My Most Recent $2 Light Tent

Greetings readers. I have been experimenting with my photography and lighting and the coin photo you see above is a result of my latest creative efforts. The “light tent” cost me $2 and was intended for use other than photography. I am very excited about my discovery and I am prepared to share if you would like for me to. The new tent provides me with wonderful illumination using two 60 watts incandescent light bulbs.

I don’t recall if I shared the coin or not. It is the product of one of my Zapping sessions and I have it attributed as a Commerative Augustus struck under the rule of Tiberius. Back to the photography. I have shared quite a bit about my lighting and my lighting tents and I don’t know if you are prepared for another! However, each tent has brought me closer to what I have now developed and I consider this tent to be my consummate effort.. Thanks for reading and let me know.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Ancient Coins: A Budget Hobby

A bit of dialogue on one of my sites prompted me to write this article. I know there are many ancient coins that can cost one a small fortune and I know some of the coins are extremely scarce. However, I am amazed that I can sit here in my home in South Central Mississippi with what amounts to hundreds of museum pieces.

Of course I am speaking of my ancient coins. Most of my coins are the result of Zapping coins I have bought for a buck or so. On occasion I will spend as much as 3 bucks each for a group of crusty coins. I still think ancient coin collecting is one of the best kept secrets around. Unlike many of my coin friends I have invested very little in coin books. I depend on the wonderful coin sites to help provide me with attribution material.

Today, I bought an AR 6th century coin with beautiful imagery for $35 dollars. I consider the purchase to be an amazing bargain. The coin really belongs in a museum for others to enjoy as I do. I can think of no hobby that brings me as much joy as ancient coin collecting does and especially when one considers the expense of other hobbies. Dollar for dollar I think we coin enthusiasts get the most bang for the buck.

I will not attempt to match hobby cost against hobby cost but I think we are very fortunate to enjoy our interest for so little money. I realize there are those who spend thousands on ancient coins but the great thing is I can enjoy my $35 coin just as much as he/she enjoys his/her golden ancient. Thank you all for being my friends and thank you all for being tolerant of this old man.. God Bless.. Jerry..

A Safe Way To Store Your Coins

As your ancient coin collection grows, I am sure your thoughts will or have turned to safe methods of storing your coins. There are several ways of safely storing your coins but I will address only one of these methods. I think plastic “flips” are a great way to store your coins.

There are flips that are unsafe and there are flips considered archivally safe. Never use flips that contain PVC. PVC is harmful to the coins and I don’t think anyone will question the veracity of this statement. Ask your vendor for archival safe flips and I think you will also find the price of the archival flips is very reasonable in contrast to the unsafe.

A nice feature about flips is that the flips can be bought in sheets and placed in a three ring binder. This makes for convenient and nice presentations of your coins. This method will also allow you to show your coins without the viewer coming in contact with your coins.

The binders can easily be labeled and shelved in a convenient place. These binders can be purchased at Wal-Mart or at an office supply store. The binders also make for easy transportation from to coin shows, etc. In terms of preservation, I think this is one of the most efficient, safe and economical investments the collector can make.

If you would like to share your preservation methods, please do. I am always looking for a better ways to do things. I hope you have enjoyed this article and while reading please go through the remainder of my blog. Please bookmark and visit on occasion.. God Bless.. Jerry..

New Milk Carton Photo Light Tent

Please take a look at the photo above and see what you think. I used a 1-quart milk carton for a “light tent.” I trimmed the top of the carton away and I cut an opening in the bottom to allow the milk carton to slip over the coin. I used two Soft Light GE off the shelf “normal” light bulbs for my light sources. I placed one light on each side.

I used something different but one can use the aluminum shop lights from Wal-Mart to hold and reflect the light. I think the lights are $6.95 each. I like the shop lights with clamps and that enables me to place the light wherever I like. I placed the lights within a foot of the milk carton. One can move the light around and play with the direction of the light.

I plan to spend more time now learning the proper way to light the coin. I have a custom white balance on my camera and that enables me to adjust my camera to the light I am using. If you are using a point and shoot camera you should find that you have several options for setting your white balance. If you do not have a custom white balance setting then try the incandescent setting you will find on your point and shoot.

If the incandescent bulbs do not work for you then switch to 25-watt fluorescents. You should have one white balance setting on your camera that will meet your needs. If you go through my blog you will find many coin photo efforts. I am continuing to work with my setup and I have plans to try axial lighting as an option. In fact, I was working with axial lighting just yesterday.

