CAN YOU RECOMMEND A MAGNIFIER?

CoinGuy42

My coin magnifier is basic....I saw someone with a magnifier that also has a light installed, puts light directly on the coin, I thought it was a great tool. Can someone inform me of a website where I could purchase a good quality coin magnifier, possibly one with a light? Thank you.

Aethelred

The best loupes in the world by far are Eschenbach. They are all I use. I'll try to find you a link.

Aethelred

Eschenbach Info. and Prices

If you go to near the bottom of the above page you'll see the 9870 series. I use the 9870-G and 9870-F. As I said in a previous thread these loupes cost more, but they really are the best in the world!

They are made of chrome plated brass and precision ground glass. They are much more solid and sturdy that the Bausch & Lomb Hasting series that everyone seems to use and the optics are better that with B & L.


5x
9870-F
$72.00


10x
9870-G
$77.00

mdwoods

I have the 5x that the Dead English King has posted the photo of. I like it.

Veridicus

My ANCO 16x has served me well.

XpipedreamR

I use B&L Hastings triplets and have been pleased with them.

Aethelred

<< <i>I have the 5x that the Dead English King has posted the photo of. I like it. >>



I would not trade my 5x for anything, it is the workhorse loupe!

Placid

I have 2 and like the B&L 5x slide out the best it costs about $14.
The other one is a zeiss(sp) doublet I paid about $40 for it but its not as good for me.

Newmismatist

Here's an excerpt from an article I wrote about a year ago about collecting proof Indian Head cents:



<< <i> A Magnifying Glass: Buy the best quality magnifying glass you can afford - If you are buying $5 coins, buy a cheap magnifying glass - it won't matter, but if you are buying $500 coins, then you'd better buy a really good magnifying glass, and if you're spending thousands of dollars for your coins, buy the very best magnifying glass - it will save you thousands of dollars!! My two favorite magnifying glasses are both German made and excellent for coin collectors: A Zeiss 3/6/9 or an Eschenbach 3/6/9. What?!! - never heard of them? Well, let me explain - both of these wonderful loupes have a large viewing area, and both have three different lens powers that can be used separately or together. (And no, I don't have stock in either company and no, I don't sell them). These magnifying glasses have two separate lens: a 3 power lens and a 6 power lens - each can be used separate from the other, or they can be joined together to have a 9 power lens - so without changing loupes, you can use a low power to look for toning and hairlines, then a medium power for minor defects and finally a high power for alterations and hidden defects. Note, I am told that the grading services use a medium power lens (5x) for grading - the higher power lenses are used to check die characteristics and alterations - both for grade alteration or counterfeiting. >>



The Eschenbach 3/6/9 is as follows: Cat# 9870B (found on p. 36 of the Safe catalogue in the Link that Athelred has identified above - list price $105) - it is THE BEST magnifying glass for coins (I also have the Zeiss 3/6/9, but I prefer the Eschenbach 3/6/9 as it has color corrected optics) - As far as a lighted magnifyer, there are several lighted Eshenbachs, but the best one for coins is Cat# 9835B (also found on p. 36 of the Safe catalogue in the Link above - list price $44). I also have this lens, as it has its own built in light source and sometimes dealers table lights sometimes burn out. It has a huge lense - about 1 1/2" Dia. and you'll be able to see Everything with this lens - the drawback on the lighted magnifyer is that it's fairly bulky so it's not as easy to carry at a coin show). Both of these lenses are expensive, but like coins, you get what you pay for.

In order to properly use any magnifyer, you have to use in in conjunction with light. Here's another excerpt from the article I wrote - this one dealing with using light and the magnifying glass:



<< <i> Light: In order to properly grade coins and to properly use a magnifying glass you must have a good light source, and you have to learn how to use the light source to grade coins. Have you ever been to a coin show and watched a dealer look at a coin, particularly those dealers who are known as "crack-out" experts? Before they even pick up their magnifying glass, they take the plastic slab hold it about 9-12 inches away and rotate the coin -- left to right, up and down, side to side. Then they will put the coin under the ubiquitous light that they have at their table and do the same thing, and then they will pick up their magnifying glass and look at the coin under the light while again rotating the coin as they look. What they are doing is using two different light sources to look for defects in the coin (the "natural" ambient light in the room and an artificial light source). Light will reflect off of the marks and hairlines and they show up as the coin is rotated. Scratches, fingerprints, marks and alterations will show-up as different colorations and surface characteristics as the coin is rotated. The color of the coin will reflect back at the viewer. Light is essential to grade coins - in fact, without a good light source that is properly used, you cannot accurately grade coins. Another fact that many are either unaware of or they ignore, is the fact that different kinds of light will make the coin look different. Have you ever bought a coin at a coin show and when you got home it looked different? The reason it looks different is because at home you are almost invariably looking at the coin either in natural daylight (if the room you're in gets lots of sunlight and the lights are turned off) or incandescent light, which is the kind of lightbulb in most lamps. But at the show where you bought the coin, the lighting in the bourse was probably fluorescent ambient light from the ceiling fixtures and there is a good chance that the dealer had a halogen light at his table, (in addition to the 60 Watt incandescent light that is invariably over the showcase). Different kinds of light make coins look different! You should learn what the various light sources do to the look of the coin - and they have different effects on different metals! Copper coins look quite different in different light sources. Fluorescent light makes them look ugly, halogen light gives them a brighter, but slightly washed out look, incandescent light is a "warmer" light source and brings out the "reds" more and natural light makes them look more "red-brown" than "red". So depending on your light source, your nice copper Indian Head Cent will probably look different at home than it did when you bought it - unless you duplicate the light conditions! >>



So all of the above is probably way more than you asked, but some of it maybe helpful.

