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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SuperDave, post: 2459492, member: 1892&quot;]All of the above. If you&#039;re into varieties, the point is to look at the <b>whole coin</b>, because it feels pretty cool to be the one who finds the new variety. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> Dismissing a coin because it doesn&#039;t comport to known pickup descriptions is abandoning the job halfway through. And yes, I&#039;m a variety geek. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>Given the cheap and easy availability of superior optics tethered to the computer, the hassle and eyestrain of manual examination under a loupe is a thing of the past for anyone willing to learn and invest a few bucks. I use a camera that cost $84, a lens that cost $60, a $40 bellows and 2 $10 adapters. My stand is fairly sophisticated (cost a few bucks), but you could duplicate the capability with a $25 tripod. So, call it ~$200 (you can cut $20 off the price of the lens with judicious shopping) for real-time viewing onscreen of the full face of the coin at magnification like this (if you want; you don&#039;t *have* to look at it fullsize):</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]515193[/ATTACH] </p><p><br /></p><p>That&#039;s <i>1x optical magnification</i> with a 10MP camera. Go to a more sophisticated 20-24MP unit, and that effective onscreen magnification nearly <b>doubles</b>. And that isn&#039;t actually pushing the lens&#039; ability to magnify - most lenses like this are usable up to 2x magnification - so you can double the size <b>yet again</b>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Imagine roll-searching like that....and whenever you see something of interest, one click of the mouse saves an image just like what you see.</p><p><br /></p><p>For the life of me I don&#039;t understand why more people don&#039;t do it this way.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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