Jump to content
  • The above Banner is a Sponsored Banner.

    Upgrade to Premium Membership to remove this Banner & All Google Ads. For full list of Premium Member benefits Click HERE.

  • Join The Silver Forum

    The Silver Forum is one of the largest and best loved silver and gold precious metals forums in the world, established since 2014. Join today for FREE! Browse the sponsor's topics (hidden to guests) for special deals and offers, check out the bargains in the members trade section and join in with our community reacting and commenting on topic posts. If you have any questions whatsoever about precious metals collecting and investing please join and start a topic and we will be here to help with our knowledge :) happy stacking/collecting. 21,000+ forum members and 1 million+ forum posts. For the latest up to date stats please see the stats in the right sidebar when browsing from desktop. Sign up for FREE to view the forum with reduced ads. 

Recommended Posts

Posted

1984

2024_0226_134926_003.thumb.JPG.4813daf831aeeda202281155336f268d.JPG

1986

2024_0226_135240_008.thumb.JPG.fdbb50aef5014aafe6e7a832ec4149be.JPG

2015

2024_0226_135600_011.thumb.JPG.ca75c6990c67c28eab92aee9d42239fd.JPG

 

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
1 hour ago, ZRPMs said:

And that's progress right there for you. I think the detail gets better the further back you go.

Agreed.  The frosting gets more 'frosty' as time moves forward (and more holes), but the definition of the face and detail gets worse.

What is especially noticeable is that, with the 1984, I could not keep the whole face in focus because the relief was so much higher.  The later coins, especially the 2015, are flatter and easily focused.

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted

It makes you wonder if the dies are being produced with less quality as part of an overall cost cutting exercise or are we loosing a craft to mechanism. You'd think with todays tech you could almost increase the quality of the detail. Look at the Great Engravers series. The originals were made with far better detail. 

Posted
2 minutes ago, ZRPMs said:

It makes you wonder if the dies are being produced with less quality as part of an overall cost cutting exercise or are we loosing a craft to mechanism. You'd think with todays tech you could almost increase the quality of the detail. Look at the Great Engravers series. The originals were made with far better detail. 

It's a valid point.  I do not have any old proof sovereigns, so I cannot go further back.

But I can compare modern proof coins from other mints, even if it isn't like-for-like.

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
1 hour ago, DdraigAur said:

Very interesting topic. Would those neat striations on the Canadian coin indicate the die was somehow CNC/machine finished?

I have no idea.  Hopefully someone with more coin minting knowledge can answer.

In the meantime, here are some more pics.  Including some missing 'frosting'.

For scale, those digits are approximately 1.5mm tall.  That makes the 'striations' about 50 microns wide.

2024_0227_102805_003.thumb.JPG.c8c183569cc313cf56ab31d93788a3cf.JPG

2024_0227_102822_004.thumb.JPG.0d4b2c13e5634bc70c0cee5b72424e86.JPG

2024_0227_103238_005.thumb.JPG.8268041f7c7bee774873c83be6b0c435.JPG

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
29 minutes ago, Charliemouse said:

I have no idea.  Hopefully someone with more coin minting knowledge can answer.

In the meantime, here are some more pics.  Including some missing 'frosting'.

For scale, those digits are approximately 1.5mm tall.  That makes the 'striations' about 50 microns wide.

2024_0227_102805_003.thumb.JPG.c8c183569cc313cf56ab31d93788a3cf.JPG

2024_0227_102822_004.thumb.JPG.0d4b2c13e5634bc70c0cee5b72424e86.JPG

2024_0227_103238_005.thumb.JPG.8268041f7c7bee774873c83be6b0c435.JPG

Die has been laser etched? Or a dwarf with a teeny weeny hammer did it.

I like to buy the pre-dip rise.

Posted
2 minutes ago, James32 said:

Die has been laser etched? Or a dwarf with a teeny weeny hammer did it.

It's always the leprechauns.  🤣

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
47 minutes ago, Charliemouse said:

I have no idea.  Hopefully someone with more coin minting knowledge can answer.

In the meantime, here are some more pics.  Including some missing 'frosting'.

For scale, those digits are approximately 1.5mm tall.  That makes the 'striations' about 50 microns wide.

2024_0227_102805_003.thumb.JPG.c8c183569cc313cf56ab31d93788a3cf.JPG

2024_0227_102822_004.thumb.JPG.0d4b2c13e5634bc70c0cee5b72424e86.JPG

2024_0227_103238_005.thumb.JPG.8268041f7c7bee774873c83be6b0c435.JPG

Not CNC. Could be finished with a laser finished with a small aperture. The same as the assay office use.

A little known fact that collecting Spoons was therapeutic for the Special people in society to keep them calm. Dickens 

Posted (edited)

Fantastic photos, keep on posting them!

I'm with James and NGMD, I wouldn't be surprised if the dies are finished by laser.

