The Joys Of Photographing Toned Copper!

West...the fixed aperture version is the same as the variable except it's always "wide open" at f/4. This is a bit large even for Cents and the shallow depth of field is right on the edge of requiring focus stacking. For Dollars, the depth of field is OK but the lens loses some sharpness at the periphery of the coin. My experience is the fixed aperture version is workable for coins as long as you are careful with focusing to maximize your sharpness over the whole coin, but you have to change the way you do photography. In my opinion it's a good thing to take away variables and do things a bit differently, sort of refreshing. Now, the variable aperture version gives you that extra flexibility, and allows you to optimize depth of field versus sharpness for each coin size. This is good, but you need to learn how to use the aperture properly. Not having an aperture at all forces you to "focus" on getting the best shot you can...Ray

Wonderful coin- Congratulations.!!

Glorious. The ha'pennys - especially the first - are stunning.

All of these are gorgeous!

This is spectacular stuff, brg5658. Nothing else comes close to copper for camera-friendliness, and your holdings represent some of the finest proofs of the concept. I am in awe.

This one came in the mail on Friday. In 1797, Peter Kempson issued 10 different penny-sized tokens (or more accurately, medalets) featuring London Buildings on the obverse and "Standing Justice" on the reverse. I simply couldn't resist this Ludgate token engraved by Thomas Wyon. My pictures don't do it any favors, but it appears almost as a proof in hand. The fields are glassy and almost completely mark free, with high relief devices. Both the obverse and reverse exhibit dark hues of blues and rose/pinks. This set of medalets was struck specifically for collectors (not intended for actual commerce), and in relatively small mintages of less than 200 of each design. The reverse reminds me of the Regal cartwheel issues of the same year, with inset lettering surrounding the central design. I have not seen a nicer example than this one, and I was delighted to add it to my collection. I'm so glad the ebay seller didn't know how to take better images, but knew how to take them just good enough so I could tell there was lovely color on this one!



1797 Middlesex/Kempson's penny token, Ludgate D&H-78 (scarce, mintage < 200)

I suppose it's time to update this thread a bit with some new copper pieces.