It's Verdigris or is it

[Gollum]

Ok, here it is as best I can explain, I have old pennies that have very obvious Verdigris on them, but I also have coins that have what appear to be verdigris except it is unifrom and all over and shiny, more like a spray paint job in gloss paint. Is that verdigris too or a green patina ?.

[Paulus]

Ok, here it is as best I can explain, I have old pennies that have very obvious Verdigris on them, but I also have coins that have what appear to be verdigris except it is unifrom and all over and shiny, more like a spray paint job in gloss paint. Is that verdigris too or a green patina ?.

Do you have any photos Garry?

[Gollum]

Ok, here it is as best I can explain, I have old pennies that have very obvious Verdigris on them, but I also have coins that have what appear to be verdigris except it is unifrom and all over and shiny, more like a spray paint job in gloss paint. Is that verdigris too or a green patina ?.

Do you have any photos Garry?

Are you getting frisky with me !, I like it , erm no I don't. I could do later but I can't gaurantee the quality.

[Peckris]

Ok, here it is as best I can explain, I have old pennies that have very obvious Verdigris on them, but I also have coins that have what appear to be verdigris except it is unifrom and all over and shiny, more like a spray paint job in gloss paint. Is that verdigris too or a green patina ?.

Do you have any photos Garry?

Are you getting frisky with me !, I like it , erm no I don't. I could do later but I can't gaurantee the quality.

Coins that are buried for years and years often acquire this slightly glossy all-over green patina. It's very much like verdigris but isn't an 'attack' as such, as the green coating is very very hard and won't cause further damage to the coin. For the record, I found quite a few George V pennies (WW1 period) in this state in the late 60s - most of them in what would have been very high grade (still enough detail to show that quite clearly). It may be something unique to bronze?

[Gollum]

here is one of them, best i can do.

[Colin G.]

here is one of them, best i can do.

Most coins that have been buried will show this patina. Whilst it can be uniform and even appealing on some coins, it generally will evolve into verdigris in areas, especially at the edges for some reason.

[azda]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

[Gollum]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

[azda]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

[Coinery]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

Very, VERY, nice! Azda, what is your photography set-up? I'm in the middle of researching a good set-up for myself, just for coin photography. Do you know enough about the hobby to offer any suggestions?

[Gollum]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

overkill then

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Tessovar-Micro-Photography-Unit-C35M-Camera-Collection-Only-/280807968214?_trksid=p4340.m1374&_trkparms=algo%3DPI.WATCH%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D5%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D5739605910369268540

[azda]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

overkill then

http://www.ebay.co.u...605910369268540

This is what i've got

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Microscope-1-3-Megapixel-Camera-Traveller-/180797585224?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET&hash=item2a18603748

[Gollum]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

overkill then

http://www.ebay.co.u...605910369268540

This is what i've got

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Microscope-1-3-Megapixel-Camera-Traveller-/180797585224?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET&hash=item2a18603748

that was on my watch list

[azda]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

Very, VERY, nice! Azda, what is your photography set-up? I'm in the middle of researching a good set-up for myself, just for coin photography. Do you know enough about the hobby to offer any suggestions?

Coinery, you may want to look at the ebay link Gollum has above, thats more of a professional setup for taking coin picture, camera seems mounted. I personally do nothing special, just the natural light (outside) I have a balcony on the house with a large ledge which is where i go (sometimes freezing my nuts off if the weather is cold and i have a few coins to do.

I think basically its allabout the feel of your camera and knowing when the picture is right. Larger coins you can get quite close to, smaller coins need a little more distance or else they can look blurry after cropping

Edited January 20, 2012 by azda

[Gollum]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

Very, VERY, nice! Azda, what is your photography set-up? I'm in the middle of researching a good set-up for myself, just for coin photography. Do you know enough about the hobby to offer any suggestions?

Coinery, you may want to look at the ebay link Gollum has above, thats more of a professional setup for taking coin picture, camera seems mounted. I personally do nothing special, just the natural light (outside) I have a blacony on the house with a large ledge which is where i go (sometimes freezing my nuts off if the weather is cold and i have a few coins to do.

I think basically its allabout the feel of your camera and knowing when the picture is right. Larger coins you can get quite close to, smaller coins need a little more distance or else they can look blurry after cropping

Well if I am honest, I have all the things needed to do it properly apart from a macro lense for my canon digital, I was thinking of buying a cheap usb camera just for fun, and I have a light box in my darkroom that I can put coins on for pics if I can be bothereed to go into the loft, so if Coinery wants to grab that then I wont be moaning at him.

