Hi. I've benefitted greatly from threads here about the kinds of LED magnifiers, loupes, and lamps that collectors prefer when grading coins. What I'm having trouble determining are what tools are best when just sitting around enjoying my growing collection of tiny coins. In an ideal world, it might be a well-lit, very wide 10x magnifying contraption with a stand. But am not finding something quite like this that exists. Also, I laughed to read one member's advice about how none of our friends want to see them, just us. But maybe a friend or relative might like to enjoy a few coins without having their faces pressed against something to do so. Any thoughts? Or should I keep dreaming? I don't think I want a smartphone-to-computer gadget, as most people might prefer old-fashioned viewing for an old-fashioned hobby. Thanks!
They make all kinds of magnifiers like you're describing - https://www.google.ca/search?q="tab...&ved=0ahUKEwiZ8_6Sy_baAhXJo1kKHdYHDfsQsAQIkQI As for how an individual prefers to view coins, I'd say that's up to the individual. Some will prefer just looking at the coins as they are, others will prefer magnifiers of their choice. It's really a chocolate and vanilla thing - different taste for different folks. But none of them are right, nor wrong.
These are nice options. Thank you. When I previously looked at Amazon, I used words like STAND as a keyword, not tabletop. I'll now hunt what you pulled together in hopes of finding 10x, or at least 7x. And then I'll put one in every room and force friends to enjoy my coins.
@Rick Hudson Interesting avatar! Do you own that token error? Here are 2 NYC transit errors that I own -
Wow, nice errors. I own several old NYC subway tokens, but none with errors. The avatar is just a picture of one that I always liked, especially being born in NYC and living here most of my life. Subways are so safe now, btw. When I was a young teen, I would hide the tokens in my socks in case of potentially getting mugged.
Most spectacular display I ever saw of a coin...... It was a proof coin. Was raised on an acrylic stand. Below the stand was a small LED lamp pointed up at the coin. Anywhere you walked in the place the light glinted off the proof surfaces forcing your eyes to look at it. It was truly a spectacular display. Made a ten dollar proof look like a million dollar coin.
Oh it was.... Nothing too elaborate about it at all..... I would love to do it on an end table at home but I can already see the grandkids being drawn to it and using my coin to play tea party with or something. Heck, a fellow could get a few pieces of acrylic at the home store. Probably get an LED disk there too. Actually I just looked at the website @desertgem linked up above. There it all is.
This is one of the cool things about living in the 21st century. If you want a gem or a coin to glitter, you want a bright point-source light. A non-frosted incandescent (halogen) light with a small filament is good, but generates a lot of heat and doesn't last very long. Fluorescent lights, including compact fluorescents, are terrible. But cheap, non-diffused LEDs are great for this -- and now we have them!