If you grade without a glass...

Barry

1. How old are you?
2. Are you nearsighted, and remove your glasses to get the extra magnification?

I wonder because I can't grade without a glass (maybe I can't grade with a glass, either), and I'm not THAT old (47). Maybe it's because I'm mostly looking at dimes and not big coins? Those of you that grade w/o a glass, how do you do it?

291fifth

I use a 5x glass. Can you imagine a dealer buying a coin without using a glass? With enough magnification you can make any coin look bad!

kieferscoins

I'm 21 with 20/20 vision. I only need a 5x glass for mintmarks, and small things like trimes. Otherwise I can see the coins fine and I do know how to grade properly.

Cameron Kiefer

mgoodm3

1. 36
2. Don't need no stinkin glasses, despite my profession.

I can see most details without a loupe. Grading high MS/PR is probably best done with the aid of a loupe. I try to avoid it because my coins look so much better without the magnification of inperfections. Gotta make myself feel good, you know.

atomic

46 and use weak reading glasses when I grade, 5x when I'm not sure about some detail. If you wanna see EVERYTHING that's wrong with a coin, put it on a flatbed scanner at 1200dpi

tjkillian

I'll be 42 this Sunday and I now need glasses. I bought a special pair for distance and coins I like to be able to see all the detail. I use a 5x/10x loop to see even more. When I really want to look at a coin's minute detail, say for authenticity, I use a 30x stereo microscope.

I now must use glasses for all viewing of all objects. When I was young, less than 36, I could see well without any help.

Tom

Russ

48, nearsighted, grade with glasses off and don't use a loupe for initial grade impression. Then use a 5x to verify or change first grade.

Russ, NCNE

Stuart

1) I am 48 and don't (yet) wear glasses.

2) I always prefer to grade with either a glass of wine or beer which increases the enjoyment of the overall collecting experience!!

...I also use a 5x loupe on my Morgans and other silver dollars because it allows me to see the entire coin under magnification with its wide field of view.

I use either a 10x loupe or my binocular microscope for VAM varieties, overdates and over-mintmarks...

kieferscoins

Hi,

I used to use a 100,000X SEM until a really nice person here suggested I only use a 1,000x loupe for my ultra grade coins. It is best to spend an hour or more pouring over the coins surface looking for every possible flaw. David Hall said they occasionaly use loupes so I take it as gospel and bash any person who says they don't.

Micrograder

JadeRareCoin

always prefer to grade with either a glass of wine

ealandg

I'm 33 and don't wear glasses. I used to grade without a loupe until I got a body bag on a coin that mattered for a cleaning. As soon as I looked at it with the loupe, I could see right away that the surfaces had "swirly" marks. I use 16X and don't sweat the little stuff.

MrKelso

I always use a glass. At 49 my eye's are not as sharp as they were at age 22.

atomic

Here's a perfectly nice uncirculated gold coin scanned at 1200dpi. To the naked eye, it looks pretty good. I'm posting a link rather than a pic out of consideration for the folks who are dialing in.
Atomic

coin scanned at 1200dpi

melikecoins

I am older then all of you so far, near sighted.
I go nake for first impressions (like Russ said)
Then I use a 5X to make sure, if the coins are small, Dollars and half there is no need.

Rarely wrong from that first guess

Glen

MSD61

I use a pair of binoculars and a rifle scope....oops sorry old profession I use a 5x glass. I have a 10x glass but stopped using it

nepbrs44

I grade with a 5x loupe and use a 10x on Bust Halves to identify overton varieties

BigGreek

1. 36
2. a 10x loop or a 20x stereo scope for grade checking, the scope goes to 40x for variety checking

I strongly recommend getting yourself a good 20-40x stereo microscope for any variety
checking.

MacCrimmon

At age 27 I could focus a trime with my naked eye at 1.5". Eye surgery fouled up that deal....lucky for you guys!!

Now I grade "nekkid eye" using medium reading glasses at 12-14", and I whip out a 5x or 7x loupe if my initial impression is favorable and I might be laying down any cash.

nwcs

I don't bother with a glass unless the coin is small (dime or less). I will usually spot check with it, though. I'm 30 and I am near sighted.