[Coinery]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

Very, VERY, nice! Azda, what is your photography set-up? I'm in the middle of researching a good set-up for myself, just for coin photography. Do you know enough about the hobby to offer any suggestions?

Coinery, you may want to look at the ebay link Gollum has above, thats more of a professional setup for taking coin picture, camera seems mounted. I personally do nothing special, just the natural light (outside) I have a blacony on the house with a large ledge which is where i go (sometimes freezing my nuts off if the weather is cold and i have a few coins to do.

I think basically its allabout the feel of your camera and knowing when the picture is right. Larger coins you can get quite close to, smaller coins need a little more distance or else they can look blurry after cropping

Well if I am honest, I have all the things needed to do it properly apart from a macro lense for my canon digital, I was thinking of buying a cheap usb camera just for fun, and I have a light box in my darkroom that I can put coins on for pics if I can be bothereed to go into the loft, so if Coinery wants to grab that then I wont be moaning at him.

Can I just check with you both then...is the Traveller USB camera the type that you use for your pictures, Azda, or do you use it simply to view items on the PC? And, Gollum, thanks for the gesture re letting the camera potentially go. Do you recommend this type of camera set-up, it's only 1.3mp, seems very low to me? I could really do with some good advice on this subject. I'm looking for a fixed set-up, that's solely for taking pictures of coins. Anything?

[Nick]

Can I just check with you both then...is the Traveller USB camera the type that you use for your pictures, Azda, or do you use it simply to view items on the PC? And, Gollum, thanks for the gesture re letting the camera potentially go. Do you recommend this type of camera set-up, it's only 1.3mp, seems very low to me? I could really do with some good advice on this subject. I'm looking for a fixed set-up, that's solely for taking pictures of coins. Anything?

No, the Traveller USB camera is just used as a digital microscope for large magnifications of small areas of a coin ie examining overdates.

As far as a digital camera setup goes, you'll probably want either: a digital compact with a macro mode; or a DSLR and a prime (fixed focal length) macro lens. In general, the more megapixels the better - it's easy to crop away those you haven't used. Obviously, the DSLR route is a lot more expensive, but prime macro lenses usually contain high quality optics and also allow you to position the camera further away from the coin - which makes lighting the coin easier. If you do go for a prime macro lens, one that will do 1:1 reproduction will be the dog's doodahs. This means that at 1:1 the object will be the same size on the sensor as it is in reality ie a shilling would only just fit into the frame.

[Coinery]

Can I just check with you both then...is the Traveller USB camera the type that you use for your pictures, Azda, or do you use it simply to view items on the PC? And, Gollum, thanks for the gesture re letting the camera potentially go. Do you recommend this type of camera set-up, it's only 1.3mp, seems very low to me? I could really do with some good advice on this subject. I'm looking for a fixed set-up, that's solely for taking pictures of coins. Anything?

No, the Traveller USB camera is just used as a digital microscope for large magnifications of small areas of a coin ie examining overdates.

As far as a digital camera setup goes, you'll probably want either: a digital compact with a macro mode; or a DSLR and a prime (fixed focal length) macro lens. In general, the more megapixels the better - it's easy to crop away those you haven't used. Obviously, the DSLR route is a lot more expensive, but prime macro lenses usually contain high quality optics and also allow you to position the camera further away from the coin - which makes lighting the coin easier. If you do go for a prime macro lens, one that will do 1:1 reproduction will be the dog's doodahs. This means that at 1:1 the object will be the same size on the sensor as it is in reality ie a shilling would only just fit into the frame.

Thanks, Nick, very much appreciated, a great starting place. I think DSLR will be the way forward then. As you've obviously got your head around these things, would you mind if I came back to you for a little more advice on the matter when I've narrowed down a couple of set-up's?

[Nick]

Can I just check with you both then...is the Traveller USB camera the type that you use for your pictures, Azda, or do you use it simply to view items on the PC? And, Gollum, thanks for the gesture re letting the camera potentially go. Do you recommend this type of camera set-up, it's only 1.3mp, seems very low to me? I could really do with some good advice on this subject. I'm looking for a fixed set-up, that's solely for taking pictures of coins. Anything?

No, the Traveller USB camera is just used as a digital microscope for large magnifications of small areas of a coin ie examining overdates.

