Magnifiers

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Clavdivs, Apr 25, 2020.

  1. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    I have been waiting for a few coins but no luck with the postman today... maybe Monday?
    However I did receive this BULLAUGE 5X DESK MAGNIFIER in the mail.
    https://www.lighthousecanada.ca/bullauge-5x-desk-magnifier.html


    Here is a pic from the site:

    upload_2020-4-25_2-6-43.png

    This is obviously not made for extreme/forensic closeups.. but I have not been able to stop looking at my coins all day! This magnifier sits flat on the table with the coin underneath - you do not "freehand" it - it is stable .. I can see legends with clarity - This is very easy on the eyes and has an adjustable LED light which really helps.

    So if you were to understand the limitations (this is no microscope) I would give this product an A+ rating. My eyes are not great - so when I am casually enjoying my coins this product enhances the experience.

    Please let me know what you use for magnification...
     

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  3. David Atherton

    David Atherton Flavian Fanatic

    IMG_0427.JPG

    From left to right: an antique (1930s) Bausch and Lomb 2x magnifying glass, a Bausch and Lomb 5x pocket magnifier, a 10x Bausch and Lomb Hastings triplet loupe, and a (cheap) 45x loupe with an LED light.

    *Not pictured is a 7x Bausch and Lomb Hastings triplet loupe which I actually use more frequently than the 10x.
     
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  4. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    These my be cheap but they are compact and easy to carry to shows (if you remember what coins shows were).

    My favorite magnification is a pair of $1 Dollar Tree reading glasses. These are +3.5 diopter which is the strongest Dollar Tree has and other places charge more for no better glasses. Combined with trifocals, they do quite well. I no longer use the clip on, flip down set. They do not retain the 3D effect which I find quite useful in evaluating coins. Laugh all you wish. Those who own stereo microscopes know why I like 3D. Others suffer.
    0mags.jpg
     
  5. Alegandron

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

    1) My carry magnifier (@John Anthony inspired me...) Used to have an unlighted magnifying glass...
    [​IMG]
    $15.00 delivered.

    • 3x magnification
    • 8 LEDs
    • 2-1/8" diameter glass lens
    • Zinc alloy finish
    • Also included: carrying case, lens cloth, two AA batteries
    Lens glass diameter: 2-1/8"
    Overall dimensions: 8-3/8" L x 3-1/8" W x 15/16" H

    2) At my desk
    [​IMG]
    I use a lighted medical magnifier on a rolling base: 5 diopter and 2.5cm sized 8 diopter lens. Seems to cover everything I am looking at/for. Easy, and always right there

    3) Bausch & Lomb 7x Loupe
     
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  6. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Clavdivs, Thanks for this info :D. I had been using a UltraOptix 7X Aspheric LED Lighted hand magnifier. The lens diameter is only 35 mm & the light no longer works :(. When the light was working I'd give it a C- rating. I'm going to order a BULLAUGE magnifier today ;).
     
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  7. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    Alegandron, What is the ordering info on your hand magnifier for $15.00 o_O? I'd like to get one of those too :).
     
  8. Alegandron

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

    I went back through my Amazon purchases, and could not find it. I have so many personal messages, and could not easily find it. I remember vividly this was a great deal that @John Anthony turned me on to back in 2016. I still remember opening the box and thinking, "this is an excellent retail deal for $15)

    @John Anthony , do you remember where you can get this?
     
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  9. kaparthy

    kaparthy Well-Known Member

    Just a note here... I have two pairs of high power "reading" glasses: 2x and 4x for looking. I have two of the hobby-standard Bausch&Lomb 5x aspherical pocket lenses. (One is on my desk, the other in my coin show bag... back when we had coin shows...) I have some more like that... And I also have a Microsoft digitial microscope as well as an old high school lab microscope.

    But for here:
    This ad calls them "Lighthouse." That's their US name. I have the German version "Leuchtturm" same logo, etc. It fits on my cellphone and gives up to 60x, which is ridiculous.

    https://www.lighthouse.us/phonescop...with-smartphones-up-to-60x-magnification.html

    We grade coins open eye, arm's length, incandescent 60w lamp. The microscopes and stuff are fine for specialty work, but if you don't know your coins, the instruments will not tell you anything.

    Here are some pictures with my Leuchtturm Phonescope. These are 7 and 11mm ancients because nothing larger will fit in the viewer.

    Abdera 450 BCE hemi-drachmas

    Abdera 2 hemis obv.jpg
    Abdera 2 hemis rev.jpg

    Chalkis Euboeia drachmon. 400 BCE.

    Chalkis Euboia 1 Obverse.jpg Chalkis Euboia 1 Reverse.jpg
     
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  10. Alegandron

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

    @Al Kowsky , Found it:

    Got it on eBay, April-2016:
    upload_2020-4-25_9-22-8.png
    upload_2020-4-25_9-22-49.png
    Best I could do, going through old eBay and Amazon receipts.
     
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  11. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

    No, I don't remember. I bought mine for $40 at the Baltimore show, and I thought that was a good deal at the time. Actually it was, that's been my go-to magnifier for years now.
     
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  12. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

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  13. Alegandron

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

    KILLER DEAL!

    the body is all injection molded, so do not expect a metal handle. But, with decent LED lighting, storage case, cheapo batteries, decent lens, it was a great deal for Retail. Your price is what I would expect should I manufactured it and put it out onto the market.
     
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  14. John Anthony

    John Anthony Ultracrepidarian

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  15. ancient coin hunter

    ancient coin hunter 3rd Century Usurper

    I use a regular magnifying glass I got for $8 at an office supply store.
     
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  16. Victor_Clark

    Victor_Clark all my best friends are dead Romans Dealer

    I have this 3 diopter lamp on my desk



    61F++HPmFfL._AC_SL1440_.jpg
     
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  17. desertgem

    desertgem Senior Errer Collecktor

    The bad mistake people can make on magnifiers is to think the more magnification the better. A lens should be apochromatic ( no color variations in image) and the aperture I have found should be more than 20mm ( I use approx 24mm). If a lens is achromatic ( usually 2 elements, there can be a color shift and sharpness will be affected, but still better than the single element dollar magnifier). I use binocular microscopes at home for detailed parts such as varieties. I tried the same as John with the +3.5 glasses, but I also ( having had lens replacement) ended up with 3 pairs of glasses on my head too often :)
    Still my best for the money magnifier is Belomo ( Amazon) Jim
     
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  18. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    A quick look on Amazon gave me this, among lots more...
    upload_2020-4-25_13-1-17.png
     
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  19. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    The swiss army knife comes with a magnifying glass for some models.

    This glass has x20 power and I find it very useful for examining very fine details of a coin.
     
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  20. Kentucky

    Kentucky Supporter! Supporter

    I found a deal years ago on a B&L magnifier with an inset bifocal that I really like, kind of like this one
    [​IMG]
     
  21. kaparthy

    kaparthy Well-Known Member

    Desertgem is absolutely correct. Like several (many?) others here, one of my other hobbies is astronomy. More magnifying power does not make a better view. You need aperature (lens size). I feel that chromatic aberration, spherical aberration, and other problems can usually be ignored in numismatics. I worked for a year for Carl Zeiss. So, I "get" what Desertgem said. It just depends on what your own practical limits are. My most common use of a magnifier is to sort pre-1982 US cents. I know a serious VAM guy who uses the big aspherical viewer to attribute any Morgan Dollar with a scratch on it.

    This is another of mine. It is called a Linen Tester. It has scales in metric and English.
    LinenTester 1 and 3.jpg
     
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