What do you use to view your Coins?

MrKelso

I was wondering what is good to use these days to view coins as these old eyes are getting tired. Loupe's Microscopes Stereo Microscopes? What do you use?

Thanks

bohica268

ANCO 10x Loupe. And sometimes a long focal length (25-40 mm) telescope eyepiece.

agentjim007

I got me a pair of reading glasses from the dollar store and I like them better than a loupe. If I'm looking at a coin to buy I use both.

pontiacinf

MY PEEPERS

keets

hey MrK

i just use my reading glasses and a 3X that can double to 6X. i rarely use my 16X loupe anymore and i have a panasonic 30X lightscope that comes in handy for REALLY closeup looks if i need it. the most important thing for me is good lighting.

al h.

Lakesammman

At a show, your stuck using a loupe. At home, I use a binocular microscope....it's useful for detecting doctored coins though you can't grade with it.

Just bought a coin where it came in handy - the FE cent looked to have a grade limiting scratch under the eagle but when viewed under the scope it was a planchet crevice with die polish lines passing through it uninterupted - can't see that with the loupe, even in retrospect.

clackamas

10x loupe

Trime

I wear my glasses at all waking hours so that is a given (in my case).
First I look under incandescent light or naural daylight without further magnification. This is the basics of assessing and grading coins. You will see more hairlines this way than with magnification and this is the way your coin will be graded by your favorite certifying company..
Secondly I use a a magnifying high grade glass (triplet) for further refinement and a stereoscope (10-30X) for attribution of varieties RPD;MPD; doubling, etc) .

All are essential for an advanced numismatist.

lathmach

16X loupe.
I also have a 10/20/30X microscope.

Ray

prooflike

I use a draftman's 7x eyepiece, it has a built in ruler that has gradients of .01mm

LanLord

Braille method, but it's hell on proofs

10x loupe and a 40x microscope

MrKelso

<< <i> Braille method, but it's hell on proofs >>



HA HA that one gets a big chuckle the green kind

UncleJoe

10x loupe for general use and a 16x loupe for serious study.

Joe.

nucklehead

10X and sometimes a 16X loupe.

IvanOnly

<< <i>Braille method, but it's hell on proofs >>



Hella Funny

keithdagen

Computer monitor -- all my coins are at the bank, so all's I have are scans.

Pushkin

Stereo Mocroscope - I love it. Also a 4X magnifying glass - easy to hold. At shows I take a 10X loupe and a small portable light - the kind they sell in bookstores for reading. The lighting at shows and at many coin shops is usually terrible - it is essential to have good light when evaluating a coin.


Thank you for your attention - The cat is taking a nap (he had fresh salmon for lunch today - lucky cat).

silverandvinyl

Joe: where can I get a 16x?

kieferscoins

From the ANA:

Money Market link for magnification

Cameron Kiefer

nwcs

Right now, a 16x loupe is what I use. Down the road, I would anticipate getting better stuff. But probably when I finally decide to go from just collecting coins to selling some, too.

MrKelso

My brother gave me a GEM brand Coated lens 30x Loupe is it better to keep both eyes opened when using a loupe?

kieferscoins

I never thought about the eye question before, but after thinking about it, I always close one eye. It allows for more concentration - just like shooting a gun.

Cameron Kiefer

KoinKollector

<<I use a draftman's 7x eyepiece, it has a built in ruler that has gradients of .01mm>>

PL,
I need to get one of thoes kinda thingys. I need to be able to easily measure MM and that kinda stuff. How much & where can I get one?

<<is it better to keep both eyes opened when using a loupe?


MrKelso,
It all really depends on the loupe. Most loupes have such bad eye relief, after more than 10 seconds of looking my eyes start to strain. Awhile ago I picked up a B&L 10x hastings triplet, it helped alot w/ the eye strain. Later on I got into dealing in diamonds so I needed a loupe w/ really good color correction & easy on my eyes. I picked up a Zeiss 10x and havnt used anyother loupe since. IMO, the $100 price tag is WELL worth it in the long run.

KoinKollector

MrKelso,
I just saw the "30x" in your post. Since the power is so high, the apeture is very small (id prob say a few mm or so.) If this is the case, it would be easier to use using one eye. Careful w/ eye strain, it can be painful

lordmarcovan

I use a human eye, model 1965. Brown. Male. Left or right, or both. They are starting to show their age, though, so sometimes I use light magnification.

