Here is one of my favorites, albeit generic, Morgans are nice and photogenic. This one is MS-65 CAC in an old NGC slab. Camera is (similar to so many others here) a Nikon D5200 with the standard "included" lens, using diffused natural light and just me holding it (no tripod).
Gee whiz, @dwhiz, he said "coin" photos, share your best "coin" photos! Oh, lol. But you stepped right into that one.
Might not be my best, but certainly one of my favorites. Canon SX500 IS, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, F4.0, 0.0EV. Dual Par 25 lights.
With the bellows, you can get great close ups, yes?? Beautiful set - up. Makes me wanna pack up and go home!!
Offered just to make the point that not all coins are shiny. The bottom part is a 100% crop unreduced. Canon 5D mk II 100mm Canon macro
That's a fair observation so how about this ( I know you don't like the fantasy items by the Moonlight Mint)
In terms of "really cool artistic photos," this shot has always been one of my favorites: In terms of "capture the coin really well," I really like these shots :
One of my better photos: This little litra measures 11 mm and weighs only 0.76 gm. It's about the size of my thumbnail and not much thicker. Canon Powershot G16, mounted on homemade copy stand. Manual settings, diffused sunlight + Ott light.