JamminJ

Amazing to see this question today, my Eschenbacks came in the mail today! Here;s a link to the discussion about them on the darkside. The only else I have to add is that I've found the two lens magnifiers to be somewhat awkward to use, preferring two seperate loupes for general and close up work.

Good luck!

-JamminJ

lordmarcovan

I use a cheapo "10X" plastic, "Made in India" loupe, that is really more like 5X. Paid a buck for it at the flea market when I lived in NC, and have used it for ten years. (Just the loupe is plastic, not the lens itself- that's glass.) Don't laugh- it's served me just fine.

I also have a Doublet 13X but only use it for the really close-in stuff and don't find it that useful for day-to-day purposes.

If somebody gave me an expensive Eschenbach (sp?) or Bausch and Lomb in about the 5X range, I would use it, but frankly, my $1.00 flea market special has worked just fine.

A Lexus might be more comfortable to ride in, but a Hyundai will get you where you're goin' just as well, knowhutimean?

1jester

A Lexus is way more reliable than a Hyundai, and will prove to be a better value over the long haul, IMHO.

Veridicus, I too have been using my trusty 16X ANCO for nearly 20 years. It has served me quite well, and I'm very happy with it. On the other hand, sometimes I yearn for a larger field of view, and I wonder if the Eschenbach will provide that. I use my loupe mainly for intensive examination of a coin, looking mainly for errors/varieties. Of course, I'm also looking for counterfeit coins too, and I've found that 16X gives me pretty decent magnification for both purposes. A third use is for just checking out the coin for wear patterns on sliders. So while I could use a 5X (and I have one of those high quality, East German optics, very large reading magnifiers, at 4-5X, I almost never use it), I really do use and need higher magnification. I can't imagine not having high magnification available; how else will you really be able to examine the coin?

Newmismatist, nice material. I remember reading it before on these boards somewhere.

JasonRox

I use a magnifier that has a 3x, and 5x.

I will probably by one at Wal-Mart that goes around your neck, which is good for shows, and stuff.

For the light, I'll buy one at a dollar store and tape it on.

jdimmick

I use a B @ L 5x slide out that I really like for a closer overall view. For close up lookin at MM, or details or something on the coins surface I use the ANCO 16x glass.

However, my first view of the overall coin is done with just plain ol eye-sight. If a coin does not pass that first eye-appeal test and pleasing to the eye, I usually pass. (I think sometimes people tend to use to much maginifcation on certain coins)

I mainly deal with circualted key dates up to an including Ms-64, so these two glasses and my eye's are all I need.

If I were looking at Higher End MS coins and especially Choice proof examples, then I would go with some of the better lens out there like the others.

Aethelred

<< <i>I use a cheapo "10X" plastic, "Made in India" loupe, that is really more like 5X. Paid a buck for it at the flea market when I lived in NC, and have used it for ten years. (Just the loupe is plastic, not the lens itself- that's glass.) Don't laugh- it's served me just fine.

I also have a Doublet 13X but only use it for the really close-in stuff and don't find it that useful for day-to-day purposes.

If somebody gave me an expensive Eschenbach (sp?) or Bausch and Lomb in about the 5X range, I would use it, but frankly, my $1.00 flea market special has worked just fine.

A Lexus might be more comfortable to ride in, but a Hyundai will get you where you're goin' just as well, knowhutimean? >>



If you feel what you are using works for you, thats fine, but a high quality set of loupes is something that in my opinion will pay for itself countless times over. My set of Eschenbachs cost about $150, but I feel like they have saved me many thousands over the years. Trust me, there really is a difference!

I use my naked eyes to form an opinion of a coin, and then will confirm that opinion using my 5x. If I am checking a coin for authenticity (for example does that 16-D dime have an added mintmark or is this $10 Indian real), I will use the 10x. One of the keys is to look at every coin the same way and in the same lighting conditions if possible.

joeyuk

Has anyone heard of the "episcope vest pocket optical system ". about $65.

Mikey

I bought one of these, it's a flourescent magnifier


Text

wingedliberty

My personal recommendations.

1. Baush and Lomb triplet 7-10x.
2. Peer triplet -hexagonal 7-10x
3. Zeiss: the best.

I have all three, the Peer is the best value for the money. They are $20, but exceptional in having low distortion and excellent durability.

1jester

Brian, what power Zeiss do you use? I have 10X50 Zeiss binoculars, and think they are the real $HiT!!! I love the optical quality. That's why I'm thinking about getting some kind of Zeiss loupe. But if the Eschenbachs are good, I might get them instead.

wingedliberty

I have the same as yours jester, but do me a favor. Call the ANA marketplace and get the Peer trip hexagonal for $20. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT.!!!. It is by far the best $20 I have ever spent.

1jester

Thanks Brian! By the way, I love your Bible verses.