New photos of my 1895-o dime

rhedden · February 5, 2007 1:54AM

I spent quite some time last night trying to photograph this 1895-o dime, which is a very lustrous coin that has some slight reflectivity on the obverse. While I finally got the luster to show properly, you can see that the high points of the coin (like LIBERTY) are still "washed out" and just appear white in the photo. Is there a trick to avoiding that problem when photographing bright white coins? I was using a regular incandescent bulb for lighting, so that might be part fo the problem. Also, I used a black background, which could have caused the camera to overexpose to compensate for a perceived lack of light. Of course, this setup takes beautiful photos of circulated and darker toned coins; it's just the bright ones that turn out overexposed. Photo tips appreciated.

eyoung429 · February 5, 2007 1:58AM

When I have a "White" coin, I use the lampshade technique. Of course, you can also use a white paper cup with a hole cut in the bottom to photo through.

rhedden · February 5, 2007 3:31AM

Thanks, I'll try the cup thing. I guess it's just a matter of attenuating the light a little bit.

holeinone1972 · February 5, 2007 3:32AM

OMG you suck. I want that for my Barber set. You suck, you suck,you suck.

Sweet coin.

Very jealous, Rob

rhedden · February 5, 2007 3:49AM

OMG you suck. I want that for my Barber set. You suck, you suck,you suck.

Yes, it's a killer fresh BU coin that looks like it just came out of an "original roll," as if any original rolls of 1895-O Barber dimes existed. I doubt I would have trouble selling it. However, to truly suck, I would have had to have found it hidden inside an old change purse bought at a flea market for $2. (That didn't happen, but just keep dreaming.) Although I bought it for less than retail, much cash was exchanged to pry it from the previous owner, so I can't say that I truly suck on this one.