Coin Varieties Club Website
Getting Started in Varieties
| |||||
Join The Club!! | Message Board and Chat Room | FAQ | Webring/Link Page | Polls | Classified AD's | About U.S. Coin Varieties | Getting Started in Varieties | What to look for and Where | Photo Section | Coin Photography | Tips and Tricks | Complete Encyclopedia of US Coin Varieties | Coin Articles
| |||||
This page will help you to know the "Tools of the Trade". The following info will help you to gain a better understanding of what you need to be a better variety collector. | ||||
1) Buy the Book Books contain a wealth of information specializing in the field of varieties. They contain pictures, grading standards, rarirty, pricing, and information about a particular variety. They are written by various authors, come in various styles and approaches. I cannot stress enough about buying the book FIRST. There are some websites that you can find information on varieties. These websites can be found on the webring/link page in this site. 2) Magnification a. Doublet -Utilizes two lenses b. Triplet -Utilizes three lenses c. Microscopes 3) Lighting a. Flourescent -Economical, effecient b. Soft White/ Warm White -Increased Red color c. Incandescent/Halogen Incandescent 4) Photograhpy/Scanner a. SLR Camera -An SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera uses interchangeable lenses. The use of a good macro lens will enable you to take good close-up pictures of coins. Adapters are available to adapt the camera to take photo's through a microscope. After the pictures are developed, scan the pictures and edit the photo's as needed. b. Digital Camera -A digital camera allows you to take photo's and edit them right after you take them. A digital camera can take pictures through a microscope by "shooting" the pictures straight through the eyepiece of the microscope. No adapter is needed, but a steady hand is required c. Computer Scanner -A computer scanner will allow you to scan the coin and edit the picture right after you scan the coin. The smaller details of some varieties will not show on some coins. I suggest using between 400 dpi and 1600 dpi scan. Then edit the pictures and resize them with a photo program. | ||||