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 Replies: 16 / Views: 2,406 |
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New Member
United States
32 Posts |
Like I stated in my intro, I've been out of practice for a while... Back in the day I just looked at the date and went on. Now I find I look at the date, turn it to catch the light, get the magnifying glass, adjust for the light, take my glasses off, get the loop and see the date... I went through about 20 rolls of pennies with my grandson this weekend and spent half the time with my head two inches off the table and have a bad case of "loop eye"...
Do any of you older guys have suggestions for eyewear that will give me some magnification but still be able to look up and see across the room...
Alan
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19129 Posts |
I find that good quality 2.5 - 3X reading glasses work well for general screening. I use a 5X graphic arts 'linen tester' for finer viewing if I think there's something interesting to investigate.
Edited by ijn1944
07/17/2022 8:56 pm
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Rest in Peace
United States
18456 Posts |
Get yourself a USB Microscope camera . No more squinting .  |
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Moderator
 United States
34397 Posts |
Yes USB microscope! That is what I use.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Pillar of the Community
United States
713 Posts |
When you do use the loupe, I recommend keeping both eyes open.
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New Member
 United States
32 Posts |
Basically, I use the 10x loop to see the date. I can sorta make it out with my 3.25 readers and a magnifying glass but I can't tell the difference between an S and a D without the loop.
I'm going to google the USB microscope right now.
Alan
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
 To the Forum. |
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New Member
United States
32 Posts |
Ok, cool. That looks like it'll work. Any recommendations as to brand or magnification?
Alan
Edited by armjr
07/17/2022 10:47 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
Australia
21786 Posts |
If you normally wear glasses for reading and the prescription for each lens is very different, cheap 2.5x*, 3.0x* reading glasses with the same prescription in both lenses will not help.
If the prescription for your normal reading glasses is the same or nearly the same, the above mentioned cheap glasses can be of great help, because they free up both hands for the coins.
I recently had cataract operations for both eyes and now I don't need any glasses for most easy reading tasks, but I do have a pair of 4.0x cheap glasses when I need to examine coins more closely. Fortunately, in my case the lens to retina length is exactly the same, hence the lens prescription is the same, and so I can get away with cheap glasses
For very close work, I use a 15X** jewelers' single lens loupe, which I also use for gem cutting. The loupe has a very tiny depth of field, and so only a tiny part of a coin can be in focus.
* really wrong terminology, they are not 2.5 or 3.0 magnification; they are 2.5 diopters or 3.0 diopters
A dioptre is the inverse of the focal length of the lens, expressed in metres
** 'X' id the magnification of the lens in the jewelers' loupe
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Moderator
United States
187862 Posts |
Quote:
* really wrong terminology, they are not 2.5 or 3.0 magnification; they are 2.5 diopters or 3.0 diopters I am glad you pointed that out because I was about to do that myself. My "daily-driver" all-purpose eyeglasses have progressive (multi-vision) lenses, with 1.75 for reading at the bottom. I use 1.25 single vision lenses with blue light reduction for my computer work, while for coins I use 1.75 single vision lenses. The single vision lenses allows me to move my eyes and not my head (the latter is necessary for progressive lenses as moving the eyes up and down are how they allow for multi-vision). I use a 10x loupe to see details (and dates on dimes, it seems). I have found it does not really matter if I view it with my naked eye or thorough any of my corrective lenses. I prefer the former, if only to to keep from hitting or scratching the lenses with the loupe. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1627 Posts |
Whenever I go to a show I pretty much do the same thing. Take off the glasses, get out the loop, take a look at the coin, but then I just hand it over to my son for his opinion. It's good having a second pair of eyes. So, my advice, teach the grandson what to look for so you don't have to. |
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Moderator
United States
187862 Posts |
Sounds like good advice and an excellent way to guilt my son into going with me when I start attending shows again.  |
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Moderator
United States
95200 Posts |
when at home you should get a decent microscope - I got a tomolov and a pretty good price. Have a look at this topic on it, it shows how good it takes photos and for just viewing, you can duplicate the screen onto a laptop or desktop computer: http://goccf.com/t/418812 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3848 Posts |
Quote:
my advice, teach the grandson what to look for so you don't have to. Quote:
guilt my son into going with me when I start attending shows If I only knew you old folks take advantage of youngsters and their curiosity!! Coin collecting evildoers! But I do all the close-looking for my grandfather. He has no trouble seeing with his glasses, but I have more numismatic knowledge so he refers to me for advice. Quote:
"loop eye" I wondered if anybody else experiences this. The unmentioned things of coin collecting... eye strain. Keeping two eyes open does help. Suffering from bust half fever. Want to learn how to attribute early half dollars by die variety? Click Here: http://goccf.com/t/434955Shoot me a PM if you are looking to sell bust halves. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
So, my advice, teach the grandson what to look for so you don't have to |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Do you mean "loupe"?  |
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Replies: 16 / Views: 2,406 |
Posted 07/17/2022 8:43 pm
