WizardOfSov

I said "This is a dead parrot", and our photographer came back with what looks like a Norwegian Blue:

😎

Even as a young man we always knew Charlies ears were going to be a problem... But nobody predicted birds would start nesting in them... 

This is why I hate online banking.
If I want to send a bank transfer I have to log in with user name and password then verify the login with a random generated 8 digit passcode, then after filling the details for the transfer it asks me to answer a security question and after that I have to enter another 6 digit code to finally send the payment.

This is why I hate online banking.
If I want to send a bank transfer I have to log in with user name and password then verify the login with a random generated 8 digit passcode, then after filling the details for the transfer it asks me to answer a security question and after that I have to enter another 6 digit code to finally send the payment.

Haha yes well spotted, it looks like a lamb chop to me as well,  now you've draw attention to it I won't be able to 'unsee' it

I don't know what kind of bird it is but whatever it is it likes lamb chops that thing is definitely pecking away at a lamb chop right?
Maybe it's pork but it looks like a lamb chop to me. 🤔

Spot the Birdy - Hidden Bird Image in King Charles' Portrait?
This seems to be one of those silly stories, especially when you see it in The Sun newpaper:

With a little imagination, or a lot too much wine, some people have spotted what they think may be a deliberate hidden image of a bird.
We asked our photgrapher to highlight it.
What I would like to know is "What sort of bird?"
Any suggestions?
😎

Fairly new to the game myself but as the name suggests I like sovereigns.
I'm not at that point yet where I'm looking to buy specific dates to complete a date run or collecting examples from all mints they were produced at for specific years I'm happily just stacking random year bullion sovereigns and that means low premiums.
If you want to get into the collecting side of things though and not just stacking I think it's a no brainer that sovereigns are the way to go simply because of the sheer variety.

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?

This company cancelled their Official Sponsorship and advertising on TSF around the same time that another member which I will not name asked for their account and all information about them to be deleted when I called them out for directly trying to damage TSF and actively suggesting to members via PM to cancel their membership and go to his FB group instead, all while TSF was sponsoring their YT channel. 
I had felt that CC had used TSF to get awareness of their auctions and then cancelled their paid membership once enough TSF members were aware of them and also were possibly persuaded by the aforementioned member, I was aware that they had a business relationship. The reason they gave was that not enough members of TSF are interested in Gold. However, I had put up a public statement at the time (which has since been removed) and a member private messaged me at the time and said that the commission on his item alone would have been enough to cover several years of their membership fee. And of course, as many of you are aware there are many members of TSF who purchase gold and some exclusively gold.
Recently they actually emailed trying to buy TSF or offer me a job. Of course TSF is not for sale nor do I wish to work for them. 
Unfortunately @Silverman2U I am unable to help but as I was tagged in this post I just wanted to make my relationship with this company clear, and that TSF has no business relationship with CC. Hopefully if you reach out again via email they are able to help. 

I buy my capsules from here.
https://www.coingallery.co.uk/coin-capsules-34-c.asp
I usually just buy the basic Lighthouse ones because all I really want is something to keep the coin inside from getting damaged.
The ones they list as Airtites  are actually Lighthouse capsules they just use the rings from Air-Tite

Nice balance scale. 😁👍

Hello everyone, this is my first message, I am looking around in this FORUM and wonder how this new adventure will be!
I can't say I'm "new" to the collection of coins since I've started as a kid, thought I lost all my coins and forgot about collecting for 30 years, then found by miracle my coins again and since 2010 I have started a Euro collection that is still ongoing.
I am now looking into the realm of stacking/collecting silver coins and I tell you I am ruthlessly overwhelmed by your British Queen's Beasts series!
Nevertheless, I am virtually interested in all coins, so I am more than glad to share feelings and thought about coins and stacking as well. Given the level of knowledge and experience I see in this FORUM, I hope some of you will be willing to share and I will be very grateful! Cheers, batida.

Import VAT still applicable. 

The bloke will have a bad back not bending his knees. All that gold plated lead is quite heavy 🤔 

Some pretty sloppy stacking in pic (2)
Epic visual though, thanks for sharing. 
Side note..always makes me wonder if people in this or similar working capacity ( bullion dealers) are just numb to gold,after a certain amount of time in job. 
Another Question for @LawrenceChard ..are the staff at chards just mehhh when unpacking kilo bars etc ?

I’ve seen these two images being shared on various online platforms recently and thought the community here might like to see a ‘real’ gold stack. Not to dismiss or belittle anyone’s own stack might I add.
But I’m sure you can appreciate the sheer volume of gold here is unbelievable.
Bearing in mind that these photos were taken in 1959, some 64 years ago when the gold price was much lower than it is today.
Notice the shoes the man is wearing, its not to protect the gold as he stands on it, it’s to protect his feet in case he drops a bar of gold on them!! Imagine having that ‘problem’.
Now, what I want to know is, does @LawrenceChard have a snazzy pair of those steel toe cap shoes/crocs? 😆
 
(I don’t own these images, nor did I take them)
Bloody miracle if I did before I was born. 

Nice balance scale. 😁👍

I will tag in @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer so the team are aware of the interest in different capsules.
Most of ours are Lighthouse (Leuchturm).
The old RM screw top ones used to be the best IMO.
😎

Have you ever attempted to start a distributorship for Air-tites?
It seems conspicuous by its absence.

I buy my capsules from here.
https://www.coingallery.co.uk/coin-capsules-34-c.asp
I usually just buy the basic Lighthouse ones because all I really want is something to keep the coin inside from getting damaged.
The ones they list as Airtites  are actually Lighthouse capsules they just use the rings from Air-Tite

I buy my capsules from here.
https://www.coingallery.co.uk/coin-capsules-34-c.asp
I usually just buy the basic Lighthouse ones because all I really want is something to keep the coin inside from getting damaged.
The ones they list as Airtites  are actually Lighthouse capsules they just use the rings from Air-Tite

From what I'm led to believe milk spotting will occur regardless of how coins are stored as it's due to chemical residues left on the coin during the minting process it's just a matter of time for how long it takes to show.
Tarnish on the other hand is a reaction with gasses or chemicals  in the environment the silver is stored in so storing it in an air tight container will prevent it.

Thanks both.  The coins are all in some sort of individual capsule or bag already, though the quality on several of the capsules is questionable, not convinced they'll be totally airtight so that's where the concern is currently.
Good to know I'm unlikely to cause milk spots though!

From what I'm led to believe milk spotting will occur regardless of how coins are stored as it's due to chemical residues left on the coin during the minting process it's just a matter of time for how long it takes to show.
Tarnish on the other hand is a reaction with gasses or chemicals  in the environment the silver is stored in so storing it in an air tight container will prevent it.