Coin Enthusiasts: Locate Stolen Laptop

A stolen laptop is just one thief away. We all know the price of laptops and even more the personal data we could potentially lose would be a nightmare. With all this in mind PreyProject.com has created a freeware program that can help us track a stolen computer.

I have read very good reviews about Prey and I suspect many individuals will be adding the program to their computers. In essence, Prey sends out timed reports from a missing or stolen laptop, containing information on the laptop's status and location. Network and wi-fi information is also provided. If really fortunate, you may capture a pic of the thief!

Remember, this is all free and installation is a piece of cake. In addition, Prey is open source, which leaves open the possibility of better things to come. If you decide to give Prey a shot, please let me know what you think. I would love to see reviews from our ancient coin enthusiasts.

Prey had the following to say about their program. "Prey is a lightweight application that will help you track and find your laptop if it is ever stolen. It works with all operating systems and not only is it Open Source but it is also completely free." I Pray you had a great holiday and I Pray you have a Merry Christmas.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Which Coin Are You Buying

Have you ever bought a coin and were surprised when the coin arrived? The visual appearance was pretty much unlike what you thought you were buying? Perhaps the coin you bought had been post-edited or Photo Shopped. Photo Shopping is a method employed by a seller to enhance the coin and make it look better on the web than the coin actually looks in hand. I have found this to be a very common practice and less than ethical in my opinion.

Take a look at the photos above to see what I speak of. The photos on top are the way the coin really looks in hand. I think the bottom photos make the coin look much better. I simply took the coin into PS and dropped the values a couple of clicks. As a result, I have a much better looking coin than the coin in hand. There are many vendors out there who have much more expertise than I do when using Photo Shop and they can make a poor quality coin look very fine.

With a modicum of effort I have found that I can easily hide a coin's pitting, change the coin's color, or even repair a broken or chipped coin using PS or some other photo editor. Is this a common practice? I can only say I know the problem is there to some degree.

There are preventative steps that can be taken to help you when dealing with an unscrupulous dealer. Over the years I have gotten to know my dealers and I only encounter the problem I allude to on rare occasions. Get to know your dealers and keep a list of the good and the bad. Don't be shy, ask the dealer if the coin is as represented. Ask the dealer if the coin has been touched up using any kind of post processing program.

I think the best vendor to deal with is one who will unconditionally accept returned coins if the buyer is unhappy with his or her purchase. There are many ethical dealers who will accept returned coins so one can be selective when making a coin purchase. Again, keep a list of honest dealers you buy from as I do.

I hope my article enlightens you and makes you more aware of a problem that exists within our ancient coin community. Allow me to reinforce what I said earlier. I find most dealers to be highly ethical and I have found the unethical dealers to be small part of ancient coins. Don't be afraid to ask the questions you need to ask and you will be a much happier ancient coin collector.. Have a wonderful Thanks giving and God Bless..

Ancient Coins: Save Money

Perhaps I should have said save money on accessories. I was about to run out of coin envelopes so I shopped for the best prices on the small manila envelopes and was surprised at the escalated prices. I did locate one vendor online who had the best price. I have an Office Depot right down the street so I decided to see what they had in the store.

The in store price were a few bucks more than my online source and I told the salesman I had found them cheaper online. He asked for the source, looked it up and matched the price. I assume this is true with other items also. This may not be a big deal to many but with the economy as it is, I am always happy to save about four bucks.

I think I will try this with other items also. I hope I save you a few bucks. Please let me know. By the way, I bought 500 2 1/4" X 3 1/2" Kraft 28 pound envelopes for $17.64 including 7% Mississippi sales tax. I also bought the sealable at this price.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Cleo VII: Do You Prefer This Or This?

I recently bought a group of uncleaned coins from an Ancient Peddler member. As you can see from the photo above left, I felt I was taking a chance but I decided to take the dive anyway. I have been Zapping coins for close to ten years using techniques I have developed and I thought I saw something in the photo the vendor provided. I am very pleased with the results I get and I am very pleased with the results of this Zap.

In the middle pic you see the obverse after the Zap. The pic on the right depicts the reverse of the coins subsequent to the Zap. It took a bit of Zapping and prodding to reach the coins' surfaces. I keep plenty of Bamboo Skewers handy to aid me in removing the crud as I Zap. One quick thing. Click on pic to enlarge.

My question to my Anti-Zapping friends is as follows: Would you prefer to own the coins on the left or would you prefer to own the coins on the right. I have been under the weather but I am always happy to talk with anyone about my Zapping. If you have questions, observations or cruddy coins for sale I would love to hear from you. I am too old to engage in bickering and I have no interest either so I will not go that route.. May God Bless us and our Nation.. Jerry..

Spruce Up Your Ancient Coin Photos

I have an old copy of Adobe PhotoShop 7 and I know just enough about PS 7 to help with a few issues. For the past few days I have busied myself playing with PS tools with which I am not familiar. I have surprised myself and I suggest you do the same if you are a PS novice as I am.

