I've been collecting for about 8 months now and I'm still in the coin roll hunting/circulated coin purchase stage. I have an 8x magnification I can use at work, but would it be a good idea to buy a 30x loupe? I love collecting coins, filling my books, and eventually moving onto more expensive coin purchases. That being said, I'm not that interested in errors and varieties unless they would sell for more than face value. Would a loupe end up "paying for itself"?
IMO 30x may be too high. This is what I use and it more than works for me to look at doubled dies, RPMs, etc... I got mine at Michael's with a $5 off coupon. In the few years I have been CRH'ing it has more than paid for itself. Especially if you are wanting to get into more expensive coin purchases I believe a loupe would be a great investment. http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/product/us-mint-loupe-16x.html
a coin collect must have 1 I think. I use a 10X power Harris. cheap and works great for detail. you will have tons of other people telling you ...you need to spend way more money on a expensive 1. it's all up to you. Ebay link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harris-10x-...784?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cdaf6bfb8 and the rich people like Bausch and Lomb ones. Ebay link: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Magnifiers-Loupes-/39478/i.html?_nkw=bausch and lomb magnifier&_frs=1
I believe you've been the first person to reply to my last two threads and have given me great advice. Thank you so much for all your help.
Hahaha no worries. I think it helps that I am currently in Germany and it is 9am here vs 3am on the East Coast.
I find that it helps to have a variety of magnification strengths - they all can be of use, depending on what you are looking at. I do commonly use both a 10X and a 30X, and even use a 50X with LED lighting on occasion. It's nice to have choices.
I find that a 10x is adequate most of the time. It will depend on your eyesight. I am very near sighted, so have excellent near vision. If yours is not as strong, 20 or 30 might be warranted. With all magnification, the most important aspect is lighting. By definition magnification needs stronger lighting, since less light is being used. Make sure you either have a lighted loupe or a good desk lamp nearby. Using a loupe without strong lighting is a good way to strain your eyes.
This is what I use. It's 5x with a bright LED light and a sliding cover. Super cheap. Works great. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00524H8MC/
10x is plenty for most people. I might go 15x. My weapon of choice is the Peak Lupe. It is designed for photography use and why it has a screw on base attachment is the correct focal length when you set it down. http://www.amazon.com/Peak-10x-Loup...UTF8&qid=1410533860&sr=8-1&keywords=peak+lupe
Perhaps you will one day find what I did. The better question than "should I get a loupe?" might be "how many different loupes should I seek to own?" The 10x is the Ford F-150 pickup of loupes - it'll carry most of what you need to drag around. Whether you also need a Kenworth and a Ferrari depends on what you want to do with it. Personally, I think that if you find a repeated need to go over your 10x, I think you might be a candidate for a stereo microscope. Nothing compares with seeing every bit of fly excrement on your coins in bold binocular stereo relief. Yummmmmm-mee!
Loupes with close LED lighting will enhance any defect on a coin surface. They often makes the surface appear doubled or badly abused when it isn't. I have a 30 year old long focus relief 10X Edmund 'thread counter' lens I wouldn't sell for $300 that fits my eyes/glasses needs. I tried to find a duplicate for my son, but couldn't, so I bought a 10X Belomo for him to carry. I have several 99 cent store magnifiers for the tiny visitors that want to use a magnifier also, and let them keep them if permitted by their parents. Buy the best you can. Most people can not keep a hand magnifier in focus if it is over 15X. At home we use a B&L Stereozoom with supplemental eyepieces
Yup, yup, yup. All good. I only have one problem with my LED loupe - omnidirectional lighting. It really changes the look of a coin from the standard monodirectional numismatic grading standard lighting setup. What I'd really like is an LED loupe with about half of the LED's darkened.
I have a 30x loupe that I got 5 years ago for .99 on ebay from china. as far as the errors and their values....if you sell 30 pennies for $1 each or 10 different coins for $3 each....might not seem like much...but when you go to the coin store to by a $30 coin you are really only paying $1-$2.50 for that coin, to me its worth it
This is my loupe :3 I bought a USB camera with it too, but I need one without magnification. (I thought I could just remove the 10X eyepiece and use the objective lens) I have a couple pocket ones for shows or whatever... One is 40X with a light, one is 30X and is just a lens by itself. I prefer the latter if there's a direct light source and at a show that's kind of a given. They have some neat stuff on there, though. I might get around to purchasing more. I'm starting to write a book and need photography equipment, and it can't hurt selling off some stuff I don't need anymore.
