Catching up on some coin photography

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by zumbly, Mar 28, 2017.

  1. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    In a post I just made in another thread, I mentioned an old coin in my collection which I hadn't photographed yet. It's definitely been a recurring theme in the last year or two that my coin buying has outpaced my ability to photograph them. Since slowing down on purchases (somewhat) this year, I've been trying to catch up with the photography side of things. It's really not my strong suit, but having made some headway in the past week, I thought I'd share some of these coins that I've never shown before here. The earliest is a May 2015 acquisition, and the most recent (the last two below) just arrived today.

    Enjoy and please feel free to comment or share anything that you'd like to :)!

    Carus - Clementia 448.jpg
    CARUS
    AE Antoninianus. 3.98g, 21.4mm. Cyzicus mint, AD 282-283. RIC V2 118. O: IMP CM AVR CARVS P F AVG, radiate, draped and cuirassed bust right. R: CLEMENTIA . TEMP, Emperor receiving Victory on globe from Jupiter; gamma in field, XXI in exergue.

    Baktria - Hermaios 1 Tetradrachm 1711.jpg
    BAKTRIA, Indo-Greek Kingdom
    Hermaios I

    AR Tetradrachm. 9.39g, 25.7mm. Posthumous issue struck by Indo-Skythians near Kabul, circa 90-70 BC. Senior Hermaios Issue 30; Bopearachchi Série 12B; SNG ANS 1393. O: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΣOTHΡOΣ EΡMAIOΥ, draped and diademed bust right. R: "Maharajasa tratarasa Hermayasa" in Kharosthi script, Zeus seated half-left, holding sceptre; monogram to right.

    RR - Anonymous Victory Biga 1665.jpg
    ROMAN REPUBLIC, Anonymous Issue
    AR Denarius. 4.11g, 16.6mm. Rome mint, circa 157-156 BC. Crawford 197/1a; Sydenham 376; RBW 846. O: Helmeted head of Roma right; X behind. Victory, holding goad, driving biga right; [ROMA] in exergue.

    Campania Neapolis - Triobol 1753.jpg
    CAMPANIA, Neapolis
    Rare. AR Triobol. 1.32g, 14.3mm. CAMPANIA, Neapolis, circa 300-275 BC. Sambon 554; SNG France 811; ANS 424; HN Italy 580. O: Laureate head of Apollo right. R: Nike driving biga right.

    Caracalla - Serdica Tyche.jpg
    CARACALLA
    AE24. 7.82g, 23.7mm. THRACE, Serdica, circa AD 198-217. Varbanov 2474 var. (obverse bust type). O: AVT K M AVP CEV ANTΩNEINOC, radiate head right. R: OVΛΠIAC CEPΔIKHC, Tyche standing left, holding rudder on globe and cornucopia.

    Corinth - Drachm 1950.jpg
    CORINTHIA, Corinth
    AR Drachm. 2.65g, 15.3mm. Circa 500-450 BC. BCD Corinth 30; SNG Copenhagen 16. O: Pegasos flying right. R: Head of Aphrodite right, in incuse square.

    Otacilia Severa - Pietas Rare 1952.jpg
    OTACILIA SEVERA
    AR Antoninianus. 4.9g, 22.8mm. Rome mint, AD 244-246. RIC IV 120b. O: MARCIA OTACIL SEVERA AVG, diademed, draped bust on crescent right. R: PIETAS AVG, Pietas standing left, raising right hand and holding box of perfumes.
     
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  3. Svarog

    Svarog Well-Known Member

    Amazing pics , Carus is my favorite
     
    zumbly and alde like this.
  4. Bing

    Bing Illegitimi non carborundum Supporter

    Good photos coin bro.
     
    zumbly and alde like this.
  5. chrsmat71

    chrsmat71 I LIKE TURTLES!

    i'm in the same boat Z, i'm catching up on my photography. i'm almost there, but since i've switched to using the sun as my light source, i've got to wait for a clear day to take my last pic!

    cool archaic aphrodite and i always like a nice green provincial. several on my list...carus, OS, roma denarius.
     
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  6. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    Clear day in the Pac NW... Hmmm... perhaps 2019??? :D
     
    alde likes this.
  7. alde

    alde Always Learning

    We get diffused sunlight in the Pacific Northwest. :yack:

    Great photos zumbly. Very inspiring, especially the bronze.
     
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  8. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    :D I lived in Beaverton, OR for a couple years. Wonderful country!
     
  9. Collect89

    Collect89 Coin Collector

    My favorite is the old drachm of Corinth.
     
    zumbly likes this.
  10. Ancient Aussie

    Ancient Aussie Well-Known Member

    Great pics zumbly, looks like photography skills down to a fine art, love that Corinth coin.
     
    Mikey Zee and zumbly like this.
  11. Okidoki

    Okidoki Well-Known Member

    great pics
     
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  12. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    Thanks for the comments, everyone. The Corinth drachm is a favorite of mine as well. I'd been looking for the right one for a long time before this one showed up. For reasons beyond my understanding, it's much harder to find a well-preserved drachm in decent metal than it is a stater.

    Haha - I've done the opposite and switched to lamp light. It's allowed me to photograph at night, which has definitely sped up the whole process. Unfortunately, I think my pics of bronze coins still turn out better when I have sunlight as my primary source.
     
  13. Pishpash

    Pishpash Well-Known Member

    I have given up with the sunlight. It tends to be fleeting here, at best. It is a great feeling when you finally "get the shot". My photos have vastly improved, thanks to Doug, but they still have room for improvement. Practice, practice, practice :D
     
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  14. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    Good group. Keep working and you'll get caught up just in time to start over thinking you can do even better. That is the story of my life. I am working on upgrading a few that have given trouble in the past whil waiting for new subjects to arrive. This siglos is easy on the face but hard to get pleasing on the edges. It is a lump and should look like it.
    g61440fd0452.jpg
     
  15. Alegandron

    Alegandron "ΤΩΙ ΚΡΑΤΙΣΤΩΙ..." ΜΕΓΑΣ ΑΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΟΣ, June 323 BCE

    That is a very cool siglos... the striarations / flow marks make the king look like he is running like the Flash in comic books. Strobe light motion...
     
  16. zumbly

    zumbly Ha'ina 'ia mai ana ka puana

    There's just no pleasing some people :rolleyes:. That siglos has wonderful character and is one of the nicest I've seen. I understand that some coins are more photogenic than, but in this case I'm pretty sure that how much I like it has plenty to do with the photographer.
     
    Alegandron likes this.
  17. randygeki

    randygeki Coin Collector

    Great shots, and great coins
     
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