Is it possible to scan coins to show pictures ? I need to get a camera , but have hospital bills to pay on the surgeries I have been hoarding coins since I left so I have plenty to search i know I scanned baseball cards to sell, they turned out great but I figure coins is a total differant thing
Yes, it is possible and done quite frequently. Results vary and usually the lighting and read of the coin is very poor. There is a distinct look to scanned coins but it gets the job done, if not at the expense of actually truly depicting what the coin looks like. BB Cards work well because they are flat media, which is what works best for flatbed scanners.
If you have a decent scanner and good software to massage the scan the results can be quite satisfying.
Scanners do a great job of showing details/hits/etc. The don't do a great job at showing luster. Generally, a photograph is better, but if a scanner is all you have, they can do a respectable job at portraying a coin. Go for it!
...and assuming one has the skill and time to spend doing all that digital magic just to post coin images on an internet forum.
As I've said before, no magic is necessary to get decent scans of coins that show both luster and color. All ya need is one simple trick of the trade. Place something about 1/4 inch thick under one edge of the coin, then close the lid and scan away. Just make sure to scan at a minimum of 600 dpi. If you have a decent scanner you'll get good pics. And no massaging or picture editing is necessary other than cropping the image.
If you place something under one edge of the coin will this not block part of the image during the scan? Also, wouldn't it also matter which angle the coin was placed at, the swipe of the scan and illumination from the lamp comes from one direction or travels with the scan as it passes under the item being scanned. And how can you close the cover of a flatbed scanner when there is something at least 1/4" raised off the surface of the glass?
Thanks everyone I wanted show some of my coins was not for sure if that would work Hopefully 2011 will be better , I cant complain as of now have eyesight !
I've never had much luck with scanning coins. The slabs and coins themselves have always got a toning affect of a light in many different colors which of course isn't there. Examples: Now I know there is a special trick to scanning. Doug mentioned something above, but I do not see how that would fix my problem. I am not interested in scanning my coins, but this is food for thought about how a problem like this could be fixed and why somebody wouldn't want to scan coins.
There are good scanners out there with crappy software. I use Vuescan which can and will help just about any make of scanner. The above images would be a no brainer for it to fix and we are not talking about a lot of time or skill to do.
I have had problems with my scanner for years, and no my fax, scanner, copier, printer all in one is about useless. It will only copy and print, it will not fax nor will it scan. The scanning software that is built into my desktop is also crap. I wish I would've known about different scanning software(s) when my scanner was indeed working.
Thanks Travis. I was looking for your thread on scanning coins to help the OPs questions but couldn't find it.
I've used the scanner to post pics here. I was never really satisfied with the quality. Even tried Doug's trick, but to no avail. Unless the coins were sitting flat on the bed everything was blurry. If the coins were in a holder, more blurry pictures. Of the scans taken, luster was always impaired. Finally got a digital cam and I'm much happier with my pics. But to answer Sandy's' question, yes, you can most definitely use the scanner to post pics. Getting the pics to look the way you want them to? That's more difficult.....
Here's a couple examples that I have posted before. As for the lid, you just close it. No it doesn't go down all the way, but it doesn't need to either. As you see, it works
Thanks for the example scans. Results certainly vary and while your example may be considerably better than most scans of raw coins simply laid flat on the glass of the scan bed, these are not the most desirable results of coin imaging, especially if you intended to show off the true color of that coin. Less than desirable results is pretty much what I had said about scanning coins earlier in this thread. For instance, your scan has caught a lot of glare off the plastic of the 2x2. There is uneven illumination over this coin. The cold light of the scanner lamp is very bluish at the top edge of the coin effecting the color of the coin across that region quite significantly. The angle of the coin to the scan and the intensity of light makes seeing some details in the center of the coin a bit hard to read as well. Scanning coins for the purpose of generally sharing images on a forum works but scanning coins is more of a last ditch effort in coin imaging.
Krispy what you see is the true color of that coin. The only reason the blue color shows up is because that coin was that blue and it was reflected to the plastic of the holder in that area. For example - here's another coin of the same type and date scanned the same day that did not have that toning. You'll notice there is no blue.
Thanks Doug. Your scans of coins are certainly above and beyond the norm. I believe most anyone could detect that a scanner was used to create these images and knowing that would limit their comments or bids based on the image quality. A flatbed scanner is simply not the best imaging tool to use for coins which are not flat, may be in holders or deep in slabs. Scanning certainly can be used more effectively than we typically see from shared images, to accurately depict, within a tolerable range, what the coin looks like.
Hi GDJMSP, The scans look good to me. I'm thinking of buying a scanner to start imaging my coins. I know that a photos would be better but don't have the money or time, right now, to buy and learn the proper techniques for all that would be involved in numismatic photography. Are there minimum specs that you would recommend for a scanner besides the dpi you mentiioned in a previous post? Once you have a scanner are there certain settings you use besides the 600dpi? I appreciate your feedback!!! Sincerely, stoster38
