Good Saturday everyone. I'm looking for advice in shopping for a really good and powerful Lighted Loup, or magnifier to see my coins! I bought a lighted Carson from Amazon, and it's ok, BUT, the lighting in it sucks! Thanks!
Use a lamp to get the light and use a nice Loupe. You dont need a light on the loupe but this one should be ifne https://www.amazon.com/Gain-Express...&qid=1612638503&sprefix=jewrly,aps,194&sr=8-7
That is a nice loupe tenor shared. @furryfrog02 got a pretty good deal with this computer-plug in microscope. It is really similar to the one I have, but a quarter the price. My setup is the USB microscope, and a 5 dollar Bausch and Lomb loupe I got at Walmart. They both work amazingly, and anything more would be unnessesary unless you are doing intense research. Here is a thread he posted the other day with photos. Just because, I'll stick a photo or two I took with mine. They are on my other partition of my laptop, so this is one i posted yesterday. First photo is the close up of the date, others are just with my cell phone.
Not too expensive either, just a suggestion of course. I like mine and love to share the good news when I can
There are a few recommendations I have for loupes. The first, absolutely make sure you buy a Hastings Triplet. This refers to the type of lens - it has three different pieces of glass layered and designed to sandwich together. This is key, because it helps to reduce distortion under high magnification. Don't buy a loupe that is not a triplet. Second - forget the "lighted" loupes. They are usually not as high quality, and harder to use. A good desk lamp is important. Third - a good loupe is not going to be cheap. You're probably looking at $30 for an entry level, up to $50-$60 for high quality. Don't skimp on the optics, because the difference between a low quality plastic lens and a high quality glass is really huge. Fourth - don't go overboard on magnification. The magnification you get should be based on what you want it for: if you're looking for just a bit of magnification to see the coin a bit better, because your eyes are getting old, 2 or 3x is sufficient. If you're looking for surface problems, 5x is probably enough. If you're looking for varieties, 10x is enough. I don't really recommend anything higher than 10x, there is just no need for it. Fifth - there is a difference between manufacturers. You want to go with a high quality optics company. The top three loupe manufacturers I'd say are Bausch & Lomb, Eschenbach, and Zeiss. Sixth - if you're ordering online, make sure there's a return policy. Different loupes will fit your hand and eyes better; you need the chance to try it out before you commit to buy it.
I feel like I should contact amazon and get a cut of the profits from all these USB microscopes they've sold over the past week lol. @Evan Saltis That is a great looking half dollar!
Thank you very much. I'm mostly interested in a good magnification for seeing detail/RPMs, etc. Eyes are getting older!
For my normal searching, I use a 16x loupe that Whitman sells. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done.
its my favorite right now. Everyone here has seen it plenty of times already I'd think. I have 3 capped bust halves. Probably shouldn't buy any more until I get a couple more holes filled in my type set. Yes, you should get a cut. I wish I bought the same one you had instead of the one I got, even though I got mine before you. Just wish I saved the monies... More monies, more... monies!
I don't have a capped bust for my 7070 yet. At the last Baltimore Whitman show, I traded maybe 15 2019 "W" quarters for a few older seated halves. Very well circulated but so are most of the other coins in the 7070. Good honest wear.
Does that microscope zoom out enough to get the whole coin in or just a section? I'd like to find a camera like that to take quality pics of a coin. Searching Amazon just turns up a bunch of webcams. My phone is a cheap Android and doesn't take great close-ups.
An "adequate" 30x/60x handheld LED loupe can be had for $3.19/each when ordered directly from China via Aliexpress. Same product as Amazon for less than half the price. Downside: You may have to wait a few weeks for delivery. I bought 10 of them a while ago @$2.80/each. The replaceable battery begins to fade after 6 months or so...depending on use. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32708443142.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.62a54c4dz1JWPk
mine can get full coin pics, but not with the stand that came with it. Too short. I don’t have the exact one linked, so @furryfrog02 is the man to ask that question to
I haven't tried to take full coin pictures yet. The stand that comes with the camera that I bought doesn't allow for full-coin pictures. This stand was recommended to me and I think I will be buying it soon to try it out. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0797PPX8D/ I think that with this, you should be able to take full coin pictures.
Mine, where the ring holding the microscope is about 5 inches from the base. Looks like that listing is about 7.3 inches. Maybe it would work, but my actual camera in the microscope sits about 3 inches high at the highest setting. For Morgan’s, I think you’d need to go even higher. Maybe my mental math is wrong. then again, my microscope is comparable but not the same to furryfrog’s. I think this would be pretty close, but I don’t have both to compare.
Two Christmases ago, Santa left this one in my stocking. The handle has two bright LED lights and it comes with changeable heads with three different strengths of lenses that clip onto the lighted handle. I own a number of cheap and expensive loupes but this one is my go-to loupe. About twenty bucks on Amazon.
