A lot of folks get poor results from scopes. Most seem to buy one that will not take a full image of the coin or they just never learn how to properly use the scope. Most that post images from a scope, post really poor images that are useless. Out of focus, 100X images don't help anyone but folks post them anyway. I don't but sometimes want to ask a member why they posted an image that is so worthless. Can't they see how poor the image is? A quality scope is much like a phone or a DSLR with a macro lens. With a lot of practice and learning, you can get good results. You can't just take them out of the box and expect quality images that show the details needed. There was once a famous guy on the forums. His name was Russ and went by compucheap?. He could take most any device and get quality images. When ask how he could do that his answer was, practice and more practice. He passed a while back and is still missed by many.
Before you can answer the question, you have to ask the counter question, for what purpose? What do you want to be able to do with it?
An inexpensive AmScope with 20x magnification. The particular scope I have can go to a higher magnification but I never use it. And I only use it to verify markers and finer details that appear on some coins. Otherwise, I use a magnifying light/loop to do the bulk of the work. For picture taking, I was using my old iPhone 5 which finally failed. So I guess I’ll use my iPhone 13 going forward in the shoebox Photo Booth I built. I will use the AmScope for some closeups though.
Also - I have a lighted hand held loop for taking to the LCS or antique shops nearby. Mine has a 10x and 30x loop with LED light. I keep that on my desk/pocket for spot checks.
A steady hand and a iPhone zoom works pretty good. I usually balance the phone on a coffee cup, zoom in, take picture.
Scopes are really only good for areas where extreme close- ups are needed. Perhaps around a mint mark to verify a repunch or an overstrike. Not much use for anything else. In my opinion anyway.
Spot on. I have one for looking at micro varieties, including VAMs, Doubled dies, etc, but only when they can be seen with a 5x loupe. Besides that, it is a waste of time.
I have two microscopes that I use everyday. Most of my day centers around cleaning ancient coins. You can't do that with a loupe. See my tools. Keep your microscope happy.
Nothing wrong with microscopes, but be sure you know what to look for before getting one. Every coin has small anomalies and a microscope will bring them all out and have you confused if you just start looking at random coins at high magnification.
Especially the ones that require you to take a picture of the screen with another camera. I usually make it a point to ignore those pictures when I see them posted.
Here is my photo set up. You can see the entire Morgan on my monitor. The photo drops right in to my files I don't need to take a photo of the screen.
