Aurelian, trying to practice posting pix.

Much better! The single biggest change that can improve phone or point and shoot camera coin photos is to turn off options that make decisions for you and set the device to do things 'your way'. There is no reason for the camera to rotate the image so turn off auto rotate. If the camera allows, tell it which part of the image to focus on. Some cameras allow just touching the image on the art you want sharp. Others have a slide bar. All have a minimum distance that they can focus upon but some require you to select 'macro mode' (often an icon of a flower) to get close.

 

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Here's a better reverse. How's that? By the way, what is this mint with what look like two letters T astride the two XX device?

 

You are improving, Kevin... way to go!

I'm wondering why you don't hook up your camera to your computer, though... there are plenty of applications that will automatically pull the photos from your digital camera and allow you to do some basic editing. You'd probably be much happier with the results.

 

Why not? Fear. I can field strip an '03 Springfield, reload my one ammo, do my own electrical work and plumbing, balance my checkbook and explain the mystery of the Blessed Trinity but I break out in a cold sweat about using anything where hitting "Enter" might lead one to a street vendor in Nigeria, my neighbor's tax records, a blank screen, or "you have been infected with a terminal virus and you need to send us...". I am one of those "the last to the new abide". Thanks for your help, though, in this endeavor.

 

TXXT is the third workshop (tertia) of the mint at Ticinum. The XX is unusual and used only at Ticinum. Most others used XXI to indicate there was 20 parts alloy added to one part of silver making the coin 4.77% silver. My coin below is a different reverse but shows PXXT for first workshop (prima) at Ticinum. Without the PXXT and SXXT coins we could not tell which T was Ticinum and which was third shop on your coin.

 

While better, I prefer the obverse shot which has the light coming from the upper right while the reverse is pretty much dead on from the right. I give my opinions (as of back then when the page was written) on light direction on my page:
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/coinphoto2011ez2.html

I have not mentioned backgrounds which get covered on the next page
http://www.forumancientcoins.com/dougsmith/coinphoto2011ez3.html
but all that may be better thought about one step at a time. These are only my opinions and the first one is 'use a camera'.

 

Thanks. I was wondering about that.

 

Invest the money in a Canon SLR & a good tripod, you won't regret it.

 

jamesicus, the crusty curmudgeon, has a heart of gold - 99.99% ???

 

@kevin McGonigal
. . . or, see
https://www.cointalk.com/threads/photographing-silver-coins.281297/

However, (in my mind), Doug Smith is the 'undisputed' leader in coin photography, here, and you could do a lot worse than to follow his advice.

 

Topcat7 showed very good photos in his 2016 post and I assume is even better now after a couple years practice. The real secret to photography of any sort is to be able to look at a photo and decide what could be done to improve it. In the case of a coin, you can reshoot it a hundred times until you get what you want. The trick is to recognize what you want when you see it. Professional photographers take a hundred pictures and throw away the ones that are not up to their standards. Now that digital 'film' is free, we all can shoot liberally and edit ruthlessly.

 

☹️

I used to be just a curmudgeon, Bert, but I turned into a crusty curmudgeon when they didn’t provide any Marmite and Old Peculier at my 88th birthday party last year.

 

Here's to a crusty curmudgeon, who celebrated his 88th, last year. I looked up nr. 8 online, and was told if you end up in a restaurant with a bill of $88.88, that is no co-incidence, but an angelic prediction. Also, 8 symbolises infinity, so double 8 means double infinity ! May you, jamesicus, enjoy your 89thth Marmite birthday cake, washed down with plenty of Old Peculiar !!!

 

Thank you Bert, but we have to get it right ...... it’s Marmite on toast not Marmite cake — and Old Peculier not Old Peculiar.

 

Pardon my atrocious spelling, jamesicus - I tend to agree that growing old is not for sissies. As for Marmite, adverts here have said You either Hate it or Love it. My guess is that, in your case, it's the latter !!! Here's to Old Peculier - the Legend !

 

They have always said that — I grew up on it and it is still my favorite breakfast — I owe my sweet and endearing personality to it.

I have a feeling Diocletian would have loved it too:

RIC Volume VI, Londinium, No. 1a, Diocletian, Augustus of the East
CT (Cloke & Toone), No. 1.01.001, c. AD 296, Rarity: R


IMP C DIOCLETIANVS PF AVG .................... GENIO POPV -- LI ROMANI
LON in reverse exergue

Laureate, truncated, bare neck bust.
Laurel wreath long ribbon tie laying on the neck.
LON mint mark in the reverse exergue.
All LON mint mark coins are designated Rare by CT.
As depicted in RIC Volume VI, Plate 1.
9.8 gm.

 

Here's my set up