pictures to the Numista catalogue. From what you are saying, you are OK with someone else cumming here and no questions asked steals many thousands of your pictures for its personal gain. Well, then you are a true outspoken Samaritan. Still I would prefer you actually adding 3k new sites and then deciding and speaking out loud whether you are OK with this. I also don't mind if someone takes a picture or two. But when someone systematically copies hundreds of pictures, I dare to say that this lowlife creature doesn't give a shit (and I am not changing the word here, admin may). Please let me know if I can put it more bluntly.
​LP

​I agree with you mikimaus - I also have uploaded hundreds if not thousands of pictures to Numista only to then see them taken/stolen/copied on other coin websites that I did not give permission to use them. It is not only the work involved in taking the pictures, cropping, editing, describing, uploading etc ... It is also the fact that I have obtained the coins at my own expense to be able to take pictures of them. Plus the cost of a camera and editing software etc.

There might be nothing we can do to stop it ... But it is still a lowlife, bottomfeeding, disrespectful act to just take other persons hard work and use it as if they then own it.

Mike

Quote: "mikimaus"​​
​Hi
​Dear Numista member. From first hand account, in couple of years or better say after many hundreds of hours of work I have added almost 3000x2 pictures to the Numista catalogue. From what you are saying, you are OK with someone else cumming here and no questions asked steals many thousands of your pictures for its personal gain. Well, then you are a true outspoken Samaritan. Still I would prefer you actually adding 3k new sites and then deciding and speaking out loud whether you are OK with this. I also don't mind if someone takes a picture or two. But when someone systematically copies hundreds of pictures, I dare to say that this lowlife creature doesn't give a shit (and I am not changing the word here, admin may). Please let me know if I can put it more bluntly.
​LP

​Mikimaus,

you missed the point of my post. Copyright is not here to protect hard work (I assume you are not from the UK where it does). Copyright protects originality and creativity. Did you ask authors or issuers of those 3000 coins you published here for permission (I assume some of them might be modern and protected). Did you ask author of that nice Ljubljana medal you use in your profile for permission to use it? You can be the one breaking copyright here in the first place. Don't take this personally, I really support your efforts, just saying, that people often misunderstand what copyright means.
Of course I don't like when people from other web sites use someone else work without asking. I am not advocating it.

Quote: "Xavier"​Hello,
​What Ivan3138 mentions is sadly the truth. In many countries, copyright offers no protection for hard efforts to take faithful pictures of coins (even if this is sometimes disputed). You may read more here: https://www.jcms-journal.com/articles/10.5334/jcms.1021217/
​Even if we don't agree with these facts, nor with the unfair reusing of Numista pictures by other websites, please respect each other and stay polite.

​Hi Xavier,

thanks for the article, I've read it some time ago, but it's good to refresh. There is dispute about 2D vs 3D (coins are 3D, so are some of the paintings - many times even thicker than coins ). I think the criteria is also how much skills is used to take the picture. Some auction houses have beautiful pictures of coins that are result of long learning process, using expensive equipment and can be considered artistic.

I also suggest the book "Getting Permission: How to License & Clear Copyrighted Materials Online & Offline" from Nolo Publishing as a good resource.

Quote: "Ivan3138"​Just few comments on the coin pictures copyright.
​
​
​1. Copyright is protecting originality and creativity. There is no creativity by taking realistic picture or scan of the coin or banknote. See Corel vs British Museum case.
​2. In most countries, you cannot get copyright protection for unoriginal work even though you had to make an effort or expense to create it. Exception is for example United Kingdom, where they use "sweat of the brow" doctrine. Not in EU countries or USA.
​3. If anyone owns copyright, it is designer or issuer of the coin or banknote. How many of you ask mint or print company if you can take and use picture of their works? This is valid mainly for the modern and collectors pieces.
​4. Everything published in USA before 1925 falls into public domain. You cannot take realistic picture of public domain work and claim copyright on it.
​5. Design of official coins and paper money issued by US Government (and some other countries) also fall into public domain. So the above is valid for modern US money too.
​
​I understand it is not nice to use someone else work, but claiming it is protected by copyright is false.

​This is true. A copyright protect the work that cannot be made by someone else. So to take a photo of a coin, or describing a banknote, are not copyrighted. Anyone can describe what they see, and anyone with a camera can photograph coins. There's no originality in it.

Sure, I put a waterstamp on my banknote photos, but that is mostly for myself, and so I can track their journey around the imternet and for sure say it's mine. When sellers are using my pictures, I take a glass of whine, stretches my fingers, and write them a message.

Quote: "ngdawa"​=1em​​This is true. A copyright protect the work that cannot be made by someone else. So to take a photo of a coin, or describing a banknote, are not copyrighted. Anyone can describe what they see, and anyone with a camera can photograph coins. There's no originality=1em in it.
​

​
Numista database is protected by database right in the European Union, so perhaps this can be used for pictures as well.
Again, different countries different rules, EU recognize database rights, USA don't. So you can't enforce it in every country.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_right

An image is only part of the base and is then by definition not included alone in the data base rights?

Quote: "Sjoelund"​An image is only part of the base and is then by definition not included alone in the data base rights?

​"An owner has the right to object to the copying of substantial parts of their database, even if data is extracted and reconstructed piecemeal."

It depends on what substantial means in this context. I suppose that using hundreds of images without permission is substantial. Still, if used outside EU, it will be difficult to enforce it.