Pictures Of Coins

To many possibilities. Does your camera have a Macro setting? This means something that should appear as a flower. Might not though since so many cameras are different. IF you still have the instruction manual, try looking up close up photos. IF not, try the internet for info on that camera.
Sometimes you don't have to get to close. Do you have any photo programs where you can crop a photo. You are referring to a digital camera, aren't you? If you take a photo as close as possibly, you could crop out the coin itself. That would leave only the coin and again, if you have any photo programs, most allow you to enlarge.
Some people without a close up feature on their camera, simply set up a magnifier over the coin and shoot a photo through that.

Do you have a scanner? I use a scanner for my pics, works pretty nice. Then crop the scanned images and perfect. The scanner works well because no matter how much you zoom, you don't lose quality :D.

I've moved this to the photography forum for a better audience. What is the specific camera? I can tailor an answer to the exact camera with that info. Differing cameras have different minimum focusing distances and I suspect that's what you're running into.

Nex-5 is Sony, not Canon, right? That's an interchangeable-lens camera, so you have to work within the limitations of whichever lens you're using. They can differ greatly. So, time to find the minimum focusing distance for whatever lens you're using, and we'll work towards appropriate settings with it.

I'm guessing "9.8"" is the minimum focusing distance of your lens - that would indicate it's the 18-55mm lens which usually comes bundled with the NEX-5. We'll go based on that.

That 9.8" only applies at the 18mm focal length. As you zoom in, the minimum distance increases, so at 55mm it might not focus within 20" or more. So, for the first stab at things, use the lens at 18mm and set about 10" from the coin. Make sure the camera and coin are square to each other - easiest with a tripod and the camera pointed straight down at the coin. For the moment, just use the Intelligent Auto setting; we'll worry about manual settings later.

This should be a setup which will allow the camera to focus. Snap a shot and post it here; we'll work from that.

Scanners are fine for capturing detail, but do nothing for luster and very little for color. So, they're possibly part of a multi-image presentation, but not really a standalone solution.