Images

Submission guidance

Use clear, original photos where the item fills most of the frame. Avoid photos that are cropped, blurred, covered, heavily shadowed, or highly compressed. The guidance below varies by assessment type.

Coins

Coin assessments can include up to 20 photos of one coin or a group of coins. For groups, include clear overview photos and keep the coin order and layout consistent across views so related faces can be grouped. See Coin Assessment for detailed photo guidance and the collection result and partial-response contract.

Cards

Submit one card per assessment request, photographed front and back. Both sides earn their place: the front identifies the card, and a recognizable back is what makes a grade possible — without one, the assessment returns an identity and no grade. For a card in a grading holder, frame the label so its company and certificate number can be read. A holder does not hinder identification, but grading reads the card's surface through the plastic, so keep reflections and scratches on the case out of the shot. See Card Assessment for more.

Toys

Submit one toy per assessment request, with the clearest or most representative image first. Add packaging, model numbers, manufacturer marks, accessories, or condition details when they help pin down the exact collectible. See Toy Assessment for more.

Supported inputs

Assessment requests use an images array. You can supply references to previously uploaded images, reachable URLs, or base64-encoded image data.

• Supported formats are JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, WebP, ICO, HEIC, and HEIF.
• Image sizes should be 10 MB or less.

Pre-uploaded

Upload images in advance of triggering an assessment whenever possible. This is the recommended image upload method when fast assessment responses matter: it lets Vardera use internal image references instead of downloading images from the internet or handling assessment requests inflated by image data. POST /images returns an image_ref. Submit that exact reference later with the same API account.

curl https://api.vardera.com/images \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $VARDERA_API_KEY" \
  -F "[email protected]"

{ "image_ref": "server-issued-reference.jpg" }

Use the returned image_ref as the image entry in a category assessment request:

{
  "images": [{ "image_ref": "server-issued-reference.jpg" }]
}

POST /images also accepts the URL and base64 JSON input forms described below.

Image URLs

Use image URLs when your system can host files where Vardera can fetch them during processing.

{
  "images": [{ "url": "https://example.com/front.jpg" }]
}

When the URL does not provide a reliable filename or extension, such as a signed URL, include an optional filename for Vardera to use when downloading the image:

{
  "images": [
    {
      "url": "https://example.com/download?id=123",
      "filename": "front.jpg"
    }
  ]
}

Base64 data

Use base64 data when your integration needs to send image bytes directly. Include a filename so the image can be tracked in logs and results.

{
  "images": [
    {
      "filename": "front.jpg",
      "data": "base64-encoded-image-bytes"
    }
  ]
}