coinsandmedals

I did my best to incorporate as many of the suggestions both in this thread and the one coinbuf posted ATS. I also played around with PowerPoint a bit to get the background and circular cropping.The colors are way more accurate but it seems as though I lost some of the sharpness. Let me know what you all think!

On 2/6/2019 at 11:17 PM, coinman1794 said:

Make sure to set the white balance on your camera if possible. Some of your backgrounds have a noticeable, reddish tinge.

Thank you for letting me know coinman1794! I adjusted my white balance as best as I could. Please let me know if new pictures how the same reddish tinge. 

On 2/8/2019 at 11:57 AM, Coinbuf said:

So far this is the best raw coin photo that I've taken, lighting still needs work but it is close to the in hand look.  I'm using a Samsung phone and the camera doesn't seem as good as the iPhone judging from some pics I've seen put up ats.  I have not had any time at all the past two weekends but may set aside a few hours this weekend for photos.

 

 

That is a petty sharp looking image. Copper seems to be the hardest to capture the true look/color. Keep us updated please!

6 hours ago, BLive1972 said:

These look great!  

Thank you!

21 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

No I'm still a work in progress myself and your last photo looked great.  I have had much better luck shooting raw coins vs slabbed so far, I have a couple different thickness of cardboard and I'm going to experiment with putting those under the slab to raise it up slightly to get a better focus/sharpness.  Also trying some Jansjo lights from Ikea (fairly cheap with good brightness), and different diffuser materials.

Thank you! I am particularly proud of that one. I have not even started to think about photographing slabs. I have a few slabs from my last submission that I will eventually try out. Please update this thread with your images and what you discover. I started the thread to share my new purchases, but I had really hoped this conversation would take the direction it would.

10 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Has anyone ever tried the milk jug light diffuser set-up with a phone camera?

Hmmmm that is interesting. Do you think a single light source would be sufficient? I may try this out next time. 

1 hour ago, bottlebum said:

Looks awesome. 

Thank you! 

I took your advice Revenant and tried to diffuse some of the light with white surfaces.  I am very pleased and encouraged with how these images came out. This coin in hand has phenomenal toning which is captured fairly well. Even the hints of red luster nearest to the devices showed up much better. I also tried using different color balance sheets and found the black to be most accurate. I plan to incorporate some of the things I read in the link shared by coinbuf next round. I will be sure to share my journey as time permits. I also want to thank everyone for the thoughtful replies and encouragement.

5. 1806 Great Britain halfpenny (S-3780; Peck-1342).  

12 hours ago, Revenant said:

I wouldn't be embarrassed. I brought it up specifically because it's something that many people aren't aware of. I deal with digital photography A LOT more than most people.

I am more so disappointed in myself than embarrassed. My newest line of research involves eye tracking technology which requires constant calibration. If I had only applied the principles I use in my research to my hobby I may have been able to take better pictures.

5 hours ago, Coinbuf said:

Cell phone pics are not that easy and something of a compromise, ats I asked for some suggestions on this subject recently so here is a link to that discussion which may be of some use to you.

 

Photo help

Thank you for sharing the link Coinbuf. That was a very informative read. I will try it out next time. Do you personally have any suggestions?

3 hours ago, thisistheshow said:

coinsandmedals, are you using the flash? If you are try disabling it. 

Thanks for the reply thisistheshow. I never use the flash because it often creates “hot spots” that are not easily avoided. My lighting leaves a lot to be desired for. It is a work in progress, but I am happy to have such a supportive community here.

16 hours ago, Revenant said:

I can honestly say that I don't think I'm qualified to give you advice on photos. I usually just bluff my way through as best as I can and what you have seems pretty solid overall.

A few things I might suggest would be using diffusion panels and / or bouncing lights off white surfaces / umbrellas might help soften your light and avoid blown out highlights and speculative shine on the coin surface. As far as color goes? Every type of light has a typical range or "temperature" values, measured in Kelvin, the roughly corresponds to the temperature at which a black body radiator would release radiation. You can figure that out for most types of light / bulb and cameras come with presets for the most common ones, but there's a bit of natural variance in it and the temperature of the lights will tend to shift over the life of the light. So it's usually necessary for me to adjust the image in the computer to get the results as good as possible. I usually shoot with a DSLR, shoot in RAW and adjust the temperature setting later when I'm on my PC.

Something else to consider is that your computer monitor / display can be / needs to be properly calibrated or what you see and what we see might not be the same thing.

Don't you just love digital photography?

