My First Rare Coin Purchase Ever ... and photography is not as easy as I thought

I brought my first rare coin, I Brown Proof Eisenhowser, from a member her. It is a pretty coin, but I found it hard to take a picture of. How do you take pictures of coins like proofs and prevent the camera from reflecting in the coin. This just seems harder than I thought. I might need to borrow a macro len to get a better picture.

I think that for a proof, the strike is a little soft. Or maybe it is the design. I expected the earth to be sharper, for example.

 

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An ever so slight angle has benefited me photographing proofs. I typically take two photos of each side, in different light, to show how nicely its reflectivity

 

Good detail on the earth is not really part of the design for the 71-S and 72-S proofs. The 73-S proof uses a modified reverse that shows detail much better. There are some 71-S proofs with good detail that are quite rare.

The different reverse designs are shown here.

 

I like your avatar photo. BTW, do you know how you can tell that you're kissing a French Horn player???? Her mouth is in the right place but her hand is up your....

BTW, this would be me

 

I think your pictures are not too bad, it’s hard to photograph proof coins. Note that this coin is not at all „rare“ though.

 

It isn’t a rare coin. There were 2 million minted. It is a very nice example of a “Brown Ike” proof. They were named as such, because of the brown framed holder. Generally, they tend to tone nicely, with blue toning, because of the mounting frame. They were generally weakly struck, for a proof. Yours is a nice example, and I would grade it PR 67 or so.

 

Proof coins are very difficult to image well.

 

Indirect (axial) lighting can help with the glare. My 72 s Brown Ike has the blue as well. I call mine the floating head original Star Trek.

 

Check back here next few days, I'm gonna list mine. Let me know what you think !

 

I'm the LAST person to give photographic advice -- alongside Basic Brain Surgery and Modern Angioplasty Surgical Techniques -- but I find that with a basic smartphone or digital camera that default settings are fine and then:

• Don't use a flash
• Try and angle the coin/holder at about a 30 degree angle. Flat isn't good (you have to lean over it) and too high won't let light in from behind.
• LED lights work best.
• Take multiple shots, adjusting the angle of the coins and your angle (sitting, standing, whatever).

Of course, being a novice beginner any of you who have done even basic photography can probably work out how best to take coin photos....myself, I like "real" photos that show luster and shine, and not the "dulled" TrueView pics I see on sites.

I think the high-res shots on HA and GC are fantastic, BTW.

 

Cplradar, those pice are pretty good. Nice job !!

 

I hunted a long time before I found a 71s with a nice strong strike.. Not a "Brown" but i have enough space issues without buying oversized examples And yeah always tough to get a good shot through a slab/plastic...

 

I did not know this. Thanks for this info

 

thanks - but it is all the Camera

 

how long did you look for?

 

You did a good job with the photos. Even PCGS can't take a good picture of highly reflective coins (theirs come out brown for some reason).

As far as "rare" goes, I bought mine straight from the mint for $10, and you can buy them now for $15. Worst "investment" ever, but I still love it. I kept the order confirmation card.

 

Love this post. And you definitely "get it."

 

I should have mentioned that $10 in 1971 was mowing two acre-sized lawns. @cplradar I love the cameo against the blue on yours.

 

$10 in the late-1970's was shoveling 2 driveways for me, assuming 3-8".

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1971-1978-...437083?hash=item26062e075b:g:LgYAAOSwL7VWrZPU