Russ

<< <i>2. a 10x loop or a 20x stereo scope for grade checking, the scope goes to 40x for variety checking

I strongly recommend getting yourself a good 20-40x stereo microscope for any variety
checking. >>



I used all that stuff when I first started and was wildly off on damned near every submission. After I switched to naked eye/5x backup, my submission results started coming back very close to my own grades.

Russ, NCNE

ccrdragon

42, never worn glasses

Nekid eye for anything dime size and above, use a 10x to verify anything that looks amiss.

MrEureka

43 and nearsighted. I always remove my glasses to look at coins. I usually don't use a glass unless I have to examine a problem area more closely. I'd NEVER use a glass to look for wear or hairlines.

tradedollarnut

43 and nearsighted

Isn't that, like, 6 in human years?

42 and don't use a glass.

Peaceman

I'm 35...

I first look at a Peace $ with the naked eye and determine a "minimum" grade.... ie... this coin has to be a MS62 just by looking at it.... then I use a 10X to see if it will come up grades based on what I see....

Barry

<< <i>43 and nearsighted. I always remove my glasses to look at coins. I usually don't use a glass unless I have to examine a problem area more closely. I'd NEVER use a glass to look for wear or hairlines. >>



That's the answer I was hoping for, after reading your comment in the Grading Contest thread. You have built in magnification when you remove your glasses. That's why you don't need a loupe.

RCDB

I'm 51, nearsighted and wear contacts. I choose to use a 30 power loupe, see everything and understand from viewing hundreds of coins in slabs what it is I'm seeing. Everyone here says it is overkill, but why not see everything you can on a coin you are making an investment in.
I've gone back and looked at raw coins that I purchased with a 10 power a year or two ago and noticed things that may have changed my opinion about buying the coin.

Betta285

14 and i have 20/60 vision because of a stigmatism and i just got glasses..for the past year i've been grading just with a 10x loupe.....but even though i have the glasses, i still take them off to grade

LucyBop

The HepKitty see's all......

with the naked eye........

MrEureka

You have built in magnification when you remove your glasses. That's why you don't need a loupe.

Nearsightedness does not magnify close objects, nor does it make distant objects appear smaller. It's just easier to focus on close objects.

njcoincrank

Great thread!

I am 42 and nearsighted. I use a glass on occasion. Let me explain.

When grading a coin it is important to view the WHOLE coin (without a glass) first so that you can get an immediate impression. Believe it or not, you will formulate a grade within 10-15 seconds. If you need a glass to confirm your grade I suggest using one that allows you to view the WHOLE coin (again?). High powered loupes with small diameter lenses (1/2" or thereabouts) tend to have a person micro-grade. Those types of loupes should be use only for authentication or attribution.

Go with your first impression. It is usually right. Using a loupe should confirm your thoughts, not make you second-guess them.

njcoincrank

HalfCents

54, nearsighted, and I use a 5x loupe for grading, 10x to 20x for attribution, BUT what makes me buy the coin is what I see with the naked eye: overall appeal.

foodude

40+ 5x loupe for grading, 10x to 20x for attribution

nankraut

Cameron: I envy your eyesight. My eyes are bad and getting worse, but I used a 5X glass even when I could see.

coinkat

I guess I am Blind... Blind Coinkat. Unfortunately, I don't play the piano or sing well.

Barry

<< <i>You have built in magnification when you remove your glasses. That's why you don't need a loupe.

Nearsightedness does not magnify close objects, nor does it make distant objects appear smaller. It's just easier to focus on close objects. >>


Andy, as a coin guy you know how to grade, and as an ophthalmologist, I know my physiologic optics.

Someone who is emmetropic (neither nearsighted nor farsighted) has a distant focal point. The focusing muscle in the eye alters the shape of the lens, increasing its convexity (and power) and allows one to focus up close. At age 40-45, because of changes in the lens inside the eye (decreased elasticity), some of that focusing up close ability is lost. That's why reading glasses become necessary.

