A call for ancient coin images

Did you want the coin measurements so they are represented to scale, or would that just be making far too much work?

 

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All of the coins will be rendered at approximately the same size, so dimensions aren't necessary. While there is some merit to maintaining relative proportions, as you said it would be a huge amount of work. Plus, it would give more visual emphasis to larger coins, and the smallest coins' details would be impossible to see.

 

Well, I added a few more for consideration...

Jeez, TIF, you have more interests and energy than I ever had during my entire life....and that means cumulatively

BTW: I would LOVE a tie or two as well!!

 

I wonder it TIF will deliberately place a modern or contemporary fake on the tie. jk of course.

Here are a few more coins that I remembered in the 11th hour:




How long must we wait until we see a Tif-tie listed in an auction catalog.

 

I would put some pictures up here TIF, but pretty much all of my best coin pics are from the auctions/dealers and that's probably not cool to put on your goodies.

 

A few more vendor photos that I have permission to use on the tie...

 

This tie is in DESPERATE need of more Flavians!!


And what tie is complete without an error coin of the most famous ancient personality??

 

One of my favorites -

Roman Republican Denarius, C.METELLVS, minted in Rome in 125 BC, Obv – Roma; Rev - Jupiter, biga elephants; Cr - 269 / 1; Grueber – 1180; Sear – 145; Bab /RSC - Caecilia 14; 4.01 grams

 

Nice! Do you have a larger image?

I haven't had much time to edit images but I've started the process.

Here's a list of owner/coins edited so far, alphabetical by owner. I started pulling pictures from whatever page of this thread I was on that day. There will likely be several coins from many individual people. If your name is on this list but the coin you'd hoped for inclusion isn't there yet, give me some time. Not all coins posted in this thread will be used. The images need to be large enough, well lit, and well focused. Also, to avoid visual disruption I'm sticking to rounder coins rather than odd shapes.

Ancientnoob-AlchonHuns
Bing-RRdenarius-JugateDioscuri/Galley
Chrsmat71-VologasesIIIdrachm
Collect89-KyzikosObol
dlhill132-ConstantineIIAE
GregHeinrich-ATG-AVstater
Maridvnvm-PtolemyTet
Sallent-TrajanDenariusMars; Istros
Stevex6-TarentumNomos
ValiantKnight-JustinianAV
Vespasian70-VespasianDenariusConcordiaSneh
Volodya-AvatarDenarius (I don't know the coin's attribution )
Zumbly-3Graces

 

Yes! My coin's going to be famous! Ok maybe not "famous" but at least its something it can put on its resume

 

A few of mine you're welcome to use if you'd like, all relatively round, well lit and with decent detail. I own copyright to all:

 

These your photos? Really nice! Do you have something similar to Doug's setup or do you add the black backgrounds after?

 

Can I nominate AJ's Vespasian?
http://www.colosseocollection.com/p443726947/h7c737c82#hcd9ad7c


No idea why these are different sizes

 

Yup those are all mine. My setup is somewhat based on Doug's. I am still figuring out how to get good photos of bronzes(especially those with shiny patinas) but silver is pretty easy. I shoot with a black background(some cheap black felt) but then manually add a "real black" background later, i.e. this is what they looks like from the camera before cropping & a bit of work with a brush to add the "real black" background:



The full bill of materials for this setup is:
Nikon D3200
Cheap copy stand(don't remember the brand ~$40 on Amazon when I bought it)
Dowel rods of various sizes(you want ones small enough for tiny AR sestertii and obols in the 10-12mm range up to ones big enough for Ptolemaic drachms and RR asses, both in the 30+ mm range)
Block of craft foam with a hole for each size of dowel rod
A yard of so of black velvet with holes for each size of dowel rod
2 adjustable desk lamps with LED daylight spectrum bulbs

I am actually going to do some experimenting with some various bronzes I have coming in this week to see if I can get my results with those better. The results are OK, and I use them for my website photos, but I want to get them even better. I'd also like to look into a macro lens at some point, currently just using the regular kit lens that came with the D3200.

 

I'm going to have to send some of my coins on vacation to your place for nice photographs. What would you charge me for the trip? Think about it and PM me

 

TIF,
My answer is yes, but the larger are not so good. Attached are tonight's attempt. I am not set up with my new camera and the pics are way too shiny.


I took a few of a more traditionas Roma that turned out a bit better.



I will try again with the C.METELLVS.

 

I discover this thread at the moment. Is it not too late for a contribution ?

All the pictures are mine, so you can use them "à ta guise" if you think they can help (none, one, two, all....)
















to be continued....

Q

 

Q

 

I know TIF is well aware of the matter but I suspect many contributors to this project are missing the point when she asked for images. When you make prints on paper or fabric, you will need a minimum number of pixels to avoid what some call the 'Jaggies' or pixelation. For small prints like the tie, the number wont be huge but it will still be a lot larger than what we need to look good on a computer monitor (I don't even want to mention the fact that some read this list on a phone). Q's images above are excellent in terms of lighting and sharpness but click on each and you will find that the Florian and Divus Severus are much smaller than the rest and, as such, not likely to reproduce as well. While we mention the need to get permission to use seller images, we are overlooking the fact that very few sellers us images large enough to make a good looking print. They are made to sell coins online.

TIF will have a rough job choosing images when so many have to disqualify themselves due to sharpness/lighting/color which are harder to 'correct'. Large images can be resized down to what she needs but, once made smaller, the quality is lost and can not be resized up to what it once was with original quality.

Each of us approach the hobby differently. Learning to photograph coins is a major part of the hobby for me. It is good to see so many others here share this 'side' hobby. The final tie will be better if TIF can find coins higher grade than most of mine but with photos made by one of our photo oriented collectors. I'd be happy to work (via PM or email) with anyone who wants to improve coin photo skills.

 

Thanks, Doug, for your better description of the problem with so many of the posted images!

As for coin quality (not image quality), I want the tie to be representative of CoinTalk members' collections. Not every coin has to be EF+

Common or rare, VG or EF... I want to show a wide range.