My Most Beautiful Coin Photo So Far, Post Yours!

I believe this is the most beautiful coin photo I have taken so far. The coin is not rare, was not expensive, and has some honest wear, but it has really nice toning that sets off the incredibly artistic and skillful design. The photo was taken with daylight LED lighting only.

Beauty is a highly subjective thing so post whatever photo strikes you as your most beautiful whether it be Greek, Roman, Medieval, Eastern, anything you like.


Larissa Drachm, 350-325 BC
BMC 57, Grose 4620
Ex Empire Coins, 1987

John

 

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Got's one, but it ain't an ancient, so I'll refrain from posting it.......nice shot dear fellow.

 

One of my better shots IMHO:

MN. FONTEIUS ROMAN REPUBLIC; GENS FONTEIA
AR Denarius
OBVERSE: Jugate heads of the Dioscuri
REVERSE: Galley under oar
Struck at Rome 108-109 BC
3.9g, 20mm
Cr.307/1, Fonteia 7

 

Start with a pretty coin and try not to mess it up. I have higher grade coins but am fond of this Parthian drachm due to the recesses.

 

This Antoninus Pius Sestertius shot was pleasing to me as it shows all the fine detail.

 

I am partial to this denarius of Vespasian. I love the nemesis on the reverse.

 

This thread it turning out even better than I hoped!

I could sing the praises of each coin and photo, they all deserve their own threads.

 

Pictures of front facing coins are particularly tricky. Here is arguably my most attractive coin and one which I think I've managed to represent well in its photograph - a unique Clazomenae drachm, ex Pozzi, ex Kunstrfreund:

 

The best-looking coin I bought this year lent itself to the nicest photo of a coin I've taken. It made my job easy, and I like easy jobs .



On the other hand, I love my many many dogs too, and I love it when the photos show them in all their gnarly, scratched-up glory. To me, these are beautiful too.

 

Hard to pick my favorite photo, but this is certainly up there. The color, depth and true to life appearance makes it appealing to me. The subject is quite lively and expressive. Not to mention it is a coin of stupid rarity. Vijayabahu I mobile mint.

 

I know this is not a photo related question but how do you separate these by mint? References? I see our coins differ in the left character on the third row but I know so little about these. I read on the link below that the coins of Vinjaya varied a lot in legend.
https://books.google.com/books?id=C...BC0Q6AEIPTAF#v=onepage&q=vinjaya bahu&f=false

 

My most beautiful coin has always been this Babylon Mint Alexander III gold stater. Not even my main area of collecting interest - but I simply cannot part with it. So glad I didn't sell my collection.

 

In the earliest times hence the plaque coins in such the principle mint was Anuradhapura, the seat of the king and government. During the high middle ages, right around 1000 the Chola from south India invaded. Which ended the first kingdom. During the period of the reconquest of the island by the natives there were several mints opperating in the south of the island and most coins of that brief period are attributed to Rahuna. Polonnaruwa is considered the second kingdom and the principle mint from the time of Viajabahu I till about the early 13th century with the demise of Queen Lilivati my the Indian tyrant Kalinga Magha who did not issue coins and established the Jaffna kingdom. Polonnaruwa was abandoned in the mid 14th century and from that point on administration and minting came from Yapahuwa and later Kandy, all of which change with the establishment of the Portuguese on the island a short time later. The mints are primarily attributed to where the administration was and existing archaeological evidence.

The standing primary reference is... a snipet about the book and author.
https://sirimunasiha.wordpress.com/about/1640-2/

 

Joe,

That is a spectacular photo of one of the most artistic coins there is.



Now you just need a Tetradrachm now to go with it.

 

As others have said in the past, coin photography is a hobby in itself. Here are some images I think are particularly nice.

The first coin, one that everyone here is probably tired of seeing , required at least a hundred attempts before I was happy. Some might not like the brightly reflective spots but I think it is visually pleasing.

SICILY, Syracuse. Agathokles tetradrachm

The next one is not a perfect coin but it is one of the most beautiful in my collection and I was particularly pleased with the images. These may be the best coin images I've shot. Tilted just right, the iridescence is on full display. The coin is well lit and all devices and surfaces are accurately portrayed.

SICILY, Selinos. AR litra

Another example of lighting the coin to optimally display iridescence and color:

L. Julius L. f. Caesar denarius

The next coin won't win any beauty pageants but I'm particularly pleased with the images. The colors are accurate, at least on my computer screen. Lighting dark coins is challenging. In this case I opted for some reflected light from the fields so the devices stand out better.

Tiberius obol

This charming Sicilian tetras is a favorite and I think the images are very nice. The obverse lighting is from the left rather than closer to 12:00 but I like the effect. The obverse and reverse are lit a bit differently but it is pleasing to my eye.

Sicily, Syracuse. Dionyisos I, tetras

Lastly, I played with lighting direction when shooting this Plancus denarius. Although unconventional, I liked it best when the obverse was lit from below. Not only did it make the devices stand out, it gives Medusa and appropriately creepy vibe .

L. Plautius Plancus denarius

 

You guys shoot some really nice photos
Some really beautiful ones here. I am envious....It's an art I have not well mastered. That is my weak point.

(only comfort: my coins look better than my photos!)

 

Such amazing collections and pictures. Unfortunately I have a long way to go. The best I could garner are as follows


Ancient China. Warring States Period Eastern Zhou Dynasty. Jade cowrie.

Genghis Khan. Pre-Yuan Dynasty Silver David Chao Tong Bao.

Qing Dynasty China. Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce. 1st Class Medal of Merit. Silver. 19th century.

 

Thanks for the link. It certainly does a good job listing the letter variations on some coins I have seen but stops short of explaining any of them. The author does mention someone speculating of which coins of Lilavati belong to which of her three reigns but dismisses it as speculation. It seems in most cases we are doing well to assign a coin to a ruler let alone a mint or finer attribution. I do note many coins described as AV or AR but I have never seen one that was any more AV or AR than the later Roman Antoniniani were AR to the eye.

 

I find mine to be very similar to yours. View attachment 558275
(Lol ) nice pic.