Today I Received.....

[Silverlocks]

Maybe I should look around the local jewellers and see if any of them have sovs.  Not sure where the closest pawn shops are.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Silverlocks

[Earthmetal]

Wow, I didn't even know sovs could be bought from jewellers. I'm guessing the price must have been good!

[Earthmetal]

I've got to share this, I just said to my wife: "The 'Today I Received' thread is 1,301 pages long."

She replied, "Is that all from today?".

😖

[Silverlocks]

20 minutes ago, Earthmetal said:

Wow, I didn't even know sovs could be bought from jewellers. I'm guessing the price must have been good!

Some of them wheel and deal in secondhand gold, although I just learned that from folks discussing it on this board.  I've not tried hunting around and asking any of the local ones, though.

[Charliemouse]

A number of arrivals that have been in the pipeline for a while.

First up are some cute little puppies supplied by @Panda6Pack.

Has to be the strangest capsule I own.  The top two pics are the same coin pair, the "Fenrir Geminus", and the third picture is the BU pair.  I wonder if they deliberately timed the release to coincide with the eclipse.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Charliemouse

[Charliemouse]

Next up is this tiny little 1/10th from @morezone.

It's from 1997, the year I was married, and is meant to provide good auspices.  Well, I'm still married, so I think 25 years isn't bad.

[Charliemouse]

What is the collective noun for Yales?  I asked Google, and it laughed at me.

I honestly think in the case of the Tudor Beasts, it should be an "Ugliness of Yales".  He needs to get some lessons from his more hansom QB cousin.

Anyway, with the arrival of the 2oz and 10oz bullions, I have a group.

 

[AaaGee]

Recieved yesterday from @StBeesSilver

Great looking. Shame about my phone camera

Edited October 29, 2022 by AaaGee
Tweaked the pic to make it clearer

[DrDave]

15 minutes ago, AaaGee said:

Recieved yesterday from @StBeesSilver

Great looking. Shame about my phone camera.

 

Lovely coin.

I've got one on its way. Should be here on monday 🤞

[Silverlocks]

28 minutes ago, AaaGee said:

Recieved yesterday from @StBeesSilver

Great looking. Shame about my phone camera

 

So, adopting the principle for this of 'Buy the cheapest tools, use them until the break, and then buy the best one you can as a replacement', I've been having a go at getting decent coin photos.  Perhaps not up to @DrDave's standard but I'd like to figure out how to get decent pics of the coins.  Needless to say, spending a lot on prosumer camera gear compromises one's ability to purchase PM's, so I'm having a go at doing this on the cheap.

So far, I've bought a little bendy legged tripod with a bluetooth remote for the camera on the phone (that actually works).  It cost about £15.  I just pushed out the boat on £30 for the cheapest pair of dimmable LED desktop photography lamps I could find.  We'll see how that works. I spent about 5 quid on some black construction paper for making a light box.

Lighting is the main thing I haven't gotten right yet, plus jpeg artifacts making the detail on the coins look a bit potato-quality.

A spot of google-fu about getting uncompressed photos from a Samsung phone turns up the link above.  Will try frigging with these when the lights arrive.

https://www.makeuseof.com/how-to-shoot-raw-photos-samsung-galaxy/

[timsk]

@DrDave

Praise for your excellent pics has been loud and well deserved. Obviously, most of us here will never be in a position to take pic's as good as yours but, by the same taken, many of us (me included) could probably do a great deal better than we're managing to do currently - if we had a few tips and pointers from someone who knows what they're doing. Do you see where I'm going with this? 😉

Looking at my own pic posted a few days ago of the Tutankhamen coin, I forget to remove the cap lid, so the pic is of the coin through the cap and the camera has focused on the cap and not the coin. Doh! A rookie error. If everyone avoided making this one simple mistake, I suspect that alone would make a significant difference to the quality of images posted on here.

The post above by Silverlocks got me thinking that it would be useful to have a basic - VERY basic - 'how to' guide for taking a decent snap of our coins using a smartphone. This would be good for our own records and improve the standard of posts (photographically speaking) on here for others to enjoy. If this is a challenge you felt able to accept, I'm sure it would be very well received and much appreciated by the great and the good on TSF - and me!

If it's something you'd consider doing, my suggestion would be that you keep it super simple and, unless absolutely essential, shy away from buying any kit. Or perhaps you could do two versions: 'beginners' (no special kit) and 'intermediate' (using some kit along the lines Silverlocks suggests, perhaps?). In other words, most members will be able to take better pictures with what they already have and follow what you advise from memory without the need to refer back to a long list of complicated instructions. Just a thought DrDave - but if you don't have the time or inclination, I'm sure everyone will understand and be more than content to enjoy your fabulous pic's as and when you post them. 

Edited October 30, 2022 by timsk

[DrDave]

2 hours ago, timsk said:

@DrDave

Praise for your excellent pics has been loud and well deserved. Obviously, most of us here will never be in a position to take pic's as good as yours but, by the same taken, many of us (me included) could probably do a great deal better than we're managing to do currently - if we had a few tips and pointers from someone who knows what they're doing. Do you see where I'm going with this? 😉

Looking at my own pic posted a few days ago of the Tutankhamen coin, I forget to remove the cap lid, so the pic is of the coin through the cap and the camera has focused on the cap and not the coin. Doh! A rookie error. If everyone avoided making this one simple mistake, I suspect that alone would make a significant difference to the quality of images posted on here.

