Amount Of Light To Inspect Coins Under

Well FTW thanks for the feedback I do appreciate! The pics do no justice. In reality they are a lot nicer but that's what happens when you combine bad lighting a crappy camera and then compress a 2MB file into 300KB.
Out of curiosity and just for *** Edited by Staff - The bad word filter is in place for a reason. Bypassing the filter and making the intended word obvious anyway is completely unacceptable. ***n giggles do you or someone else here have a picture of a quarter you know is a 68 to upload for comparison?

Thanks all!

I hear ya! Ive googled and googled and after going through 20k coins think I'm getting the hang of it. My request was more to gauge how bad my set up is by seeing a coin from someone else's lights/camera. The pics I posted look like crap and I just wanted to see for comparison if everyone's uploaded pics are like that or just mine ;)

Grading is subjective and not a fixed science. Grading uncirculated coins can be even harder than grading wear on circulated coins. I recommend a book by James Halperin "How to Grade U.S. Coins" which pertains to uncirculated and proof coins. The book shows the high points of each design so you can determine if there is wear on those areas and thus NOT uncirculated. Then it shows you the worst areas to have imperfections, scratches, bagmarks, etc... It explains a formula for determining grade based upon surface preservation (40% of grade), strike (20% of grade), Luster (20% of grade), and overall eye appeal (20% of grade). From the images you posted I don't see anywhere near a MS-67 or 68 grade.

Dear Cud,

In my humble opinion, the chance of getting any of the dates, types of coins you posted being graded MS-68 is virtually zero. That's because if you can easily see one or two "hits" on a coin it is probably a fail because there will be plenty more at 4X-5X magnification. I can understand your desire to pull a coin from the bank roll that is worth hundreds of dollars but I assure you that desire pays the light bill at the grading services.

As for lighting, most graders use a 100 watt light bulb in a dark room. Knowing how to examine a coin correctly is more important than the lighting. If you do not tip and rotate the coin under the light you will miss things. I believe a very famous professional grader, J.P. Martin, coined the phrase "making the coin light dynamic." Fluorescent light is best used to detect the loss of original surface on a coin's high points. For that reason alone, only one professional numismatist, Mike Fazzari, recommends using it in addition to incandescent light.