Seeing coins more clearly

Whether at a show deciding which coin to buy or at home enjoying the ones that followed me home, I place high value on sharp eyesight. All my life I have been quite nearsighted and worn corrective glasses. When younger this actually benefitted my collecting since I could see close up without my glasses. As I have gotten older and my eyes lost the ability to accommodate, I have started to use magnifiers. While I have tried many types, I have never found one that seemed to be just right for the purpose. Recently I even bought a small close up lens that attaches to my glasses frame and provides a closer view but it turned out to be hard to carry when not in use due to its L shape and I preferred not to wear it all the time (vanity, I guess). At home I often examine coins under a stereo dissecting microscope and appreciate the 3D view it provides but it is much to big to carry to shows.

Recently my wife whose eyes were nearsighted like mine has surgery for cataracts and, as a result, got new internal lenses that eliminated the need for glasses for distance but required she buy 'reading glasses'. These vary greatly in price and quality (but some are expensive and not so great while there are some decent ones that are quite reasonable). I tried a pair of her readers on top of my regular glasses and found that they not only allowed me to see coins close up better but they added the 3D view I enjoyed with my stereo microscope.

I splurged and bought a $1 pair of the strongest readers (+3.25) at the local Dollar Store (where everything actually is $1). These provided me with a sharp, 3D image at about four inches and cost 1/10 the cheapest other magnifier I owned. Now many would not be caught dead in public wearing glasses on top of your glasses in public but these fold up to slip in a pocket so you only put them on when actually looking at a coin and, IMHO, don't look any more strange than did the 2D flip down lens which did not give nearly as clear a view. The pair I bought are a bit too big for my nose so they easily ride down where they only cover the bottom of my glasses (already trifocals so now I get a fourth distance (distance, computer, book and coin). Exactly how this works will differ for each user according to glasses prescription, age and whether you, like me, have enough astigmatism that taking off the regular glasses no longer works. If you are young and have normal eyes, you might find that a cheap pair of readers worn low on the nose will be all you need. For $1, you might give it a try.

The photo below shows, for comparison, both the readers and the flip down magnifier (anyone want it?). There is no reason to wear both at once except to demonstrate the comparison. One wouldn't want to look ridiculous now, would one?

 

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You would make a good Santa Claus at the mall.

 

Love the spectacles...

....those are some really piercing blue eyes...stare into the soul eh?

 

I'm having the same problems. I think I just may try your solution. For a buck I can't go wrong, eh?

 

I like the flip down, it gives the tinkerer look.

 

my zone of good vision is shrinking into a very narrow strip, nearsighted on top of my advancing presbyopia. i have to get a coin close enough to my eyes so i can see it.. ..but i can't get it close to my eyes, because then i can't see it....like some type of optic catch-22. heck, sometimes i have to look at my pictures of coins instead of the coins themselves! when I'm cleaning or reading legends, stuff like that, i use a desk magnifier. works great. course, i can't really bring that along to a coin show...so I've been thinking about some of those since my last coin show..where i had some...issues, lets say.

 

I feel like I might prefer glasses over a pocket magnifier

 

I've almost got them perfected!! (just a few more electrodes)

 

Great story, thanks for the tip!

 

I want to use this as my avatar!

 

Nice fashion statement, seven-eyes.

I'm hoping I can dodge trifocals in favor of bifocals-plus-nearsightedly-peering-under-glasses. And when the time comes for cataract surgery, I hope they've perfected the accommodating lenses (that restore your eye's ability to shift focus); if not, I might ask for a pair that leave me nearsighted. Most of the stuff I most want to see is close to me.

 

say no more.....

 

I tried a pair of dollar store readers from a friend one day, while fossil hunting.

I prefer a pair made at an optical store. I think they're better quality, but cost more. Whatever works.

I admire the dedication here.

BTW, that's an excellent photograph!

 

When I opened this thread there was an Ad at the top for Eyesight Tests in the UK for £10 LOL.

I`ve been blessed with good eyesight inherited from my Dad, I`m now 57 and never had to wear spectacles, I had my eyes recently tested and everything was fine.
My Dad was in his late 60`s before he started wearing reading glasses.
In his early 80`s he had his eyes lasered and he reckoned he had eyes of an 18 year
old.
He`s now 93 and just started wearing bi-focals.
I obviously use a loupe or usb microscope to examine coins close up.

 

Talk about placement ads.

 

As a big fan of coin shows (I am going to one today) I am amazed at how little attention the dealers and show organizers pay to lighting and making sure people can see their wares. Perhaps that is because they believe that coins with faults will be assumed to be good if people can't see them well. I assume any coin inside a stapled holder will look worse when removed and buy many more expensive coins when I can take it in my bare hands and examine it with good light and proper magnification. I assume a coin in an unopenable holder is hiding something. This is to avoid the unfortunate fact of my life that I will be taking photos of my purchases that will show anything that is there and a few faults that can't be seen with the naked eye. When I was 50, I could identify an Eastern mint Septimius denarius from ten feet, now I need better light and am more concerned about tiny faults than I once was. I get tired of the eye doctor telling me that I have 20/20 vision when I know that it used to be better.

I'm glad some of you got fun out of my photo and those you posted. I wonder if you will be equally amused when you no longer can see the details without assistance.

 

As someone who's living the same nightmare, I find that I pretty much have to laugh at it, because otherwise it's too depressing.

 

Heck, I've been wearing 'cheaters' since 1995.