Fortunately for me, he only seems to offer copies of 19th century issues (and maybe 1 20th century), not my period. If he offered such nice copies of 17th and 16th century Talers, it would be hard to resell them as genuine because you almost never see coins of that period in such condition.
What kind of bulb would be best in those lamps? A regular incandescent or the newer fluorescent or even the LEDs?
I personally reccomend incandescent, but have seen recommendations on filtering/diffusing the light with a paper or a tissue. Also, as long as the white balance is adjusted, really any should suffice. Use a black or white background for the coin. https://www.hunker.com/13412740/incandescent-vs-fluorescent-light-spectrum Also, @messydesk made a great teaching CD on coin photography. Not sure if he still sells them.
No need. It's right here. It's a presentation I did at FUN in 2011. Some info is about choosing a cheap camera, and is therefore outdated, but techniques are more timeless. I think I also use fluorescent bulbs in the video, which I've since replaced with LEDs.
Going back to the realm of forgeries ,on a quick search ,i've already managed to find a few easy ones! A VOC ducaton, nothing special, most of this type are poor fakes, a siege klippe and the heaven of fake counterstamps!There is a guy that keeps listing fake transylvanian talers/siege klippe, but i can't find him atm!I also remember a case where an ebay seller from Ireland had a fake Jefimok/Mansfeld taler sold for about 6 times until someone probably actually thought it was genuine! Is there a place here where we can post links involving fakes available on Ebay? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Austria-...398811?hash=item3fe1cf4c9b:g:dJ4AAOSwjsdexUAp https://www.ebay.de/itm/Ulm-Klippe-...156107?hash=item48e4e98b4b:g:900AAOSwxZtet-MJ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1739-Sil...556307?hash=item4dac801293:g:9BoAAOSwWc1eh27l
Netherlands/Germany Province of HOLLAND countermark on City of COLOGNE Taler 1572 In 1573 the Holland rebels countermarked silver coins to increase their value by 1/8 to help pay their troops fighting the Spaniards View attachment 1120542 View attachment 1120543 Unfortunately almost every Jefimok is fake. It is just too easy to buy a cheap VF Taler and add the c/m and triple the "value". I do not touch them unless they have a long provenance. It is a pity because it would be interesting to assemble a collection of all the types. I have to admit I would not necessarily have spotted the Ulm and Netherlands coins as fakes at first sight, which is a bit worrying, although questions quickly arise when you study them. I have never dared buy on eBay, even though I know one can find bargains, but this sort of thing makes me ever more wary. A data base on eBay fakes would be very useful.
I can't remember the name but there is a site that is all about calling out the fakes and the scammers, and lists the crooks by their names, but if I'm not mistaken, it's mostly ancient coins. Anyone know the site I'm thinking of?
I had started drafting this post when I replied to PaulTudor's post on fakes and my reply came out mixed up with this post. Apologies if I confused anyone. Here is the full post I had started to write. The coin is NOT a fake, at least I hope not. Netherlands/Germany Province of HOLLAND countermark on obverse of City of COLOGNE Taler 1572 In 1573 the Holland rebels countermarked silver coins to increase their value by 1/8 to help pay their troops fighting the Spaniards. The countermark, not so easy to see, is a shield with lion rampant l., in an oval.
It would be great if there was something similar for medieval and early modern coins (say, up to 1800). After 1800 I believe there are torrents of fakes with new ones appearing all the time so documenting them is an almost impossible task.
I've never studied the Jefimoks too much due to being above my budget, but i have no doubts you are right about most being fakes!That Ulm klippe and the VOC ducaton are 100% fake in my opinion!Ebay is my main playground, most of my top deals being related to it, but again i'm always trying to be very cautious before buying. I'll post a few pictures of fakes(in my opinion only) that i've spotted in the last two years! 1590 Transylavnia taler(ebay) 1786 VOC 3 Gulden( sold as genuine by an UK auction house) 1646 Graz taler(sold on ebay, 3+ grams underweight) 1535? Oettingen taler( ebay, coin was 2 + grams overweight, there is no 1535 in Krause for the type, probably an old forgery) 1643 Augsburg taler(sold on ma-shops as genuine!) 1804 Furstenberg taler(ebay) 1623 Rottweil 1-1/2 Klippe??, judging by weight ,52 grams (ebay, Rottweil only issued a 1-1/4 klippe!)
I think they pretty much all would have fooled me. BTW, that edge treatment on the Transylvania Taler is certainly different. That's the first time I've seen that.
Interestingly, that klippe comes from a seller with 33,000+ positive feedbacks and says it guarantees authenticity. Fascinating! I love siege coins and the history that comes with them. I can only imagine what life was like under siege in that era.
I've been looking for a 1704 klippe for a while, trying to find a well preserved one and none resembled this piece, meaning they had nice details, but also the usual wear marks. This one is in a top condition, but lacks details, which makes me think of the km 92 variety that doesn't seem to be that common.Then why is it so cheap for its grade and no one is buying it considering that it's such a sought after type? Everytime an attracting piece appears on ma-shops/ebay it simply vanishes immediately! Again, it's just my opinion, maybe because it looks a bit too good to be true! The 1643 Augsburg taler was sold by a well known dealer with tons of positive feedback, so i won't really pay attention to that number!
I very much agree with your assessment of the coin, just found the circumstances interesting. Usually too good to be true pieces don't come from mega sellers.