I've been working with scanning coins. Nice Toned Frankies!
MadMonk
Posts: 3,743 ✭
I've been bound and determined to try and figure out how to get decent scans with my existing scanner. While I know that a camera is going to provide better images, I don't have one yet, and figured I'd have a challenge, and some fun, in the meantime. Here are some examples of the best I could get, and for the most part, they do not do the coins any justice. While I realize a lot of you already know this, I figured I'd give you something to pick on me about!
I'll be adding a number of scans to this thread as time goes by.
This next coin has been quite a challenge to scan.
I'll be adding a number of scans to this thread as time goes by.
This next coin has been quite a challenge to scan.
Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
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Are the parts that look bluish, particularly on the first and second coins, actually blue, or is that just the scanner?
Especcially the fifth one!!!!
Dennis
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<< <i>VERY
Especcially the fifth one!!!!
Dennis
The fifth one is a drop dead gorgeous coin. It is lightly fingerprinted, as are a lot of toned Frankis. But, you know what, in this case, I can live with it.
<< <i>While it's difficult to make out dates and MMs on most of the coins (too much .jpg compression perhaps?) the colours are gorgeous. Nice lot of Bens Mad Monk. >>
that's another thing I'm working on. I am trying various formats, and amounts of colors. The only "Tweaking" I've done was bumping up the Sharpness.
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Sometimes a scan can be improved by not letting the coin lay flat on the scanner bed. This becomes problematic with raw coins, as whatever you use to elevate side of the rim will show in the scan. But is easily done with slabs. I am only talking about 0.5 to 2.0 mm, like you get if you put a couple toothpick tips or paper clips under one side of the slab.
and they're cold.
I don't want nobody to shoot me in the foxhole."
Mary
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I have tried tilting the slab, but not anything as small a degree as you've suggested. I had tried a pencil with iffy results. Thanks for the input, and I'm going to give it a try.
You are doing well, subject 15837. You are a good person.
<< <i>Real beauties - my fav is the 4th one down - I lik emine lightly toned. Although the 5th is nice too! Ok, they are all great!
Thanks, the 4th is a 54p in 65fbl
The fifth is a 56 in 65
I used the same settings on all the coins with mixed results in color, detail, and luster. Quite interesting.
clw54 mentions compression and to fix that use a dpi of around 100. Higher dpi doesn't make a better picture, only makes it a bigger picture. You want a small pict (around 50 kb) off your scanner because if you make a giant kb size pict then use your image software to reduce it you get the compression distortion.
I use the size option of 300% & 100 dpi and I can get a clear detailed picture that's around 50 kb with Morgans and with a Frank or JFK it's around 30 kb with those settings which allows for a fast loading picture on this board.
Like this toned MS:
And this toned Proof:
You still have some flash problem-somebody said to use a prop which works great but sometimes you got to prop the top, sometimes the bottom sometimes one side or another and sometimes you even got to turn the slab sideways. Sometimes it will take me 10 different scans before I get 1 picture that is acceptable to me. Every coin scans different too.
Here's some examples of turning the slab on the scanner bed.
As you can see, this particular coin had to be upside down to catch both the colors and strike detail and get rid of the annoying flash. Then I rotate it and it's ready to post.
This was done with a HP4200.
This is one of my favorite basically white Franklins. In person, it has "the Look" Great basining
luster. I wish I could find the words to describe it.
Let me know if you think it has too much "flash".
As you can see when you get the colors you lose strike detail. Scanning is a tradeoff, you can show color or strike but not both because the best angle for color is not the best angle to show details & vice versa. That's easy enough to get around. If you're using the scans to sell the coin then make one that shows the colors and one that shows the details.
Your image software also has a "quick fix" button that will make the colors brighter and more lifelike but sometimes it makes them funky looking, like that bondman guy that everybody rags about and it also makes the plastic holder have a weird blue tint that makes everybody think you are tweaking and altering your pictures.
Also some coin scans will make a good a picture as from a digital camers and yet some of them you can't get anyway near the real colors to show.
Here's a wr toned laying flat:
Same one proped with pencil under left side of slab. Close representation but unnatural rainbow colors on bottom left.
Same one again with pencil prop under right side of slab. Now it looks just like this in hand!!
It doesn't photograph well for me though. It doesn't look quite like my camera shot:
Ok, here's a toughie-a blue Proof Barber with the lid up. Looks brown.
Same one with the lid closed:
Another scan-I think this was a left prop:
This was flat on the bed. If this was a Brilliant Proof this would have been the setting to show the frost & mirrors without the blinding flash:
I just couldn't catch the color no matter what I did. I have to use a picture from my camera if I want to show a true representation of this coin:
Here's a Silver Proof 70 DCam, this was laying flat on the scanner bed. Not the best scan in the world but shows the frost & mirrors, which was my intention. Flat seems to be best for silver Proofs. I probably could have left the lid up to cut down on flash. Goodnuff for my Reg Set pictures.
Here's a clad Proof 70 DCam. Clad scans completely different from silver & toned & etc. To get this scan I had to turn the slab upside down on the scanner and prop the bottom with a pencil. Any other way wouldn't show the cam because the letters looked briliant instead of frosted.
Actually top side up with a top left side prop shows the most frost but it also has flash. Like I said, everything is a trade of of 1 quality vs another.
Capped Bust Half Series
Capped Bust Half Dime Series
<< <i>Great coins, Daniel.
thank you!
That's some nice work for a scanner. My old Memorex probably could've done similar work, but this cheap Canon I have now? Fuhgeddaboutit. I just got a Sony Mavica camera in a forum swap but so far the biggest step up the learning curve that I have made is how to turn the thing on.
<< <i>Great looking coins! How about some grades and dates? I can't quite make out the dates on most of them but I can guess from the mint set toning what the dates are. mike
First group of scans: Believe me, all more stunning in person.
48-65fbl
56-66fbl
49S-66
54-66fbl
56-65fbl
57-66
57-66
58-66fbl
57-66
58D-66fbl
58-66fbl
52S-65
52S-65
<< <i>
That's some nice work for a scanner. My old Memorex probably could've done similar work, but this cheap Canon I have now? Fuhgeddaboutit. I just got a Sony Mavica camera in a forum swap but so far the biggest step up the learning curve that I have made is how to turn the thing on. >>
Lord M....i just got this post of yours...didnt have my glasses on initially.....Nope...I'm not going to dip them...they're too purdy this way!
jom
too many other things to use the cash on. Perhaps I get that "Dog what smokes cigars" to take some shots.