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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;-jeffB, post: 1212241, member: 27832&quot;]It&#039;s pretty hard for me to prove things like this to myself, because I&#039;ve still got so very far to go in developing my &quot;eye&quot; for flaws and damage.</p><p><br /></p><p>I think most visible flaws on a coin reflect visible light of all wavelengths just about the same way -- again, excepting toning or other colored deposits. But <i>eyes</i> certainly perceive different wavelengths differently. In particular, blue light is harder for eyes to focus. Incandescent bulbs produce relatively low levels of blue light, while &quot;cool&quot; fluorescents or LEDs produce higher levels. (&quot;Everyone&quot; apparently agrees that this is actually <i>better</i> for car headlights; I have no idea why.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Halogen lights can also put out a higher proportion of blue light, even though they are fundamentally incandescent.</p><p><br /></p><p>I&#039;d take pictures under various light sources, but &quot;which light shows flaws better in a photo&quot; is an entirely different question from &quot;which light shows flaws better to the eye&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>I was ready to guess that you see more under incandescent light simply because incandescent lights have long been brighter than fluorescent or LED alternatives. That can&#039;t explain their superiority to halogen bulbs, though. I would&#039;ve guessed you would find halogen superior. So, my mental model is still wrong.</p><p><br /></p><p>Ah, well, off to do more research. While I don&#039;t have a well-trained eye, I do have a number of different kinds of light sources, and I certainly have plenty of flawed coins... <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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