The post above by Silverlocks got me thinking that it would be useful to have a basic - VERY basic - 'how to' guide for taking a decent snap of our coins using a smartphone. This would be good for our own records and improve the standard of posts (photographically speaking) on here for others to enjoy. If this is a challenge you felt able to accept, I'm sure it would be very well received and much appreciated by the great and the good on TSF - and me!

If it's something you'd consider doing, my suggestion would be that you keep it super simple and, unless absolutely essential, shy away from buying any kit. Or perhaps you could do two versions: 'beginners' (no special kit) and 'intermediate' (using some kit along the lines Silverlocks suggests, perhaps?). In other words, most members will be able to take better pictures with what they already have and follow what you advise from memory without the need to refer back to a long list of complicated instructions. Just a thought DrDave - but if you don't have the time or inclination, I'm sure everyone will understand and be more than content to enjoy your fabulous pic's as and when you post them. 

That sounds like a godd idea, and i'm happy to oblige as best as i can.

I'll try to do a smartphone version with stuff you'll already have, maybe smartphone with some cheap kit, 'proper camera with no additional expense, and then a couple of 'pro'set ups (for those that are interested).

I'll look at some short video clips that i can host on Vimeo and embed into the post too. It might be easier to follow possibly?

Leave it with me.

[timsk]

6 minutes ago, DrDave said:

Leave it with me.

👍

Nice one DrDave.

May I suggest you include example shots using the setup(s) you advise? If you did that using a coin that everyone is familiar with, say a 1oz silver Britannia, then that would provide a useful benchmark against which others can compare their results. Also, I suggest a bespoke thread with an easy to find catchy title* so that members can refer back to it and, perhaps, post their results and any questions they may have etc. Just my £0.02p worth.

*DrDave's Smartphone set up for Photographing Coins

DrDave's 'How to' guide for Photographing Coins

DrDave's 'How to' guide for Photographing Coins with a Smartphone / Point 'n Shoot / DSLR / Hasselblad X2D 100C Medium Format Digital Camera

DrDave's . . .

[DrDave]

31 minutes ago, timsk said:

👍

Nice one DrDave.

May I suggest you include example shots using the setup(s) you advise? If you did that using a coin that everyone is familiar with, say a 1oz silver Britannia, then that would provide a useful benchmark against which others can compare their results. Also, I suggest a bespoke thread with an easy to find catchy title* so that members can refer back to it and, perhaps, post their results and any questions they may have etc. Just my £0.02p worth.

*DrDave's Smartphone set up for Photographing Coins

DrDave's 'How to' guide for Photographing Coins

DrDave's 'How to' guide for Photographing Coins with a Smartphone / Point 'n Shoot / DSLR / Hasselblad X2D 100C Medium Format Digital Camera

DrDave's . . .

Will do. 

Different coins will need a lightly different approach. A shiny Brit will be shot differently to a well circulated Sovereign.

[AaaGee]

23 minutes ago, DrDave said:

Will do. 

Different coins will need a lightly different approach. A shiny Brit will be shot differently to a well circulated Sovereign.

Ive looked at all the pics ive taken of my coins are all sub standard. None that im really happy with. Would be happy to learn a few hints and tips as i feel the pictures ive put up would come across as lazy and lack trying.

Ive got a watch collection that the pictures cam out "acceptable" but not great.

Silver and gold, the problem seems to be light, shade and most definitely glare. Trying to get the best of all 3 leaves me with poor results.

 

Rich

 

[AaaGee]

On 29/10/2022 at 19:22, DrDave said:

Lovely coin.

I've got one on its way. Should be here on monday 🤞

Looking forward to the pictures 👍

[silverfan]

Looking forward to DrDave's How to's. Imho it's mostly all about the Light. And of course an accurate White Balance.

Edited October 31, 2022 by silverfan

[Charliemouse]

22 hours ago, DrDave said:

That sounds like a godd idea, and i'm happy to oblige as best as i can.

I'll try to do a smartphone version with stuff you'll already have, maybe smartphone with some cheap kit, 'proper camera with no additional expense, and then a couple of 'pro'set ups (for those that are interested).

I'll look at some short video clips that i can host on Vimeo and embed into the post too. It might be easier to follow possibly?

Leave it with me.

I have been wanting do this sort of thing myself for a while now, but kept putting it off.  I see people making the same mistakes, and it's not any fault of their own.  If you're not 'into' photography, a lot of it can be confusing and counter-intuitive.  But a couple of simple concepts will lead to huge improvements.

I will definitely learn from "Dr Dave's 'pro' photo tutorial."

And I'm more than happy to help out, if I can.

[LikeCoins001]

On 28/10/2022 at 14:57, Antwerpstacker said:

The package that gets me in the 500oz club arrived today courtesy of @LikeCoins001

 

Congrats with hitting the 500oz mark and it has been a pleausure.  Next is the journey to 1000oz

[DrDave]

Ordered this for the @StBeesSilver website while waiting for the Charles III coronation round to be uplaoded for sale.

[StBeesSilver]

Nice photo🙂

[DrDave]

My Charles III Coronation coin from @StBeesSilver. Thank you

[Johnboysilver]

Loving the fenrir rounds 👀👀😁

[TheShinyStuff]

Another Brit on the date run. 1998 courtesy of @matt1r who very kindly split an already well priced bundle so this cheapskate could cherry pick. Also the 1952 SA crown from the same bundle. I do like a .500 crown...

3 Brits left to find now, 2000, 2001 & 2002...

Took the photo in greyscale in the spirit of the current interest in photography here on the forum! It's not much, but it's all I've got!

Edited October 31, 2022 by TheShinyStuff

[dragafem]