And here's an example of a variety close-up I shot today illustrating why I don't want color. 1878 VAM 122, MS63 with medium dark toning with...
(referring to my setup) I don't care about the color when documenting varieties, and actually don't even want the color, as it is distracting...
Pour a glass of your favorite adult beverage and open your VAM book to Chapter 18.
I use a Bausch & Lomb StereoZoom 4 and a point-and-shoot. Fluorescent ring light with a card taped over about 1/3 of it gives me even lighting...
Gotta wonder what "experts" were surveyed here. The 1913 nickel is easy to find if you have enough money. One comes up for auction every few...
I don't want to add much to the thread, although I will answer specific questions anyone wants to answer. The one thing I do want to add is that...
The coin sits on a sheet of white paper on my copy stand. If you want to introduce color, do it in post-processing.
A coin can have a weak strike and grade MS63, or even 64. It depends for what is typical for the date and mint, and in some cases the die pair....
It depends on where either of them is and how severe, if you're talking about a single, stray hairline. If you're talking about a patch of...
I'd move your quotes over one word: ... some "hairlines" originate on the die itself. The term "hairlines" is almost universally accepted to...
A severely eroded die has inferior luster, but for non-proof coins, there's a sweet spot where a little die wear makes great looking luster. This...
The answer most certainly can be "yes." Die imperfections, whether they be polishing lines, erosion, clashes, cracks, breaks, or corrosion, do...
There are two 1881-S that are worth a premium. Fortunately, both are easy to identify. VAM 1B has a large die chip on the eagle's right...
I don't want to look for fear that I'll find a listing worthy of a whack upside the head in mere seconds.
I hate to be a wet blanket, but they're not supposed to accept tips, and can get in hot water for doing so: "All postal employees, including...
Obverse abrasively cleaned ("wiped") leaving field hairlines, coin has been dipped and improperly rinsed. Obverse toning is dippable, reverse...
I'm looking forward to adding a plain old uncirculated 2016 Silver Eagle to my Dansco. That's all.
The summer ANA won't be in Chicago this year, but the Central States show will be in Schaumburg (NW suburbs) at the end of April. Both PCGS and...
Congrats! Glad everything worked out in the end.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that not only will it not cross from that holder, you'd have to get it reholdered just to be able to do...
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