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gary1218
Valued Member
United States
62 Posts
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Are the Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet loupes still considered the best for grading coins?
What magnification is recommended for overall coin grading, 7x or 10x?
Anybody here on the board sell them?
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1490 Posts |
I presently use the 7x Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet. I love it and it really sho . details perfectly. I may get a 10x one day if the right opportunity arises but the 7x seems just fine for me.
I dont recall seeing anyone try and sell one here on the forum.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4815 Posts |
Quote:
presently use the 7x Bausch & Lomb Hastings Triplet. I love it and it really sho . details perfectly.  X2 I recently picked up a 7X Hastings and it's very good for smaller coins (under 25mm). If you handle a lot of halves/dollars, consider a 5X with a lenses large enough to capture the entire coin at once.
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Valued Member
United States
292 Posts |
I love my B&L Hastings Triplet 10X. The only thing that I don't like is the diameter of the lens. I believe mine is 15.8mm. This may be something to look into. As for the "best for grading" part of your question, I think that's more of a personal choice. What I do know is that the ANA Grading Standards references 7X-10X as ideal. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2473 Posts |
B&L 7x apo triplet I'm on my second one in 30+ years now, couldn't do coins with out it!
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982 • 2¢ variety collector. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
10041 Posts |
You should never grade a coin using a loupe. Always first grade using your eye. Magnification should only be used to get a closer look at anything that catches your eye. If your eyes aren't that great, you should buy a magnifier that matches the size of the type of coin you collect so you can see the whole coin under mag. I primarily use a cheap 2"x1" slideout with dual lens either 4x or 8x. I can see the entire coin all at once with it. The only time I ever use a loupe is to check for varieties or to verify authenticity. For that I like a standard $10 10x loupe. Hope this helps!  |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
2473 Posts |
You don't really need a loupe for grading, but you will want one for detail examination, variety cherry picking, die breaks, etc.  I did not read the title - my bad, I always use my eyes first no loupe, unless I see something that cries out for closer examination, such as cleaning hairlines vs. die polish lines, suspect toning, your eyes are all you need on 90% of the coins, I do use my loupe when grading 3 cent trime slivers or other tiny coins, my old eyes aren't as good as they once were. 
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1982 • 2¢ variety collector. |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
1672 Posts |
I thought gradeing companies grades were based on 10x view of coin?
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
10041 Posts |
Quote:
I thought gradeing companies grades were based on 10x view of coin?
Absolutely not. A grader uses his eye and arrives at a grade within 15 seconds or so. He may then quickly use magnification to spot check and verify the surfaces.
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ All Metal Conservation Fluid http://www.verdichem.com
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
784 Posts |
Yeah thats one thing I love and hate about a dealer I know. he uses his loupe to grade so his grade is always lower then actual grade, doesnt hurt my feeling though.
I thought that on 69-70 they used 5x.
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4815 Posts |
I'm not sure where Thad got his information but I've read reports from PCGS and NGC graders that do use magnification when grading. Here's a report from Mark Feld who was a professional grader at NGC for many years. He used a 5X loupe for grading. A coin is "evaluated" for a general grade with the naked eye then placed under magnification to determine what grade will be assigned. http://boards.collectors-society.co...nt=3&fpart=2 |
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Valued Member
United States
62 Posts |
I noticed Bausch & Lomb doesn't make a Hastings Triplet in a 5x. What make and model do you guys like to use?
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Looks like Feld was wearing a Freudian slip when he wrote what working at NGC was like on the first page: Quote:
I worked at NGC perviously |
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
10041 Posts |
Quote:I'm not sure where Thad got his information but I've read reports from PCGS and NGC graders that do use magnification when grading. Feel free to verify what I'm telling you. Like I said, grade opinions are formed ahead of using magnification. Yes, they do use magnification, but only to double check and verify. The grade is NOT determined what they see using a loupe.....it might cause the grade to be tweeked a little, but it's not the primary grading method. If you watch the NGC video, there's even a coin that completes grading without any magnification being used. Skip ahead to 1:30 in this video and watch grading in action: http://www.ngccoin.com/coingrading/...w.aspx#video
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Valued Member
United States
62 Posts |
Neat video.
Anybody know what type of light and bulb the graders use to view the coins under?
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Pillar Of The Community
United States
4815 Posts |
I'd love to watch some mint state half dimes, gold dollars, and 3 cent silvers being graded with a naked eye.
Grading small coins without magnification is not practical nor accurate. Use magnification on anything smaller than a quarter dollar but don't use over 7X.
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Posted 02/21/2012 3:06 pm