As far as a digital camera setup goes, you'll probably want either: a digital compact with a macro mode; or a DSLR and a prime (fixed focal length) macro lens. In general, the more megapixels the better - it's easy to crop away those you haven't used. Obviously, the DSLR route is a lot more expensive, but prime macro lenses usually contain high quality optics and also allow you to position the camera further away from the coin - which makes lighting the coin easier. If you do go for a prime macro lens, one that will do 1:1 reproduction will be the dog's doodahs. This means that at 1:1 the object will be the same size on the sensor as it is in reality ie a shilling would only just fit into the frame.

Thanks, Nick, very much appreciated, a great starting place. I think DSLR will be the way forward then. As you've obviously got your head around these things, would you mind if I came back to you for a little more advice on the matter when I've narrowed down a couple of set-up's?

Sure. No problem.

[Nick]

Thanks, Nick, very much appreciated, a great starting place. I think DSLR will be the way forward then. As you've obviously got your head around these things, would you mind if I came back to you for a little more advice on the matter when I've narrowed down a couple of set-up's?

As an example, here is a cropped picture of an 1888/7 shilling taken at 1:1 distance (30cm for my lens) with a prime macro lens. No additional magnification has been applied, just cropping. In the full picture, the shilling diameter is just over 2700 pixels. As you can see there is sufficient detail to see the 8 over 7 without the need for a digital microscope.

[Peckris]

Can I just check with you both then...is the Traveller USB camera the type that you use for your pictures, Azda, or do you use it simply to view items on the PC? And, Gollum, thanks for the gesture re letting the camera potentially go. Do you recommend this type of camera set-up, it's only 1.3mp, seems very low to me? I could really do with some good advice on this subject. I'm looking for a fixed set-up, that's solely for taking pictures of coins. Anything?

No, the Traveller USB camera is just used as a digital microscope for large magnifications of small areas of a coin ie examining overdates.

As far as a digital camera setup goes, you'll probably want either: a digital compact with a macro mode; or a DSLR and a prime (fixed focal length) macro lens. In general, the more megapixels the better - it's easy to crop away those you haven't used. Obviously, the DSLR route is a lot more expensive, but prime macro lenses usually contain high quality optics and also allow you to position the camera further away from the coin - which makes lighting the coin easier. If you do go for a prime macro lens, one that will do 1:1 reproduction will be the dog's doodahs. This means that at 1:1 the object will be the same size on the sensor as it is in reality ie a shilling would only just fit into the frame.

Thanks, Nick, very much appreciated, a great starting place. I think DSLR will be the way forward then. As you've obviously got your head around these things, would you mind if I came back to you for a little more advice on the matter when I've narrowed down a couple of set-up's?

No, that's going from one extreme to another. A DSLR is a total waste of a lot of money if you only intend to use it to photograph coins. There are a great many compact cameras that have good macro facilities, then there are good quality mirrorless system cameras like the Panasonic G series for which you could get a decent macro lens for a fraction of the DSLR system cost, and I have a superzoom camera that takes good macro pictures but costs around 1/3 or less of a DSLR basic system, i.e. without even factoring the cost of a macro lens.

Basically what I'm saying is - DSLRs are for serious photographers who factor in the cost of an entire system, which amounts to a body, a few lenses, a good tripod, a separate flash, etc etc. They are total overkill UNLESS you are interested in developing a photographic hobby alongside coins. Just to give you an instance : a decent superzoom with macro built in, plus a tripod, will set you back not much more than £300. To get the same kind of DSLR kit would set you back more than double, maybe 3 times as much. You need to think very carefully about this.

[moneyer12]

This is my sons, its olive green and very appealing in my eyes, thats why i bought it for him

I like that one. Shame it wouldn't come unglued from the screen it would been in my box rapido. , incidently azda, will any of the cheap usb microscopes on ebay be ok for coins like that blue digital thing you were talking about.

The one i bought was called Traveller, it's nothing special, but it does the job for looking at anything you can't see in hand like the C over inverted C 2d i recently posted on the forum. I paid €30 new, a friend of mine got the same one on ebay late last year for 18 quid i think it was

overkill then

http://www.ebay.co.u...605910369268540

This is what i've got

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-Microscope-1-3-Megapixel-Camera-Traveller-/180797585224?pt=UK_BOI_Medical_Lab_Equipment_Lab_Equipment_ET&hash=item2a18603748

that was on my watch list

i bought mine from of all places tesco, it was a £10 end of line sale, works superbly and the body can be detached from the stand to cover a greater area.