Seminar on Selecting and Using a Magnifier
messydesk
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Magnifier selection and use comes up here and on other coin forums frequently enough that I have to wonder if a 45 minute seminar at a major show on "Selection and Use of Magnifiers" would be valuable and/or well attended. It seems like such a mundane skill, but my gut is telling me that a lot of people don't know what they need and don't know how to use it. Thoughts?
John
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
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Selecting a magnifier - 5 minutes.
Knowing what to look for and how to use it - somewhere between 40 minutes and a lifetime.
great idea, add it to the FUN schedule, I'll see you there in a few months
I think it's a great idea. For both general newbies and those new to varities. From loupes to usb microscopes to clip on cell phone camera zoom lenses. Which would be best for which application and which give best resolutions etc. Wouldn't be a big enough topic for Summer Seminar but perhaps like you said a short show class at the big shows could be a hit.
LOL, just thinking about this after the great pic of the $5 gold Indian in a post the other day. After being able to see the rub marks color differences so well in that photo I pulled out a few of my Indians and tried examining with multiple magnifiers/lighting and had a rough time duplicating what I saw in that pic.
I'd definitely attend.
Sounds like an idea. Maybe make one on youtube?
Collector, occasional seller
@musstangr said: "LOL, just thinking about this after the great pic of the $5 gold Indian in a post the other day. After being able to see the rub marks color differences so well in that photo I pulled out a few of my Indians and tried examining with multiple magnifiers/lighting and had a rough time duplicating what I saw in that pic."
Your coins may all be free of any rub.
Here is a little "not so secret." Give it a try but it is not for the faint of heart. You can use these methods to arrive at a strict grading opinion BUT you will still need to learn how to grade a coin the way it is actually done at coin shows, coin shops, grading seminars, and inside a TPGS.
Lay a white sheet of paper on a table. Place a lamp on the right or left (75W - 100W). Hold a silver or gold coin on the opposite side of the paper and lamp. Now tilt the coin at a 45degree angle so the light reflects from the paper up to the coin. Bend your head so you can see the surface of the coin w/o blocking the light. You should see a color change on places you should closely examine on the coin after this "trick."
Purchase a good florescent desk lamp. Florescent light illuminates the coin w/o producing the glare associated w/ incandescent light. You'll easily see any areas on the coin (different color from original MS surface) where the luster is impaired.
Don't tell anyone about this and please don't try to grade coins using florescent light exclusively!
PS I have heard both Brian Silliman and Bill Fivaz talk on this exact subject. It is also covered in the ANA's Correspondence course. I'll bet Randy Campbell (FUN Education Chairman) might let someone give a ten minute "filler" on this subject between the presentations.
I'm probably too late to add it to FUN this year. They get their educational program put together pretty early, and I don't really have the entire content figured out. As CascadeChris indicates, there is a wide range of devices available that can be used as magnifiers in addition to the traditional optics-only stuff. Strengths and weaknesses, how to use each, and when to choose each could easily fill 45 minutes. I'd also want participants to have a couple different devices available during the seminar, whether their own, or shared somehow.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution
I almost submitted this reply to the earlier discussions about selecting the proper magnifier, or loupe, but I didn't. Perhaps, though, it is better posted here.
I serendipitously fell into the absolute best sales pitch for the Zeiss Optics D36 9x loupe that has ever been used. I was at a FUN Show in Orlando several years ago, standing at a dealer's table, closely studying a half dime using my trusty B&L 5X plastic pocket magnifier. A vest pocket dealer with a roll around case, whom I did not know, walked by, saw me studying a coin, and stopped to chat. He may have been a bit presumptious, a bit pushy, but as things turned out, I did not mind. He saw that I was looking at fairly expensive (>$500) coins, and I was using a cheap $5 magnifier, so he offered an alternative. He pulled out a brand new, boxed Zeiss 3x,6x,9x Aplanatic Achromatic Pocket loupe that he was selling. I looked at it, used it to study the coin I was looking at, and I very much liked it. But when I inquired about the price, he said that it was $120, or something in that ballpark. I balked a bit, so he offered something that stunned me. Again, I did not know this seller from Adam at the time, and he did not know me. But he asked if I was going to be at the show for a few days, and when I answered 'yes', he replied "Take that loupe, use it for a few days, and when you agree that it is the very best loupe you have ever used, find me on the bourse floor and pay me for it. I asked him why he even thought that I, a total stranger to him, would even bother to look him up to pay him for it and he replied that I will be so thrilled with the loupe that I would go out of my way to pay him for it. Well, his little sales pitch worked. I loved the loupe, and after spending a day or two really seeing the details, color, and surfaces of the coins I was looking at, I tracked him down on the floor, paid him for the loupe, and thanked him profusely. My memory is not what it used to be, but I want to say that his name was Margolis. In any event, he made me a true advocate for spending a few extra bucks to acquire a quality loupe when looking at quality coins. I don't know if he is still selling them, or using his unorthodox sales method, but it sure worked with me.
Great story @MrHalfDime! We used to call that technique "The Puppy Dog Close" in sales. Take the puppy home for the weekend and return him on Monday if you don't want it. I bought a car this way once after driving it all weekend!
Might your Margolis be Joel B. Margolis, company name "House of Margolis?" I bought a Harald Schneider 10X loupe (made in Germany) from him at the FUN show many years ago.
I still use my cheap plastic 5X glass along with this high quality 10X glass when looking at coins!
W. David Perkins Numismatics - http://www.davidperkinsrarecoins.com/ - 25+ Years ANA, ANS, NLG, NBS, LM JRCS, LSCC, EAC, TAMS, LM CWTS, CSNS, FUN
That may very well be. As I said, I was unsure of his name, except to say that I thought it was Margolis. If he sold loupes at major shows, then that is likely it. In any event, he had a great "Puppy Dog Close". I still use that loupe routinely when looking at coins.
I won't say a word!!
Thanks, I will try it!
The high grade AU vs MS has always given me some trouble, would love to get better at this.
Below is what everyone will look like before the seminar starts
I remember back to when ColonelJessup at a show handed me a beautiful seated dollar and his Eschenbach magnifier to check it out before I could reach for mine. The coin was nice as I recall... The Eschenbach loupe was a major game changer as I was totally blown away. There's no going back once you look through a quality optic.
@musstangr said: "The high grade AU vs MS has always given me some trouble, would love to get better at this. "
IMO, that will take a while as the AU/MS "line" has become very blurred.
It is both a personal thing and an economic thing depending on what cap you are wearing when you examine a coin.
The use of a high quality loupe to view coins makes a world of difference. I used the Zeiss 3/5/9 and would not part with it.... even replaced my loupe at work (work occasionally required the use of magnification)...I believe an instructional course on the selection and use of these tools would be valuable - however, it likely would fit best as a section of the grading courses. Cheers, RickO
To be sure, grading courses must make sure that people choose and use magnifiers correctly for grading. People not taking grading courses would also benefit from some demystification of the vast array of magnifying devices that are out there.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars • Variety Attribution