My favorite magnifier is an El Cheapo plastic loupe (Made in India!) that I bought new at a flea market ten years ago- for a dollar. I have friends who swear by their expensive Eischenbach lenses or whatever they're called, and have spent fifty, sixty, eighty dollars for theirs. I like my flea market loupe just fine. I kinda grew sentimentally attached to it, though I have a more expensive (metal) Doublet loupe I seldom use. I was frantic when I lost the El Cheapo flea market loupe for a while.

I later found it but then the lens fell out of it.
So I Super-Glued it back in. Good as new now!

My cheapo plastic loupe does have a glass lens, BTW. It's not one of those Cracker-Jack-prize, all-plastic jobbies. (Cheap but not that cheap.) It is supposed to be 10X according to the marking on the collar, but I suspect it is little more than 3X to 5X.

MrKelso

<< <i> I just saw the "30x" in your post. Since the power is so high, the apeture is very small (id prob say a few mm or so.) If this is the case, it would be easier to use using one eye. Careful w/ eye strain, it can be painful >>



Yes it is very small and i do not think i will be able to use it much. I will have to search for something better thats why i started this post and it has been very helpful so far
What a great place to chat about coins and associated business and what a great bunch of folks.

JLW

My seeing-eye dog looks at them for me and barks out the various grades. (He used to work for ACG but they let him go, he was too conservative in grading). Seriously, I use a 10X loupe and also a cheapo illuminated magnifier.
Joe

RLinn

<< <i>I use a human eye, model 1965. Brown. Male. Left or right, or both. They are starting to show their age, though >>

LOL I've seen posts here stating that Anaconda had a great eye for coins. Maybe I could borrow his. On second thought, if I used his I might no longer like the coins I chose with my own eye.

KoinKollector

MrKelso,
If you want a nice loupe but dont wanna spend bookoo bucks look into the Bausch & Lomb 10x hastings triplet. Ive seen some places advertise them for @ $32. IMO, the B&L is one of the best :intermediate' loupes on the market.

MrKelso

I just found way down in the bottom of my desk a magnivision 50mm x 75mm double strenght bifocal lens super duper magnifying glass
I didn't even know i had it. I must have picked it up on one of my trips to the drug store. Hmmm have to see how this works.

KoinKollector

<< <i> I just found way down in the bottom of my desk a magnivision 50mm x 75mm double strenght bifocal lens super duper magnifying glass
I didn't even know i had it. I must have picked it up on one of my trips to the drug store. Hmmm have to see how this works. >>



Now the only problem w/ this will be MAJOR distortion at the edges BUT... It does have some damn good eye relief

danreller

My Raw Eyes, Agfa 8X Loupe, 10x-30X Stereomicroscope depending on the need.

Dan

onthespot

Well... the same person who died and left me the coins, left me all her other stuff. One of the coolest finds was an unopened box from the Braille Institute, (no kidding!) It had a flexi-necked simple desk lamp with a great big magnifier screwed onto the side of the lamp shade, and the bulb is small but bright and the light is really good natural color. It is Killer and I LOVE IT!!!

gemseeker

I use a cheap plastic Bausch and Lomb 7x loupe

grip

16X.And under a hologen light.Al

MrKelso

<< <i> I never thought about the eye question before, but after thinking about it, I always close one eye. It allows for more concentration - just like shooting a gun. >>



Up close with two eye's opened seems to take the strain away for me.

osirisMMII

When I go to the coin shop or a show I take a B & L 10X so I can see enough to keep myself out of trouble and find enough flaws to negotiate *lol* Seriously it's wise to take some "help" when shopping. At home when I really want to check something out I've got a Dazor and it's absolutely awesome. Three different magnification power levels by popping on an additional lense (up to 16X) and light if you want it. The light sometimes comes in handy even without using the magnification. No back strain, neck strain, or eye strain! And it keeps both hands free to flip those slabs around or for "assembly line" grading going through rolls. It's a great piece of equipment!

MrKelso

<< <i> I've got a Dazor and it's absolutely awesome. >>



Is there some information online about this device? Nothing short of a telescope is going to help me now. I had a serious accident (fall From 6 feet up) back in August landing on my head
I have been home ever since and one of the things that is permanent was the loose of some of my vision. At 48 years old i have eye sight of a person of 75 and a lot less scalp to boot.