coin photography: which kind of coin is hardest to photograph?

1907Quarter

some coins are a snap and they come out great on the first shot. Others...@#$%^&! and that's after 2 dozen attempts. It obviously comes down to lighting. Which coins trouble you the most and which are snaps!?

nwcs

Copper is the hardest to get a good image of. And any dark coin is very challenging.

airplanenut

Proof indian cents in an NGC holder

earlwbollinger

Well worn slugs.
When the date can be just barely made out at just the right angle or several angles.

RBinTex

I have no trouble imaging Lincoln's (MS or Proof) but find it near impossible to get a nice softly pastel toned walker to show the color in the pictures.

bushmaster8

Artificially toned coins often are difficult to capture.

And, of course, invisible coins are a real beooccch!

aem4162

i can't get a good picture of a coin in any kind of holder because of the reflections. maybe it would be different if i had more experience with a camera.

eyoung429

Trying to get an error captured from a '68 deep cameo kennedy is giving me nightmares.

dorkkarl

i have no particular experience in this area, but it appears to me that coins imaged through any kind of holder, whether a slab or a 2x2 flip, always look wierd in the digi-pic. coins imaged in the nude seem to look much better.

K S

mgoodm3

Dark (copper) or toned coins in an NGC slab. Tough. The coin's deep in the slab and the front surface of NGC slabs is not uniformly flat.

oldcameoproofsguy

Vividly toned silver proofs in slabs are also difficult. It has taken a lot of practice to be able to get accurate representations of these coins.

airplanenut

<< <i>Dark (copper) or toned coins in an NGC slab. Tough. The coin's deep in the slab and the front surface of NGC slabs is not uniformly flat. >>

Oh, and let's not forget anything tiny in an NGC slab... a shadow is cast on half the coin

BillJones

For me it's bright silver coins with a lot a luster. One part get drowned out while another is too dark. This goes for digital as well as 35mm photography.

Next a nicely toned but dark coins in slabs with a lot luster under the toning. When you can pick up the luster, you get the glare from the slab as well.

mgoodm3

If NGC would bevel the edge of the insert it would be nicer. The incuse gold coins are tough in NGC also because they are rimless. My 2.50 eagle's date is almost obscured by the insert.

flaminio

I'll say brown copper as well. It always comes out looking like a featureless dark disk for me.

Baley

yep, real dark copper is tough, have to bounce A LOT of light off it to get any detail to show.

On the other hand, proof and prooflike coins can be challenging, for the opposite reason (too much reflectivity)

and of course, photographing through slab plastic is a pain (but I'm getting better)

Cameonut

My toughest is cameo proofs with color. Trying to capture cameo contrast and beautiful color has been very difficult for me.

matteproof

coin photography: which kind of coin is hardest to photograph?

Small coins (half dime, 3cs, etc) especially in NGC holders. matteproof

CarlWohlforth

Like Cameonut I have problems with toned cameo proofs. I seem to get the best results with indirect sun light which enters my office briefly in the early afternoons. I also often have problems getting photos of red copper coins to show the color properly.

ANACONDA

I used to have major problems with just about everything but now I have little problems with just about everything.

The problem is that I am somewhat of a perfectionist.

The hardest thing to do is to show true luster and true color.

Of course "true" luster and color are misleading because their appearance differs with the kind of light and its intensity.

The kinds of light I used the most are natural and fluorescent.

With regard to dark coins in white holders, there is a very easy sure fire remedy for that.

1907Quarter

an amazing set of responses-I don't feel so bad now. Bill's bright silver coin comment hit home as I've been tearing my hair out with these lately! NGC slab is tough, but remember to mask the white slab with black paper to atleast make things better with the white light exposure: the camera will be fooled to making the surfaces on the coin brighter and truer!

Gonfunko

Nickel/clad coins. They drive me crazy! Copper isn't difficult - just place it on a dark blue background with no more light than what comes in the window and shoot straight-on.

IrishMike

I tape black cardboard taken from a shoe box lid around the NGC slab. This helps immensley on IHC proofs. You can get rid of shadows by crinkling some tin foil and placing it inside a shoebox with one third of an end cutoff. I find if I put the light directly over the slab shining down into the box the tin foil will diffuse the light and the setup eliminates the shadows. You may have to move the slab around a bit to find the exact postion for it. Copper is still very difficult to capture all the nuances of its color.

cosmicdebris

Dark Copper

<<With regard to dark coins in white holders, there is a very easy sure fire remedy for that. >>

Andrian besides deslabbing what you got?

mgoodm3

The easiest ways to deal with the white slab causing underexposed pics is to do two things. Use center-weighted or spot metering on the camera if available. Also overexpose the pic with exposure compensation.