Thank you for the thoughtful response Revenant! I have seen your photography skills in your journal posts, and I think you are more than qualified to give me advice. Bouncing the light off white surfaces is a great idea. I will have to test that out and see if it works for me. Part of the issue I am having is that I do not have a set space or setup. I usually use a stack of books to get about 5 or so inches from the coin and I use a single desk lamp as my lighting source. I typically keep the edge of the lamp at the same level as my iPhone 7. I never adjust any of the iPhone settings from default because I am not familiar enough with them to do so; however, I do typically touch the screen one time to focus on the coin. I need to try to find a 101-crash course on iPhone photography. I checked out some of the DSLR cameras, but I cannot justify that kind of investment right now. If I must choose between the camera and a coin, the coin will win every time.

You bring up a very good point about calibrating my computer screen. I am ashamed to say that it did not even cross my mind.  

Nice 10 Guilder by the way!

14 hours ago, Mk123 said:

your picture of the 1789 medal is just fantastic! Keep it up!

I appreciate the encouragement but that is not my work. Maybe sometime in the future, I will be able to take images like that.

4.  1789 Middlesex George III Felicitas Publica Medal (D&H 180). This was an impulse purchase. I was aware of the reverse issues when I bought it, but I was happy with the price and it adds to both my Soho and Droz sets. The pictures are from the seller. He was kind enough to share them with me.

After a super busy week, I finally found time today to sit down and look at my most recent purchases. I have included pictures below. Anyone who has read my previous posts will likely be able to tell that I have not perfected my photography skills any further. I am all ears on that subject!

1. 1692 Ireland halfpenny (S-6597). I absolutely love the look of this coin hand. It is the epitome of the even chocolate brown color that one would expect and hope to see on a 327-year old problem free piece of copper. This example also happens to have unbarred A’s in “GRATIA”, which is a scarce variety! I must have taken 1,000 pictures of this coin trying to capture the color. I am beyond frustrated with taking photos. 

2. 1697 England halfpenny (S-3554; Peck-650). This is a decent heavily circulated example of the “no stop after TERTIVS” variety, which unbeknown to me at the time is very rare variety.

3. 1799 Great Britain Penny (S-3778; Peck-1249). This a nice example of a fairly common Soho strike, but I did not have one in my set.

I have had these two 1887 half crowns for a few weeks but I purchased them from a member of this forum "British coins". The toning is even more pronounced in hand. 

1887 Half Crown #1 

1887 Half Crown #2

 Nice half cent coinbuf! I really like the color. 

This little gem was found in a "Junk" bag my dad bought at a flea market several years ago! 1793 Wreath Vine & Bars (S-6). 

Not new, but I do not think I ever posted a picture after I submitted awhile back. I tried (and miserably failed) to capture the toning. 

Hello, I don't have the intent to overload this reply but I have a few sets that I would like to request some less extensive than others.

1. Japan 1 Rin Coins currently I have the following dates (1874, 1875, and 1884)

2. Japan 1 Sen coins (1898)

3. Germany Empire Pattern 25 pfennig coins (1908 cert Number 237710-001)

4. Great Britain 3 Pence set (1763)

5. Ecuador Sucre (1934) struck at Philadelphia mint

6. Guatemala 1/4 real coins (1896)

7. New Zealand 1968 Specimen Proof Set complete (cert # 3497601)

8. New Zealand 1965 Specimen Proof Set complete (Cert #'s 3594906-(022/021) & 3594922-051)

On the ore arbitrary sets such as the japan Sen and Rin sets you can be as inclusive or exclusive as necessary to complete these sets, basically I'm only concerned that the coins I listed be present at this time and as I send more in or acquire the other years and varieties I will request them to be added at that point in time.

1820 PCGS OGH MS-66BN

Great coppers everyone!

Hi Ali,

I would like to request a set for Canadian specimen 5 cent silver pieces with the 1908, there are only two years of the specimen issues that have Edward VII's right facing bust on them so this should be a very short set.

Thanks,

Don.

I would like to request a set for Irish Penny’s I don’t have my book with me but I would like the set to include the 1822 penny (cert number 2786196-006) if that helps.

I would also like to request a set of British farthings be added as well, to include the 1754 issue (cert number 2786196-004).

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Don.

There’s a dealer in my hometown that has the holy grail of Pan-American exposition medals, quite literally he has an entire display full of nothing but medals and coins relating to this subject. I’m going back home later this week so if you haven’t found what you’re looking for by then I will show him the picture and see if he has it. I would be very shocked if he didn’t have it, mainly because I know that he has a lot more Pan-American expo items behind the counter and at home.

I would really like to see the Panama sets expand a little, here are the sets I would be most interested in.

Panama- Centesimo 1935-1983 with proofs covering KM#'s 14, 17, 22, 22a, 33.1, 33.2, 45, 124, 125, and 132.

Panama- 1/10 Balboa 1930-1996 with proofs covering KM#'s 10.1, 18, 24, 10.2, 10, 87, and 127.

Thanks,

Don.