GateGateGo

So, having shot all my coins thus far by camera 'phone in shoddy light conditions & with flash, I grabbed a two minute window today & re - shot my 1928 Half Crown in natural light only. The results can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128616359@N08/ To me, this is a much more representative account of how the coin looks 'in hand' and I intend to follow suit for all my coins when time / daylight permit, using my Nikon D3200. Obviously, the surface scratching isn't really visible without artificial light, contrast & ludicrous levels of magnification, but what are your opinions? Is this approach honest (as I believe it to be)? How do you shoot your coins? I'm pretty sure that even Emma Stone (hands off, she's mine!) wouldn't look great with crap lighting & 50 X magnification, but what's the consensus here as to the 'correct' way to shoot? Regards, Frank

So, postie done brung me this lil' parcel of lovliness, Doesn't quite qualify for my 'chump change' thread, but didn't break the bank, either. I THINK I'm better understanding what constitutes a wise buy & being more selective - what say you? First up: 1930 George V Half Crown.

Hi Gary, Hmm - you mean the texturing / micro pitting to the fields? I'd assumed it to have been cleaned at some point but hadn't given it too much thought since taking those original shots. What do you make of these taken just now?

Hi, BigJohnny - welcome to the nut house! I'd echo what's already been said by everyone else - we all clearly have some form of compulsive disorder! That said, at least the 'shiny ting' we blow our wad on has history and intrinsic value unlike the technology/shoes/gimmicks every bugger else seems to be addicted to. At least what we buy doesn't end up in the bin twelve months hence... I'm pretty new to the hobby, too & have gone from 'stacker', through moderns to pre - decimal in short order. I freely admit that I struggle not to buy on impulse, too - what ya gonna do, huh? It's just 'how I roll' By way of justification for my profligacy, I've just 'flipped' my first coin for double what I paid, so, like you, I'm now trawling the 'bay for hidden bargains. Bring on dem coins! Frank

They look un - enhanced to me, it's a combination of how they've been lit along with how both your eyes and your monitor resolve such high magnification.

Yeah, me too Matt. I shot quite a few this way after seeing how it came out - i'll stick 'em up on Flikr later.

Not a boring question at all, Mynki - we all have to come to terms with the 'grading question'. Now, I'm more or less a complete newbie but comparing the strike & detail remaining against Rob's similar 1852 Florin (www.rpcoins.co.uk), I'd say this was more EF / gEF, although I may be dead wrong! (There may, for instance, be known issues with the '49 that I'm unaware of which would influence the grade). For what it's worth, I think it's a pretty coin (a little too 'busy' for my taste), but my eye keeps getting drawn to the scar on the obverse. I guess, as with most things, it's all subjective but that's my two penneth'.

Getting there, Matt, getting there. I must admit, I'm quite pleased with all of them but particularly the '30 - that was quite the bargain, I reckon. Yeah, kinda got the vibe 'bout the pennies Just to give a better idea of overall condition, I just took these using Nons 'vertical flash' method on the '24

It's certainly looking like it - I've a 1915 & 1918 on the way, too (also, the 1916 & 1938 from yesterday in the 'chump change' thread. They all look much better in hand, very bright, lustrous & vibrant. I really do need to get my light source shit together to do them justice. These recent shots are all day - lit only, taken with a DSLR at max res but re - sized to fit the image size limit here. The 1930? £43

Very nice coins, Nons - ace pics, too. That '13 looks a wee bit nicer than mine - and more proof that I need a proper bloody light source!

1924 George V Half Crown.

1917 George V Half Crown.

1913 George V Half Crown.

Oh, and the 'freebies' that came with the '46 Half Crown. All bUNC.

Inspired by Nons' thread & given my lazy nature, I thought I'd start a thread to showcase my low - rent acquisitions, rather than post each separately. Feel free to stick yer own stuff here too - only rule is less than £30 cost for each item (don't wanna get jealous now, do I? ). Hopefully, I'll get to learn summat & y'all can critique my purchasing acumen, too. First up, 1945 Half Crown - fiver delivered - gVF / nEF?

1938 Half Crown - gEF / aUNC?

1916 Half Crown - EF

Damn right we would! Still, import duty is the least of my worries at the moment - had a bit of a 'splurge' this weekend. My bloody liver had better be grateful!

Matt, those shots are pretty good, I reckon - particularly if, like me, you've struggled to get the right conditions. I (kinda) started collecting via current coinage, too - actually, it was through buying bullion coins to 'stack' which led me to the moderns and, after only a couple of months, to predecimal. That's a damn sight better than my first attempt was, Ian - are you starting with George VI? I reckon there's some good value to be had there. Paul, your photos are bang on, I reckon. As for your collection, well... *unbridled envy*

Nearly forgot to post this - 1887 Half Crown (Jubilee Head) - gVF / nEF? This was actually a 'lil more than £30, but they're my thread rules, an' I'll break 'em if I want to

Thanks for the advice, Paul - just what I'm after & much appreciated! Those pics of yours are epic! Let's be seeing some of your daylight shots, Matt - don't be coy

Me neither, Nordle - possibly part of a wider trade agreement with associated export benefits? Don't imagine many countries actually want to boost imports - certainly not without larger export benefits for themselves. Postal services everywhere seem a bit shit when it comes to imports, tbh. I can certainly imagine getting coins through without the attention of the excise men, but (four foot box - ten plus kilos) guitars? Not. A. Fucking. Chance. Best you can hope for is that the seller / shipping co will fanny the value for ya - but that, obviously, impacts the insurance cover. It's still worthwhile, though - if you know what you're doing! Google 'japanguitars' sometime & have a look at his stock - he's a great guy, very well regarded an' all, but if you've got the balls to do it yourself, those axes would cost between 1/3 - 1/2 of what he charges. Oh, and anything without a price will be North of three grand. Yes, vintage Jap guitars really are that well regarded. 1887 Vickie Half Crown just landed, so gonna try to grab a couple of quick snaps!

Lucky, that. Even if they introduce import duties, you'll still get off lightly. Here, it's 20% duty plus sundry other fees on anything over about thirty quid - including the bloody carriage charge! * Insert sweary tirade of your choice * Mind you, I've had an expensive enough couple of days without importing anything - I have more than that silver Brit inbound (would've been cheaper to just go to the pub, damn you, dry month...).

Speaking of books, mine still haven't turned up! I'd imagine coins should be pretty speedy from overseas if the correct (ie, not Hermes!) delivery method is chosen - s'pose I'll find out soon enough. Also, I'd hope they'd be small enough to sneak under customs' radar - not that I condone dodging duties / taxes, mind Dunno what it's like over there, but being as guitars are pretty hard to package unobtrusively, I get clobbered with horrendous fees any time something arrives from outside the E.U.

I'm sure I'll get my comeuppance for pointing that out. Not least because the gimp I scored that 2008 Brit off has sent it via Herpes - I mean 'Hermes' (it's a job creation scheme for the terminally fu*k - witted masquerading as a courier co). I'll probably find it smashed & corroded 'delivered' behind one of my bins in 2019...