Magnifying glass suggestions

Hi All,
Any suggestions as to which type of magnifying lass to purchase? I do most of my shopping on Amazon but I'm happy to look anywhere on the net.

Thanks!

Josh


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Thanks for the tips. I'll look for a 3-4x round glass. I'd like to work on practicing grading but more importantly just use it to enjoy looking at coins. I'm not going to be doing any authentication.


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I hope I'm not hijacking the thread here, but...

@GDJMSP , any recommendations for me? I do look for errors and varieties, so I'd want a lighted 10x, but I would also like the 5x for "normal" viewing, grading, etc.

I guess it would be best if both magnifications came in the same package.

I might even consider one of those "jeweler's head things" that flip down over your eyes/glasses. I hope that makes sense... Maybe it's watch repairmen who wear those in the movies...

 

I only collect ancients and have no use for 'grading' as the term is usually used but have found my needs for seeing coins closely has been best served with options that allow using both eyes for 3D vision. This includes table model stereoscopic microscopes ($50-$500+) to High +diopter reading glasses (+3.5 are $1 at Dollar Tree locally, more other places) which slip over my regular glasses and are useful at coin shows where the microscope does not go. Your local dentist and plastic surgeon probably has some really impressive and expensive stereo glasses. There are thousands of choices for magnification with no single best for each use or user. All I ask is you consider a 3D unit.

 

I have a bunch of different magnifiers. Plastic, glass... printer's loupe, linen tester, bee sting magnifier, Sherlock-Holmes-style, you-name-it.

For examining coins, skip the cheap stuff. The distortions drive me crazy.

Instead, I highly recommend you get a get a good optical-glass triplet loupe.

High magnification is rarely necessary... 5x to 10x is all you need. Trade-off is smaller viewing area for higher magnification.

My favorite is the BelOMO 7x Triplet Loupe. 99% of the time it's my go-to magnifier for coins. It's small pocket-size... very handy, works great.



Lots of other choices... Hastings/Bausch & Lomb is good too, depending on which model you select. Many are widely available, so shop around.

I got mine here: http://www.amateurgeologist.com/BelOMO-7x-triplet-loupe-magnifier.html (This vendor "custom-treats" the screws to prevent loosening with usage.)

edit: changed photo

 

Thanks. That would be good for error hunting and varieties, right?

Then I should get a different one (5x) for grading, correct?

 

Gotcha. Thanks.

 

An alternative to traditional magnifiers/loupes is an enlarging lens. With loupes, the "highest quality" ones are triplets. With enlarging lenses, triplets are the bottom end, and many have 6 elements or more. They are much better corrected for both distortion and color than any loupe. When new, they were much more expensive as well, but many are available used. You can pick up a Nikon 50mm f/2.8 EL-Nikkor for perhaps $25, and it is superior to ANY loupe you can find at any price. The 50mm is roughly equivalent to a 5x loupe. There are many 75mm Anastigmat lenses available on eBay for cheap. Here's an example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Accura-75mm...125264?hash=item33bf518e90:g:C1cAAOSwzJ5XYBgZ

This lens will put any loupe you can buy to shame.

 

I use the 10X power H.E. Harris Loupes in GDJMSP link. it works good for me.

 

Thanks for the info and the link.

 

IMO, I'm qualified to add to this thread because I'm a collector and hoarder of optics. I own almost two dozen different magnifying glasses (plastic, glass, cheap, expensive, triplets. combos) in various powers 2-3X to 20X; 2 portable monocular microscopes, seven stereo microscopes (all zoom except two), and one trinocular scope for photos. That said:

The "instrument & magnification" you use to examine things like coins depends on what you wish to see. I'm posting like one of the "pontificators" here on coin talk who has me on "IGNORE."

Simply, what do you want to use it for? Authentication, grading, or "micro" varieties? Just as important as the magnification is the proper way to examine a coin. More important than the magnification is the lighting. A seminar instructor told his class that a high power microscope is absolutely worthless in a dark room!

I like overkill. I wish to see everything possible on a coin. I use a stereo scope at its lowest power to view coins. That's 4.5 to 7X depending which one is on my desk. I get the first impression of a coin's grade and authenticity with my naked eye and a 100W lightbulb. Then it goes under the scope w/florescent light and the power is zoomed if needed. Then, I view it with a B&L 3X-4X-7X plastic lens at 7X. This is the way I learned to examine coins. Something similar is often taught in seminars - eye first, then hand lens.

When grading a coin it is best to have a lens that allows you to view the entire coin all at once while letting in LOTS OF LIGHT. 5X to 7X does this. Unless you are very good, this is too little power for authentication. So 10X to 16X is better in that case.

Unfortunately, our eyes also dictate the type of lens we use. Some folks need a large glass hand-held instrument such as the images we see of Sherlock Holmes. Others, run around a coin show with high power little "pee-shooter" lenses.

I recommend you purchase the best quality magnifier you can afford and more than one at different powers. I have every power of B&L triplet made. Of these, the 7X gets the most use. I cannot remember the last time I used the 20X; it was years ago.

My favorite all time lens is plastic. It is made by B&L and has been discontinued. I still have a half dozen unused as they tend to "walk away" from the table at shows and I give them as gifts. If you look up B&L 3X-4X-7X magnifier on the Internet you will find a modern knock-off. IMO, this is the very best beginner lens you can buy and grow into. Second choice is the Electro-Optic Model M-7 recommended above.

Neither one of these is very useful for detecting "micro" varieties or for authentication. However, many of the best professional authenticators can do the job with 10X.

Hope this helps.

EDIT: DO NOT BUY the B&L 4X-9X combo on the Internet as a first lens. It does not let in enough light or allow you to see an entire coin! Go for the knock-off 3-4-7X.

 

Avoid cheap glass made in China as it generally has very poor optic quality. I use mostly Bausch & Lomb products. They can be pricey but it's worth it. Since I wear glasses, the one product of theirs I really like is their Jeweler Eyeglass Loupe that clips onto the glasses frame and swings up up out of the line of view.

 

The lens that you use is a highly personal choice. For example, I personally really do not like lighted magnifiers, and I strongly dislike the 3x-6x-9x select a lens models (they have 3 lenses, and you can combine them to increase the strength). The model you decide on will depend on your eyes, how it feels in your hand, and what you are trying to do with it. Much good advice has already been given in this thread.

Good brands are Bausch&Lomb, Eschenbach, Harris, and Zweiss. You can find a wide selection at Wizard, which is where I buy my coin supplies: http://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/products/coin-magnifiers/

If you have the ability to go to a decent sized coin show, the coin supply sellers will have a display of magnifiers. They will almost always allow to try them out, and see which one you like before you buy it. I *highly* recommend you take advantage of this, if possible.

 

I bought a digital microscope, on eBay, that plugs into the USB port of my computer and lets me view off of the computer screen. It also allows me to take a JPG of what I'm viewing. I find it great for varieties and VAMS. It's also capable of WiFi so I can use it with my Smartphone, Kindle, etc. It was much cheaper than the Lighthouse version (I think it's the same one) and one of the best buys I've made.

Disadvantage? It's range is 25x to 250x, wish it actually let me go down to a lower setting.

 

If you want to look like the biggest nerd in the world, you can try these out:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/361759376520?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

lol, almost looks steampunk..

 

I got a 20x from China via eBay for like $4 or something. Naturally it contains chemicals known to cause cancer, but it's cheap and does the job.