DdraigAur

My 3 coin set doesn't have the normal wood finish/lacquered mounting board (I can't think of a word for it) that the 3 coin capsules sit in. It's two layers of black foam with holes cut out. Anyone else have this? Looks like a stopgap bodge because they don't have the right materials.

I think we need to see this.
Maybe they're using the same box supplier that's providing the legendary tudor beast boxes?

My 3 coin set doesn't have the normal wood finish/lacquered mounting board (I can't think of a word for it) that the 3 coin capsules sit in. It's two layers of black foam with holes cut out. Anyone else have this? Looks like a stopgap bodge because they don't have the right materials.

A few new "Horse Coins"

Thanks to a certain online coin shop for mislabelling this lovely 5 Swiss franc and selling it to me for £8!! Aka spot price 😀

Having had a few weeks to try out @DrDave's axial lighting box (ALB) I thought I would share the results here in the form of a photo-rich review so you can see what it does, how easy it is to use, and what the results are like.
What is the axial lighting box?
So firstly, the premise is a simple kit to enable you to photograph coins with axial lighting - that means light that is coming from the same direction as you are shooting from, which means no shadows across the coin and all features evenly lit without reflections. Of course this is impossible with a normal camera as you cannot have a light source where the lens is, but this piece of kit uses a sheet of glass to reflect light from the source down onto the coin and you photograph through the glass.
The advantage of this is that you can photograph the coin straight on so the coin appears round, and not cast a shadow with your camera. Your light source is out of the way at right angles.
 
Out of the box
DrDave put together this simple 3D printed kit for this. It consists of the glass-holding unit with a cut out to put the coin in, and a baffle to prevent the light source shining directly onto the coin, the sheet of glass and a translucent diffuser sheet.


The price was £24.99 posted and this unit was not provided for review purposes by DrDave.
First impressions are good. It's a well designed and executed holder made of 2mm thick plastic which seems sturdy. The glass itself has sharp edges and corners so care must be taken. The glass just rests on the holder at 45°.
Useful to know is that the height of the kit from the coin to the top edge of the glass is 12cm. It is possiblbe to get a phone to around 10cm from the coin as it is a bit smaller in width but that leaves no room to rotate, so 12cm to be safe. Also with DSLR lenses etc. you need to factor in the length of these. I believe minimum lens focus distance is measured to the sensor which is at the back of the DSLR body so to achieve macro focus there is a lot in the way. 
 
Set up
The set up is simple. I used my anglepoise desk lamp fitted with a 10W LED bulb and took photos with my Samsung S10 mobile phone on 2x zoom, so no special kit whatsoever. I propped the ALB on a small box so as to put it more in line with the light source. I also used a black book propped up to the right of the ALB to prevent reflections coming off the top of the glass.

 
Results
So on to the results. I photographed a variety of coins to show how they appear under different lighting conditions and show the differences in the results.
Firstly a large shiny coin - a 1oz silver panda. The coin in the capsule fits into the coin opening with a couple of mm to spare all round. The opening will allow coins up to 47mm diameter so perfect for all 1oz coins but too small for e.g. 2oz silver Lunars.
This is photographed without the ALB with the light off to the left

 
Using the ALB without the diffuser results in a strange reflection of the light source.

 
Using the ALB with the diffuser makes the lighting more even and eliminates the strange reflections. 
Comparing with the image taken without, it is a much more "clean" image without the harsh contrast, however, the milking on the coin does not show, nor does the contrast between frosted and mirrored surfaces or the fine texture on the frosted areas. It may be more suited to a "stock" image as it shows off the design effectively and TBH makes the coin look better than it is!

 
Now a 1oz Matte finish coin - ASE
Without the ALB
Note many areas either have overexposed highlights or no definition. Camera is not straight on to the coin so there is a focus gradient

 
With the ALB, no diffuser
Really makes the image pop. Some surfaces are quite dark however.

 
With the diffuser the whole lighting becomes much more even though loses the "pop" of the previous image

 
 
An 1830 polished gold sovereign
WITHOUT the ALB
Lighting to the left. Note how prominently the scratches perpendicular to the light source show.

 
Light source in line with the coin almost overhead. Camera straight on to preserve focus across the coin (well, in theory - I see the right side is pretty soft). 
Note horizontal scratches now show more. Also note uneven lighting with the top half being overexposed in areas and the bottom half a bit dull.

 
This photo with lighting directly reflecting off the coin, so the camera is not straight on, resulting in out of focus areas at the top and bottom of the coin, also a yellow cast caused by the bright reflection making the camera adjust the white balance.

 
With the ALB. No diffuser
Soft focus notwithstanding (my bad), the coin is evenly lit, the surface shows well (although hairline scratches disappear) and focus is flat across the coin as it's taken straight on.

 
With the diffuser, the light is too even and all contrast disappears. The diffuser is not suited for this scenario.

 

Now a Morgan Dollar
Without the ALB
Lighting off to the left in this shot, there are strong highlights and other areas lacking definition.

 
Reflection directly off the coin in attempt to make lighting more even results again in focus gradient.

