I was woundering what type of loupe you should use when grading a coin and what its magnification should be??........
A 10x works best for me. If you need anything stronger to see something, chances are, it's not worth anything significant
Couldn't agre more! I have a lamp that works like "natural sunlight" or something. Using a white light helps find details the best
One needs "Old Glass" to properly look at old coins. New loupes do not see the "Aura" that coins will show. If one is to detect a coin's aura, you need at least vintage glass pre 1940. For American coins, an American loupe is needed for aura detection. Of the American glass, I have found Baucsh & Lomb particulary good at focusing on auras. Here are my 3 aura detectors... My portable glass. A 1906 B & L 10x. This old gal can detect 95% of the auras. Here is my work glass. A 1930 B & L Steroscope (17x). This baby finds all but the oldest aura's. Here is the heavy artillary. The Oldest auras are the hardest to detect! So in 1885 B & L came up with this super modernistic Aura catcher !!! Not even ancient Greek obols can hide thier aura from this Statavaris of detectors !!!! (20 x) So, remember to take care of your aura and your aura will take care of you. I hope this little bit of glass knowlege will help all of our young and ineberated numismatics. :devil:
Aura detector? I'll have whatever you're smoking. I use a 15x. If I could go back, I'd start with a 10x, 15x, and 30x.
5X or 6X or less is best for grading. With higher magnifications you cannot see all or most of the coin and minor imperfections appear to be worse than they are. Before looking at the coin under a loupe you should first study it using the naked eye. That will give you an overall impression of the coin (e.g., luster, strike, evidence of wear, toning, etc.). If the first thing you do when you pick up a coin is to look at it with a 10X loupe (rather than the naked eye) you may not be able to see the forest for the trees. And, as stated above, proper lighting is very important - not just the amont of light but also the type. (Fluorescent lighting tends to hide hairlines.)
Nice collection! I have a soft spot for early scientific instruments especially optical. Once I get around to it, I'm going to put together a small collection as well.
3x,6x =10x eisenbach for me. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...fk9IYMs%3D&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK:MEWAX:IT
The eisenbach line are great lenses being aplanatic, but have a very nice price tag also. The Belomo group are used by many scientific and amateur geologists and jewelers. Not an apanatic, but nice at about 1/3 the price. Also available on Amazon. Russian hi grade optics are very good. I can notice the difference of aplanatic lens with microscope magnification 100+, but less at 10X, my eyes. http://www.amateurgeologist.com/triplet-loupes/ Jim
thanks for the help. now i use a 8x lens but i think that i need a higher power to grade my vast collection as a young collector.
If your wanting to grade your coins you want 10x or LESS. If your looking for more detail then grading you should use a stronger one.
I ordered a 10x eisenbach over the weekend for just over 52.00. It's a steal at that price. Here is the link: http://www.ottofrei.com/store/home.php?cat=3276 I have found if you look for ANYTHING that has to do with coin collecting the price is a little higher than other hobbies. The company has a full line eisenbach loupes ALL at good prices. Welcome to CT!
I recommend using no higher than 6X for grading. 10X and higher should be used for determining authenticity and variety.
Yeah, you spot a 1988 1c RDV-006 with a 10x loupe and get back to me, haha... Crap is tiny! That's the main reason I want a stronger loupe.
Merc, That's why I said "10X and higher". I have a 20X that I use infrequently - but it comes in handy every now and then.
