Of all of the toned coins in my collection, this one might be the most difficult of all to photograph. The coin is an 1881-S Morgan Dollar NGC MS67 Great Falls Collection pedigree. The coin is stunning in every sense of the word, but impossible to image. The coin has semi-prooflike surfaces with layers upon layers of toning. The toning changes color depending upon the angle of the light. The coin is a cornucopia of emerald green, sea green, royal blue, magenta, and orange. Here are my newest photos. There is just no way to get enough light on the surface of this coin with out creating glare. This is the progression of the photographs from various sources. The first photo is courtesy of Heritage when the Great Falls Collection was auctioned. The second photo is from Island Coins who sold the coin to me. The next photo is my first half decent attempt at capturing this coin's beauty. And last but not least is my latest effort. Any comments or opinions are certainly welcome!
Paul I will be ordering a " Photo Dome" this week. I got tired of screwing around, I hear great things about this " toy " and will give it a try. If it doesn't work as stated, it'll go back. Anything has to beat the milk jug trick, at least I hope so. Color coins are a pain in my behind, Im done messin around. I feel your pain
you might want to email Mark Goodman at mark@coinimaging.com He's very helpful, I think he has a blog too. I looked in his book, he says managing color on very toned coins is a trade off between adequate contrast (using 1 light) and showing the color of the entire coin (several lights). Good luck!