Have a look at the scan I've attached from an 1986 Royal Mint Coin Club Bulletin. It describes how the frosting used to be applied to the dies, historically by Nitric acid etching and then by glass bead shot blasting.

1986-21 Die Polishing.pdf

Edited by Booky586
Posted
23 hours ago, Charliemouse said:

1984

2024_0226_134926_003.thumb.JPG.4813daf831aeeda202281155336f268d.JPG

1986

2024_0226_135240_008.thumb.JPG.fdbb50aef5014aafe6e7a832ec4149be.JPG

2015

2024_0226_135600_011.thumb.JPG.ca75c6990c67c28eab92aee9d42239fd.JPG

 

The 80's really were the best times. Keep these photos comming, fascinating indeed💖👌

Posted
1 hour ago, Booky586 said:

Fantastic photos, keep on posting them!

I'm with James and NGMD, I wouldn't be surprised if the dies are finished by laser.

Have a look at the scan I've attached from an 1986 Royal Mint Coin Club Bulletin. It describes how the frosting used to be applied to the dies, historically by Nitric acid etching and then by glass bead shot blasting.

1986-21 Die Polishing.pdf 493.95 kB · 1 download

The blasting media is usually done with ceramic now for consistency as glass breaks down to powder easily and has too much colour fluctuations and can hide surface imperfections. 
Oh hang on, it’s the Royal mint- grit and tarmac sandpaper.

 

A little known fact that collecting Spoons was therapeutic for the Special people in society to keep them calm. Dickens 

Posted
22 hours ago, Charliemouse said:

Agreed.  The frosting gets more 'frosty' as time moves forward (and more holes), but the definition of the face and detail gets worse.

What is especially noticeable is that, with the 1984, I could not keep the whole face in focus because the relief was so much higher.  The later coins, especially the 2015, are flatter and easily focused.

Do you have any close up shots of alternatives mints? Be good to see their process on magnified details.

A little known fact that collecting Spoons was therapeutic for the Special people in society to keep them calm. Dickens 

Posted (edited)

Any chance of doing a Gillick and some earlier Victoria through to George V to see how things have gone down hill 

Edited by Spyder

Never Chase and Never Regret 

Posted
35 minutes ago, NGMD said:

Do you have any close up shots of alternatives mints? Be good to see their process on magnified details.

Which do you mean?  The previous two were Perth and Canada.  They are the only proof coins I have with the Pistrucci design, to compare George's head like with like.

I am happy to photograph anything I've got with the microscope, but I don't have proofs going further back than the 1980's.

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
Just now, Charliemouse said:

Which do you mean?  The previous two were Perth and Canada.  They are the only proof coins I have with the Pistrucci design, to compare George's head like with like.

I am happy to photograph anything I've got with the microscope, but I don't have proofs going further back than the 1980's.

Love to see like modern Germania/Perth proofs or anything you have under the mattress to see alternative modern processes under high magnification.

A little known fact that collecting Spoons was therapeutic for the Special people in society to keep them calm. Dickens 

Posted (edited)
49 minutes ago, Spyder said:

Any chance of doing a Gillick and some earlier Victoria though George V to see how things have gone down hill 

Here's a couple of Gillicks.  First year and last year.  Sadly, only bullion.

1958 Bullion Full Sovereign

2024_0227_134629_001.thumb.JPG.a804e4ce336c4a11f70b8d2406de2508.JPG

1968 Bullion Full Sovereign

2024_0227_134733_003.thumb.JPG.e3702a17be505d5e1df1a2f6b51fc216.JPG

Amazingly, I think there is more definition in these faces than in the 2015 proof above.  Of course the finish is not as good with bullion, but it makes you wonder.

Edited by Charliemouse

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
33 minutes ago, iacabu said:

I do love seeing these extreme close ups, great thread.

What magnification are these taken at? 

Difficult to be precise.  The closest this lens focuses is about 12mm, which gives a stated magnification of 700x.  I take these figures with a bit of a pinch of salt though, and it obviously depends what monitor you view it on.

A more useful measure is what distance the image covers on the subject.  The image of George's head is about 1.5mm x 1mm.

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Posted
12 minutes ago, NGMD said:

Love to see like modern Germania/Perth proofs or anything you have under the mattress to see alternative modern processes under high magnification.

Here's a couple:

2014 1oz Reverse Proof Maple

2024_0225_120215_011.thumb.JPG.a6ba7f2ad603c282b57376172ca7782b.JPG

2014 1/4oz Proof Kangaroo

2024_0225_115155_005.thumb.JPG.c32810b82d32ca98e925238e08cc4de4.JPG

 

12 Beginner Tips for Better Coin Photos

Everything you need to take great coin photos

Douglas Hubbard: Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by moderately rational individuals following incentives in a complex system of interactions.

Carl Sagan: One of the great commandments of science is, "Mistrust arguments from authority."

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Cookies & terms of service

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies and to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use