I was wondering if anyone here has used a scanner to image their coins raw or throguh slabs) and had good luck? I have a printer/scanner/fax HP all of the scans i do look horrible. If you have had luck/good results scanning coins can you post the model of scanner you are using as well as an example of one of its coin scans? thanks much in advance!
I've seen some scans of coins that didn't look really horrible but your scanner was not intended for that kind of usage. Your coin has depth and paper items for scanning don't. If you try scanning a coin in a holder of anykind, you will even have more of a problem due to the depth perseption of the machine. It is sort of like your eye trying to focus on items at different distances at the same time. It will work but you will loose detail. Best thing to do is just buy a digital camera. The prices are dropping like crazy nowadays. When and if you decide to buy a digital camera and want to use it for coins only or for general usage, best ask on this forum what is suggested as a decent camera.
Scan: Photo (crappy but you get the idea): There is one type of scanner that can get decent scans of both coins and slabs. Can't remember what they are called though. Scans through a slab with my scanner is nearly impossible.
Right well....my camera doesn't take close up pictures that well, so I use my scanner. With my scanner I can get detailed scan like that or better ^^ (This is the same vermont quarter from the image above...done on the same scanner) I agree with the depth of field though, also you can adjust the lighting when using a camera.
My camera doesn't take close-ups very well either. My scanner does pretty well, but I don't think it shows detail well enough for people to get a good idea of the grades of my coins from the pictures. Oh, by the way, the coin in my avatar is one that I scanned.
But notice the complete absence of the luster which is probably on that AU or Unc. coin. It's the nature of the beast that scanners don't show luuster. Digicams generally do.
i scan all of my pictures. i have a hp psc 1210v all in one. we got it at walmart and it works great on coins and paper money. it also prints very good. its a scanner and a printer, all in one!
My scanner doesn't does an OK job, even on slabs. For example, here is a scan of a nickel in a NGC slab. However, forget about proof coins, or anything else that's really shiny.
hmm.... thanks for the reply s! i have found some resources online that sell mounts for cameras and light tables/rungs to get good pictures, but wanted to see what else was out there. A place i used to work at had this awesome scanner that could scan objects with depth, and did a superb job... but it cost thousands of dollars. The thing was huge, you could easily scan something like an entire newspaper opened up. I was curious to see if the technology would have filtered down to "home" scanners yet. I can;t really scan coins at the store to test them before i buy that nickel scan looks prety good toddestan, what kind of scanner is it? I will probably end up getting a camera mount: here is a coin world tutorial i found that is good: http://www.coinworld.com/news/011005/bw_0110.asp http://www.coinworld.com/news/011705/BW_0117.asp
Obtaining high quality pics of a coin that show luster & color by using a scanner isn't difficult, nor does it require expensive equipment - it just requires a little trick. Click Here for an example. The scanner used was an HP Scanjet 5300C, it's quite old now and was even inexpensive when I bought it new. I think I paid about $125. But look at the picture closely for a clue of what to do. See at the top of the picture - there is something else there besides the coin. The coin in the pic is in an Air-Tite holder, what you see at the top of the pic is another Air-Tite holder under the edge of the holder that the coin is in. That's it - no magic, no manipulating the pic with photo software - all you have to do is have the object at a slight angle to the scanner's screen. Then luster and color will be readily visible. And there will be no loss of detail. The coin won't look washed out. You can do the very same thing with slabbed coins or coins in any holder. Just place something about 1/4 inch in thickness under the edge of the holder or slab and scan away. It also works with raw coins. But to avoid blocking the edge of the raw coin you are trying to image you have to use the same method with a little different twist. Find a framed photo you have in the house, any will do. Remove the glass from the frame and place it on your scanner bed. Then take anything about 1/4 inch thick and place it under the edge of the glass so that the glass is at a slight angle to the scanner's screen. Place the coin you wish to image on the glass and scan the coin. You'll have the same results I did.
Thanks GDJMSP, that trick seems to work pretty well. I just tried your trick on a slabbed proof coin, using $2 worth of Ike dollars to prop it up at an angle, and got what I consider to be a respectable scan, especially for a proof.
You mean there was doubt ? Just kidding With a little practice in finding just the right angle, you can get quite good pics with a scanner