 
With the ALB (no diffuser)
A much more professional looking photo that shows off the details really well but does disguise some of the scratches on the cheek shown in photos above.
Note the optical illusion that makes the letters appear incuse rather than relief!

 
With the diffuser, there is no contrast and many features vanish.

 
 
A shiny quarter dollar
Without ALB and lighting off to the left shows off the coin well and with it being a small coin focus is fine.

 
With the ALB, some reflections and dust on the glass start to become a nuisance. Glass must be kept clean, and the rest of the room needs to be dark. A large black surface opposite the light source is a must.
However, the coin is shown off at its best here and hairline scratches are hidden.

 
Don't use the diffuser for anything other than proof mirror-fields....

 
 
Last coin, a very small platinum panda
No ALB
Mirror fields go black as they are reflecting the dark room, and contrast nicely with the frosted surfaces.

 
ALB with no diffuser.
This being a graded coin means there is a plastic surface in front of the coin which reflects the light back at you resulting in the ghost image of the light source. No good.

 
With diffuser, we can now see the coin much better although I am missing the mirror/frosted contrast again. No ALB seems to be the best in this scenario.

 
Conclusions: 
I think this is a good product which in the right situations can make a coin look superb, although often at the expense of total disclosure of the condition. You can understand why dealers and auction houses love using it  
It seems to work especially well with bullion or circulation coins with an even matte texture such as the ASE, but also crowns, Morgan dollars and similar.
Proof coins present difficulties but I find just using a dark background and a bit of zoom to get close to "straight on" work best. The ALB removes the frosted/mirrored contrast which in my opinion is a loss.
For smaller coins this kit is not so useful for me using a mobile as I have to use excessive zoom to fill the frame with the coin. With a proper camera with macro/zoom lens this will likely be less of an issue as the minimum focus distance is anyway larger. The closest I can get my phone to the coin is about 9cm which is perfect for 40mm coins but 20mm coin photos will need to be heavily cropped. A smaller format "phone version" with a ~5cm minimum focus distance would be ideal for my use.
If I would make a suggestion to improve the useability of the product it would be to have the glass slot in to a rail like the diffuser. This would prevent cuts on the glass, and make it easier to store it and move it around without the glass falling off. However, it is a good product for using axial lighting for coins and I found it pretty straightforward to use.
 
Thanks for checking out my review. I'd love to know all your thoughts:
Which scenario do you think the ALB really comes into its own?
Which is my best photo in this thread?

for anyone interested 
https://en.auction-world.co/xpai/lot_A31-3538.html
An "original" Three Graces sold in Japan the past month 

 
 


Hammer price and buyers premium = £136,273
 
Also the silver Una & Lion "pattern" in the same sale 
https://en.auction-world.co/xpai/lot_A31-3594.html



Hammer price & buyers premium - Total price paid GBP £462,294 (!) 
Enjoy  

Very happy with the King's arrival in the colonies!
Only took 2 weeks! Can be 4-6 weeks sometimes.
Is the packaging slightly excessive? 5 boxes, like opening a Russian doll, or 'pass the parcel'!

1840 East India Company Rupee

This is about the best I can achieve with my equipment. The Chards magic axial setup is light years ahead. I’ll have to try and comprehend your photo guide a bit more. 

This is about the best I can achieve with my equipment. The Chards magic axial setup is light years ahead. I’ll have to try and comprehend your photo guide a bit more. 

Thanks for the comments about the photos, we actually tried a few changes to the lighting after this first pair of images.
The raised parts of the design are a typical modern matte finish, but the fields are, or should be highly polished with a mirror finish, however if we photograph them head on with "normal" or direct flash lighting, it produces a dark brown background.
There is some information about our photographic kit and techniques here, which may explain better:
https://www.chards.co.uk/blog/coin-photography-kit-taking-photos-the-chards-way/1046
I was working from home today, so I have yet to see these coins "in the flesh", but our photographers usually notice and comment on any defects, no matter how small, and they would generally have shown up on the photographs.
😎
 

Wow. Well done to the photographer for the flawless image, and the also flawless looking coin. Hopefully we all receive such examples.
The photo also looks like it could be the matte finish.

2022 Proof Sovereign Charles III Portrait - QEII Commemorative Issue - First Photos

Obverse above, and Reverse below:

Haven't got round to doing a serration count yet.
😎

As I’ve suggested (hoped!) elsewhere before, the RM could do a St. George and the Dragon range as part of the next set of the Great Engravers series.
The could include a couple of engravers including William Wyon and his gorgeous interpretation above. 😎

I'm especially excited if it is a St. George design. If it is, the question is, how big and how gold can I go?

I'm especially excited if it is a St. George design. If it is, the question is, how big and how gold can I go?

Got some from the Post Office today. 

Got some from the Post Office today. 

Got some from the Post Office today. 

The full set back together now…….Just waiting for the 2022 memorial sets! 
 

Worth reading:
https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/game-grading-firm-wata-hit-with-lawsuit-for-manipulating-retro-market-3225137
There are also much other similar stuff, including about Heritage Auctions, and its owner.
😎

Here you go then. Good luck to the graders on getting 70’s

I’m hearing the singles are being dispatched, the sets are not being minted for a few more weeks. 

I wouldn't mind a bit of infamy.