3d Printed Compact Tip-Tilt Mount For Coin Photography

Here is a little Gizmo that I just developed with one of my boys. Nothing very complicated, but it helps a lot for taking pictures of our beautiful coins.

Most of you know that it's not always easy to put in evidence the beauty of our coins or specific errors. We can obviously play around with the projection angle of the light source, but in many cases, this is not enough.

The additional trick is to adjust the coin's viewing angle (tilt) with the camera. Unfortunately, most of the time our setup makes it difficult to tilt the coin to large angles, unless we tweak temporary supports that may not be stable or ergonomic.

So here is the invention, if you can call it that.

It is simply a hemisphere sits on a 3-point base. This configuration allows the angle of the sphere to be adjusted in all directions by approximately +/- 45 degrees. The flat side of the hemisphere contains a series of rings adjusted to all Canadian coin sizes, from 1 cent to 1 $ silver. A raised border keeps the coin safely in place.

The mechanical parts are made in PLA by additive manufacturing (3D printer). Other materials are available if needed.

This small tip-tilt base is easy to use and very practical. I'm using it almost every day now, in combination with my Celestron USB microscope.

Thanks for your comments!