About the coin. I have many “pretty” coins but I selected a coin with lots of character. I think these coins are more fun to shoot. You may of may not agree. I shot this photo with a Canon XTI and I used a Sigma 105mm Macro lens. I shot in aperture priority and I used the copy stand friends of mine and I made. I used Irfanview to stitch the photo together. I shot the coin on a gray background and I did a post-processing black fill using PhotoShop.

I am open to good constructive criticism and I should mention that my good friends at CoinPhotography are helping me to understand much I did not know. Thank you for reading and I hope this causes you to get the camera out and start snapping your coins. . God Bless.. Jerry..

Coin Stilts And Coin Photography

I have made several stilts for my coin photography and I am sharing the details with all my Coin Photography friends. First of all, please allow me to explain why I use the stilts. The stilt (dowel) elevates the coin and causes the negative space (background) to fall out of focus. The stilt also helps to cast any shadows well to the side of the photograph and out of the coin’s picture plane.

As you observe the photo above you will see four of the stilts I have made from scraps of wood. I almost always have scraps of wood handy and never throw any cutoffs away. Please note the dowels are of various heights and diameters. The smallest diameter dowel I have used is 3/16”. The largest is 3/8”. I find the 3/8” dowel meets my needs about 99% of the time.

The 3/16” is for the extremely small diameter coins. You will also notice that I have varying heights of stilts. I use different heights to meet special lighting needs. My lighting setup dicates the postioning of the coin and the height stilt Iuse. I also have a tendency to go into overkill when creating items. I could get by easily with two stilts.

My favorite stilt is 3/8” diameter and 3” in height. The base measures ¾” in thickness.
I have spray painted the stilts a flat primer gray. I think gray is the ideal color for the negative area for those who will be filling the background with another color. I am a sucker for seeing how inexpensively I can build anything. I used Wal-Mart brand .99-cent spray paint and I think the paint is really great to be so cheap.

Some of our Coin Photography members like to tilt their coins to get a good cast shadow. That means cutting the dowel on a slight diagonal on the top to accomplish this. Doug Smith and I have discussed this to some degree and I am going to let Doug and my readers in on my secret.
I use “Elmer’s Tack” which is removable adhesive putty. My wife keeps the tack around to help hold pictures in place. Just a small amount will aid in keeping pictures from shifting on the wall. It is just tacky enough to hold poster board, calendars, and messages in place. In fact, one could place a 1/8” thick layer on top of the dowel and simply shift the coin as needed.

I place a small amount on top of my dowel when I need to elevate the coin to one side or the other. I use about a 1/16” small “ball” of the substance on top of the dowel and that way I can tilt the coin to the position I want. I can’t conceive of anything working better. I used to keep varying thicknesses of wood handy but the “Tack” is so easily pushed to the right position. The tack can also be used repeatedly and I guess it can be used for years, as it does not dry out. Thank you for reading and please share any photo tips with me and our readers.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Photos Of Coins I Have Zapped

I am sharing photographs of coins I have zapped in the past. I have worked at perfecting my Zapping for the past several years and I am providing photos in order to demonstrate the level of skill I have achieved. All the coins you see attched to this article were Zapped by me at one time or another. I hope you enjoy the photos and we would be very happy to have you join our group. The URL is as follows: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coinzappers We have several other groups that may interest you. If you are working at perfecting your coin photography, I encourage you to join us at the CoinPhotography. The URL is as follows:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/coinphotography Thank you for viewing and I look forward to meeting you. When joining just say that Jerry invited you.. God Bless.. Jerry..

A Free Shekel? Not Quite

A member of Ancient Peddler and a dear friend e-mailed me about a ½ Shekel of Tyre he had located on my behalf. My friend provided me with a phone number and the gentleman’s name who owned the coin. I called and entered into a conversation with “Mac” and I felt as if I had known the gentleman for 20 years.

On the basis of our conversation and the price, I was considering buying the coin sight unseen. However, at a particular point, Mac asked if he could send me the coin to look at and make a decision. I was truly taken aback. I thought those days were gone! I should add that Mac did not appear to need my business either. He was busy with coins and calls during our conversation.Mac told me the coin would most likely be in the mail tomorrow.

I should state that I have many dealer friends on Ancient Peddler who will do the same but we have known one another for years. This is a refreshingly nice thing to happen and causes me to realize what a wonderful Coin Family we do have. I thank my dear AP Brother for locating the coin but I thank him even more for introducing me to Mac. God Bless.. Jerry..