Working on my photography (Württemberg 6 Kreuzer, Friedrich I, 1811)

I have a lot of trouble getting clear photos of coins with low contrast, such as dark grey silver/billon coinage, or worn copper. I usually photograph under dispersed artificial light on a light background, from a bit off center to try to avoid my shadow showing on the coin. Today I tried a coin in two different conditions:
Top: Indoors, dispersed artificial light, light background
Bottom: Indoors, direct sunlight, dark background

I'm not fully satisfied with either, but I think the second looks a lot better. I still can't easily resolve the 1811 date below the coat of arms on the reverse (left) from the photos, though I can easily read it with the coin in hand. I think getting a tripod would help a lot because my hands are a bit shaky. I can't usually tell if the photo is in sharp focus from the display on my camera. I really need to download the photo and look in detail to realize if I need to retake the photo. I'm also interested in some sort of an off-angle light source so that I'm not limited to taking photos during daylight, when I often have other responsibilities. Any feedback and suggestions are welcomed, thanks!