Someone who is nearsighted, like yourself, has a near focal point. For example, if your glasses power is -3.00, your far point of focus is 33 cm (everything beyond that is fuzzy). Adding the additional power supplied by the focusing muscle of the eye, you can focus without the use of any external lenses to 10-15 cm. Because you can hold the object that close to the eye, it is equivalent to using magnification.

That's what prompted my original question. Some guys talk about grading without using a glass. That doesn't surprise me if that person is:
1. young enough to have a large range of accomodation (12-15 diopters at birth, steadily decreasing throught life), permitting focusing up close without help, or
2. being nearsighted so that the coin can be held close enough to simulate the magnification provided by a lens (even 2x)

I'd be very surprised if anyone over age 40-45, who is not nearsighted, can accurately grade a coin without using some kind of magnification. The ability to see hairlines, etc. just isn't there.

keets

i constantly harp on the guys in my local clubs about micro-grading everything, which they do everytime they look at a coin. the glass comes out while they make their initial impression of any coin.

with corrected vision or 20/20 as Cameron said, that's the only way to go. no need for a glass unless something requires a closer look-----FS, FBL, doubling-----and then only the lowest power required with the best approach one that allows the largest view of the coin.

i know that if i did as my club mates do, i would never buy another coin.

oh yeah, 48+ and farsighted but corrected!!

al h.

Fairlaneman

56 years old and cannot see a dime clearly without reading glasses. A 5 power loupe is used to check a coin over if the first impression is satisfactory. As Barry just said, without help a Hairline could hit me smack between the eyes and it would not be seen.

Geez it would be nice to be 30 again.

Ken

MrEureka

I'd be very surprised if anyone over age 40-45, who is not nearsighted, can accurately grade a coin without using some kind of magnification. The ability to see hairlines, etc. just isn't there.

BTW, that's exactly why I would never consider Lasik eye surgery.

Prometheus183

1) 47

2) First, it's pretty dang bold to presume that I wear glasses, that I'm nearsighted, and that I take them off to attempt grading.
Second, yes I am, yes I do, and I use a 5x loupe for that extra umph.

Cameron said: I'm 21 with 20/20 vision. I only need a 5x glass for mintmarks, and small things like trimes. Otherwise I can see the coins fine and I do know how to grade properly.

Cameron, shut up. You don't wear glasses, so this question doesn't regard you. Damned kids.

1jester

I"m 35 and slightly nearsighted. I look at coins, and examine them first with my naked eye. That can give me an overall impression, and allow me to grade them. However, my interest lies deeper--I want to know everything about the coin, so I take my 16x loupe to it and study it, which allows me to see errors, varieties, damage, possible counterfeiting (but this is usually visible without a loupe, and sometimes not visible even with it), and hairlines I can't see without a loupe. Believe me, I've encountered very minute hairlining on coins I didn't notice without a loupe, so I feel it's a good idea to examine coins with a strong loupe.

darktone

I use a 400X so I can see every molecule. No seriously I don't think a glass is needed unless you see a problem area you want a closer look at- I could not possibly imagine grading a whole coin with a loupe.

Barry- a doctor eh? My Dads an opthamoligist also. mike

FC57Coins

I'm 47 and somewhat nearsighted. I too go the route of looking at a coin naked first to get an overall impression and look for blatant imperfections or rub marks. Then I hone in with a 5 or 10X loupe.

UncleJoe

Hello, My name is Joe and I'm 49 and nearsighted.

I remove my glasses and never use a glass to grade coins. This is not a problem since I do not collect MS coins. The only time I use a glass is to look for specific details like Buffalo Nickel mintmarks, doubling or L on ribbon and things like that.

Joe.

Shamika

Yes, I use a glass on occasion. I don't need a glassto grade, but I like to focus on some areas.

I'm 38 and I'm far sighted.

MacCoin

I am 50 and can't grade without the loop. heck I'm lucky to see a date/mm with out a glass of some kind

marcmoish

43 and nearsighted. I always remove my glasses to look at coins. I usually don't use a glass unless I have to examine a problem area more closely. I'd NEVER use a glass to look for wear or hairlines.


DITTO




Marc