The photograph you see above is the product of trial and effort. I created plenty of photo copies and began making an effort to learn something new about each tool. Those of you who know me know that I dislike linear programs very much. In spite of this I am quite pleased with what I have accomplished.

Most of all, I have learned some things about PS I would not have known otherwise. I played with tools I had never used and I tried new settings I had never used. Give it a shot and surprise yourself as I did.. God Bless.. Jerry

Do You Know Billon About Your Coins?

I am opening the floor for a discussion about ancient billon coins. I have never really gotten around to learning my billon so after a bit of reading I have the following information. I think we will get varying responses to what billon is and is not. That is fine. Let us know what you think, please.

I have read where some say billon coins contain a high content of either gold or silver. This is contrary to what I found. Allow me to back up and state that billon coins have been around a long time and we find billon coins created by the Greeks and we find billon coins still being produced in the Middle Ages.

OK, back to billon and metal content. The best I can tell billon is an alloy of either gold or silver with a very high percentage of a base metal such as copper. However, I saw where one source indicated a billon coin to have "about one-fifth silver to four-fifths copper." My thesis is that billon varied greatly from era to era and mint to mint.

A good gentleman, Tony Clayton, in "Metals Used in Coins and Medals" has stated that billon is a silver alloy with more that half copper content.
From the nominal amount I have shared we can already see we may be all over the place with our "billon theories" and what a billon coin really is.
I look forward to responses and I hope you will share your opinion.. God Bless.. Jerry..

Fast Track To Good And Better Coin Photos

I am sharing my basic coin photography setup for good and quick coin photos. I realize you will not have the same photography items as I have but I think the photograph and article will steer you in the proper direction.

First of all, I will share a few things that are a given for obtaining highly decent coin photographs. Look at the photograph you see above and you will see more than the two lights I use in my basic setup. Focus on the two lights on either side of the inverted "tea container." You will see two flex-arm lights. These are the two lights I use in this exercise. I use fluorescent bulbs in the 5000 to 6500 Kelvin range.

I find that my cameras will easily adjust to these K numbers. Many of the fluorescent bulbs are around 2500 K and you want to avoid these bulbs when using for coin photography. Home Depot used to have a 5500 K bulb and that is one of the numbers I like. I assume they still carry the 5500. WalMart also has a good selection of fluorescent bulbs.

Don't depend on the "daylight" fluorescent to be a good bulb for coin photography. Daylights are often too far towards the yellow side of the spectrum and yellow is very difficult to work around when trying to balance your lighting. You should find the Kelvin designation on either the bulb or the container. If I don't find a K designation I then assume the bulb is in the 2500 K range and I don't buy.

When I buy bulbs I make sure I write the K number on the bulb base before tossing the cardboard container. I use 10 to 15 watt bulbs. However, I see no reason not to use the 25-watt bulbs. Next I need to explain the plastic container before moving on.

I discovered the effective application of the tea container a couple years ago and I use the term tea container very loosely. The container is a two-quart translucent or frosted container. The container admits light but filters as it does thus dispersing and softening the light as the light bounces around the inside of the container.

Back to the flex-arm lights. One could use very inexpensive goose neck lamps just as well as the lights you see I am using. Our objective is to enable us to place the lights where we need them so use whatever works for you. My setup looks a bit cluttered but that is the way I work. Fortunately you cannot see the remainder of my art/coin studio!

The frosted container (Sterilite brand) can be found at WalMart for less than three dollars. I often see the containers at Dollar Stores for about the same price. The containner is a two quart container size. The following is very important so please follow my directions. You will need to cut the entire bottom out of the container. As I recall I used an Xacto knife and Xacto knives can very dangerous!

If there is any question as to your ability, please ask a skilled person to cut the bottom for you. There is more than one way to cut the bottom from the container. In the photograph above you will see I have my lens centered over the upside down container. Remember I have cut the bottom out of the container. When using my setup I place my coin on a 1" length dowel about 3/8" in diameter. I keep plenty of dowels of various lengths and diameters handy and use the proper height and diameter as the coins demand.

I have no idea what kind of camera you use but I see no reason why one cannot use any digital with a macro setting. A shutter release timer is great to use. The delay timer eliminates the need to grasp the camera which could result in "camera shake." You also need to be able to adjust your white balance. Often the normal daylight setting is fine when using the Kelvin I have suggested.

If you do use the setup I am suggesting, please spend lots of time moving the lights around until you find what works for you. This setup is very forgiving and works wonderfully well once you learn how to properly disperse your lighting. Move the lights up and down and in and out as you practice. Remember, the lights do not need be at the same level. For example one light may be higher on one side than the other in order to adjust your lighting. We now need to practice, practice and practice some more. The more coins you photograph and the more you experiment with your lighting the better coin photographer you will be.

I have shared what I consider to be the most expeditious method for getting good photo images. This is for Newbies but not Newbies only. I have gotten good and positive feedback from others who have been photographing coins for years. Is it a professional setup? No. Is the setup for those who want to share their coin images in a clear and effective way? Yes. I get really good results when using this method and I assume you can do the same.

I may have left something out you need to know. If so, please write to me and I will be happy to answer. God Bless.. Jerry..