How many of us usually look at our coins with magnification?

shirohniichan

Long after you've bought your coins and placed them in albums, cases, etc., do you usually look at them with your naked eyes, or do almost always use a loupe or other magnification?

Once the coin is in my collection, I rarely use a glass to look at my coins unless I'm searching for varieties or certain strike characteristics. If problems are so small that I need magnification to see them, they don't count any more once I've bought them and plan to keep them.

airplanenut

I like just using my eye- heck, I don't even use a glass when buying

prooflike

I usually use my eyeballs, but if I see something I'll pull out the glass. Upon arrival, I make an extensive look under 7x though.

tjkillian

I guess I'm getting old as I almost always use a loop of between 5x and 10x. The better I see the coin, the more I enjoy it.

Tom

TWODOGS

When I first get a coin, say from eBay, I always look at it with a loupe. When I'm buying in person, of course I use the loupe to decide of I want it or not. Naked eye after that, usually.

I looked at my 1840 SLD and immediately saw a lot of hairlines which has forever ruined the coin for me, glass OR naked eye. Even if they aren't that obvious to the naked eye, I know they are there.

Twowood

Like most, I have a magnifier on hand that I use all the time. I use an "Electro-Optix" magnifier.It's not very powerful, maybe 4x, but it's portable and convenient. It's a model M-7, does that mean it's 7x?Twowood

ARCO

Upon recieving a coin I usually give it a thorough exam to find the hidden defects and problems, Look for doubling or die cracks and finish up verifying the grade with the 10X loupe. Since coins are enjoyed with the naked eye, if the coin looks great with my nude eye then I really don't care much about the small hidden nicks and ticks and put the loupe away.

Tyler

paigowjohnny

I wish I could do that !!!

I've been obsessing over a raw 98-S Morgan I bought a few weeks ago. I bought it as a lower grade MS...and now I keep pulling it out with a loupe trying to see if I got hosed with a slider ( I don't think so...strike is so so for an S, but has unbroken luster...) Either way it has great eye appeal. I ought to just put the damn loupe away and enjoy what I have !!

DocMortar

Would it be possible for magnified light to damage a coins surface? Just wondering!

rkfish

When buying i always use a 5x-10x but after it's been in the collection I hardly ever look at them with a loupe.

nwcs

I always use a 16x loupe. But only about half the time.

nwcs

<< <i>Would it be possible for magnified light to damage a coins surface? Just wondering! >>

Over the long term, it can accelerate toning. In the short term, no damage.

Morganluver

I study every single coin with a 5X and then a 12X glass. I want to know exactly what kind of coin it is technically. Beyond that, I really enjoy looking at my toned coins with magnification for sort of a surreal picture of the pure beauty. The look of the colors deeply imbedded in the recesses and the transistion of the colors and how they lay on the coins seen with a loupe is really neat. If you collect toned coins and have never done this, you should try it. It's gives you a very different perspective and quite an education as to how the colors and patterns form, not to mention a burst of close up technicolor beauty.

shirohniichan

More people use magnification that I thought.

The reason I asked is because someone replied to my joke that "If your looking at a state quarter with a 5X glass there is a huge difference between a 65 and a 67." While I look at coins with a glass when I buy them, once they're in my collection I enjoy them without magnification.

That leads me to understand why I won't pay huge premiums for small grade bumps that can't be seen with the naked eye. I don't care if I'm buying a state quarter or an ancient Chinese cash coin-- if I can't see the difference with the naked eye (or corrected vision through glasses or contact) without magnification, I don't pay more for a coin.

That also helps me to understand why others do pay big premiums. If you're living in a microscopic world, small imperfections make a big difference.

TheNumish

Shiro's answer makes a lot of sense to me.

I never understood diamonds. When buying a stone you use a loupe. Then the stone gets set in a ring and is worn. Half the time it's dirty. Who knows what the grade is. It's not like when you go to a party or something and people are looking at each others diamonds with a loupe.

shirohniichan

It's not like when you go to a party or something and people are looking at each others diamonds with a loupe.

It depends on the party.

KlectorKid

I dont usually use 5-10x maginification, but every once and a while something will catch my attention and I'll need to pull it out.

09sVDB

I use 5x or 10x mag. and a halogen light.

coinrookie

10x loupe as soon as I get the coin. But once it is put away I hardly ever use the loupe. The only time I look at an older purchase with a loupe is if I see another coin that may have better eye appeal than the coin I already have. I have this awful problem of always looking for a better example of certain favorite coins, but still staying within the originial coins same grade.

toyonakataro

As I mostly collect half dimes, I almost always use X5 loupe to see them.....can't tell anything withoout loupe

Ronyahski

I always look at them naked at first (my coins that is), and always pull out a 5x and 10x loupe for a closer look. It is a good gut check for me to keep my own grading standards consistent, and to keep the slabs honest. Like Morganluver does, I like to study the toning on coins, see how the colors lie, how they interact with the details of the coins, etc. It's educational and fun, what collecting is all about.

mdwoods

I look at them under magnification. Not only to find defects, but to see how the surfaces look and the flow lines. If I am just looking to enjoy them, I use one of those lighted magnifiers that are on an adjustable arm. Dimes are tough on old eyes. mdwoods

boston

As a Full Step collector, I must use magnification to really see the strike. Most of the time, I can enjoy the
luster of many in the set.

Just can't tell the true difference without my glasses, anymore.

That, and sometimes, I like to get real anal about the grade. Then I read some forum posts and I forget about it.

Boston Bob

MrKelso

I collect mostly Morgans iI alway use magnification. I have bad eyes so the magnification helps a lot.

Mojoe

I use a 5x magnifier when buying but seldom use it once the coin is at home. I'm also fearful of seeing something I missed on the initial examination.

fcloud

I use a glass when searching at a show. At home only when I can't make out what I'm looking at. As the eyes get older, it is harder and harder to see. The glass solves that problem when I need to see the detail. Oh, when I was young I could pick up hairlines, and even see full bands, etc.

Tony

Trime

Grading coins MUST begin with the naked eye because....
...that is how coins are seen by the world of collectors
...that is how the majority of coins are judged by the grading services
...that is the best way to determine eye appeal and hairlines
High quality coins should also be viewed with a loop and on occasion with a microscope because...
...that is how you detect important varieties
...that is how subtle defects can be confirmed

mr1931S

it's a whole new world is revealed with 10x...

i spent $40 for my B&L...i reckon it's paid for itself...many times over

Gilbert

Shiro,

I almost always use magnification, for a couple different reasons.

One, I can't see well enough, that is, well enough to appreciate the intricacies of an individual coin, without using magnification. I use a 3x/6x double lens Zeiss loupe primarily, but I also have and use a 10x B&L, a 16x ANCO and a stereoscope. Different aspects are visible to me between the loupe and scope.

I have found that many times characteristics that were lost to me during the purchasing and later looks, become apparent when I sit back and "study" a coin. I'm not talking about the things you consider when deciding if it meets your purchasing criteria. I'm talking about the subtle differences of each coin, compared to those of the same date and mint, others in the series AND sometimes, coins in general.

I look at my coins as individuals and try to come to know them apart as one tries to distinguish twins from one another.

So, does that make me an eccentric collector, am I in the minority OR is it not unusual at all?