rob6

Today I received the wooden Queens Beasts 1/4 oz gold case from Alun.  Fabulous workmanship and as a bonus came with capsules.
A big THANK YOU Alun

Today I made a mount for the silver boat I received from ilovesilverireallydo.
Still haven't cleaned it yet

The base is made from "Olive wood" 

Today I received the most beautiful rose, accompanied by a treasured silver shilling gift from Jonrms  aka  ACE Bullion.
Very, Very, Very, well packed !!!!
THANK YOU JON
 

Arrived today.
1st ever coin sent for grading, and what a result!   
Thanks  Numi

Yes, mine arrived today,  and a big "THANK YOU" to him for organising it for us. Cheers @augur

Delivered today in exquisite condition, a delightful,  46.24 gram bar of what can only be described as "stuff dreams are made of".
From a super forum member 1817Karl. A big "THANK YOU" my friend.
Oh, and the two coins were nice as well.
 

It's an Olive wood base, has some beautiful grain to it.
Thanks for the like

Today I received a package from "Ace bullion", which beleive it or not, I actually "won" in a raffle !!!!!
Unable to say I never win anything any more. Thanks Jonrms.
 

 
 

520

£74

£250

£105

Looking for 1953 Proof penny NGC PF65 or above.
If anyone looking to sell, please message me with grade and asking price.
I have several 1953 graded denominations to sell or swap, contact me for details 
Cheers

2 PLEASE

The Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III 2023 UK 1/4oz Gold Proof 
£810 posted SD

2 Please, and a proof
Cheers

PM'd

#73

Thanks, I'm pleased with the results I've started to achieve. I'm using a Canon 60mm macro lens and it works well, but the focal length to coins any smaller than a half sovereign doesn't leave much room for the glass reflector to fit between lens and coin.
I'd like to source a clamp similar to the attached image which would replace the frame holding the glass reflector. This gives flexibility to have diferent sized (and smaller) pieces of glass. Alternatively I'd have to upgrade to a bigger macro lens, and they don't come cheap!

@shawy2520
Lawrence asked me a while ago to put together something to show how to take better images.  Every time I start something crops up and I get sidetracked.  I do intend to do it but may be a while
For now here is an interview we did with DIYPhotography which explains axial lighting and at the bottom is the video from Gale Spring, I eventually found, when I was looking for a better way
https://www.diyphotography.net/use-mirrors-get-perfect-axial-lighting-macro-subjects/
Shawy - you don't NEED a support unit.  It's handy - but not essential.   Two pieces of wood screwed together would do same 
I find that I angle the glass between circa 42degrees and 49degrees.  So one hand is still needed holding the glass to see which is best.  I frequently take a few anyway as viewing in Bridge/Photoshop shows more detail than the viewfinder anyway.   You can look through the viewfinder with modelling lamp on to show the effects of different angles the glass is placed at.
The only constants are the base of the glass (the pivot point) needs to be perpendicular to the light source - and something dark on the right needs to absorb pass through light and hinder it bouncing back (and up)
Hope this helps - feel free to ask any questions
...and yes...I know the glass in the pics on the interview is very mucky.   Whilst I am much more careful generally it actually doesn't matter 
regards
Doug
 
 
 
 

Axial Lighting
Our "Head of Photography" (#1 in a department of 1), Doug Smith, didn't like our "heavy breathing" technique we used to use for reducing reflection, and improving the colour rendition of proof coins in particular, so he did some research online, and was pointed towards "axial lighting", which he (therefore we) now use for most of our coin photos.
Doug made his own axial lighting stand, which worked well enough, but he then improved the design, and cut and assembled a new custom version.
I have been asked quite a few times about it. We have shown photos of it on our website, and on my Flickr stream.
I have always tried to help educate and inform anyone interested, about coins, other aspects of our business, and any other subject where I think I have knowledge or experience worth sharing.
Doug is also similarly helpful.
Unfortunately, he recently moved house, and as part of the move mismantled his laser cutting machine, otherwise he is happy to supply his axial lighting stands in kit form, the buyer just needs to source the glass locally. The good news is that he has ordered a CNC machine, which should be even better, but he is not expecting delivery until Christmas or New Year. I suspect it is his Christmas present to himself.
Links to photos of the axial lighting stand and set-up are already provided earlier in this thread.
A TSF member sent me a Private Message today "
Hi Lawrence,
Would you mind if I used the photo to ask people on here if they can build me 1 as Doug is too busy."
I presume he was meaning this image: http://artiefarties.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/axialilluminationglasssupportstand.jpg which is Doug's image, not mine, but I guess that Doug will be quite happy for it to be used.
There is also an online review of our set-up here: https://www.diyphotography.net/use-mirrors-get-perfect-axial-lighting-macro-subjects/
I hope this helps.
N.B. I would always prefer to receive questions in an open forum than via Private Message, unless it is of a particularly personal nature such as Rita Ora asking for a private viewing of my testoons. (Even then, I would be happy for her to post it in a public forum)

One thing I tried and actually had some success with is using a scanner. Especially for very reflective coins it means you don't have the distortion of having to take the photo from an angle. I've found it also picks up a lot of detail that shows just how much of a qualitative difference there is between bullion and proof coins, picking up things that aren't so easily visible to the naked eye.

If you want to do any editing but don't want to pay for or appropriate Photoshop an open source program called 'The GIMP' is very good. It is as involved as Photoshop to use so not for the impatient...

Using my mobile phone I also use the aid of a bottle where I can balance a coin on top, which makes the focus better when holding the phone above for a shot. Using the screen as a viewfinder I can then move it to get the coin looking dead-on instead of slightly at an angle. Then I crop the shot. I find it better than laying a coin on a flat surface as my camera phone tends to want to focus on the surrounding surface as well, so by having the coin higher the surrounding area is out of focus. My mobile isn't great at close up shots but this way I get a better image.

Roman Gold Aureus of Nero - Obverse
Portrait of Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus) on obverse of Roman gold aureus.
This is one of our oldest digital coin photos, taken 1st August 1999 with a Ricoh camera, resolution 640 x 480. I can't remember the model, possibly RDC1, it cost about $400 imported from the USA.