Saturday, July 25, 2009

Extra Zapping Reveals This Beauty


The coin you see to the right was very resistant to cleaning so I placed her in my Super Zapper and gave her an extra kick and the crust eventually fell away. It is difficult to find coins of this quality unless one finds the coin under crust. I still have a bit of touching up to do and will most likely use my graphite pencil scrub to eliminate the darkness around the legend.

After I finish cleaning the coin I plan to allow the coin to patinate naturally with just a little help. I find great joy in extricating these coins from the encrustation. I am the first to see this coin in this condition in about 1700 years. I am sure if it was not for Zapping, I would have little interest in ancient coins. As a retired teacher I would be unable to afford the coins I like. Many of the members of CoinZappers feel the same as I do about Zapping. I must warn you, it is addictive! Thank you for looking and God bless.. Jerry..


Saturday, July 4, 2009

Lighting: This Is What I Have Been Looking For


I have been working with my coin photo lighting for months and I am finally satisfied with recent results. Please take a look at the Antonius Pius attached left and see if you agree. If you like what you see, then go back through my blog posts and see if there is a light tent you like.
I have reported more than once that I believe good coin photography is about 98% lighting and the remaining 2% accounts for other factors. I really hope that something I have shared will help you move ahead more rapidly that I have. I built another light tent a few days ago that I like a lot. Perhaps I will share the unit soon.

Let me know what you think of the photo. Perhaps I am being too subjective and perhaps you can share something that will make me a better coin photographer. Thank you for reading and God Bless.. Jerry..