I want to buy one but not sure which one would be too much and which one would be too little. Which one would you recommend? x10, x20 or x30?
I personally recommend a 10x Hastings triplicate. You can see RPM's and DD's on just about any coin. Anything more powerful, you might as well get a USB microscope.
I say 5x-10x for most applications. Anything stronger and you are seeing stuff that does not count for the grade. 20-30x is really only needed for errors and overdates and the like.
What do you intend to use it for? Grading? Variety attribution? For grading I would recommend no more than 5X to 7X. Too much magnification makes minor imperfections look much worse than they really are. In fact, 3X is a good magnification for grading larger coins because it allows you to see more of the coin. (You don't want to fall into the trap of not being able to see the forest for the trees.) For variety attribution I would recommend 10X. (I have a 20X that I use when the thing I am looking at is very, very tiny.) Rather than looking for a magnifying glass I would recommend that you look for a loupe, preferably a Hastings triplet.
7x.....after that you're seein' stuff you don't want to see. Unless your lookin' for errors or varieties.
I use B&L 20x triplet for errors and variety searching, I have a 10x for a better "view of the field"
Hello Tristen1230, This was an important question from Hobo. For grading I personally use a high quality 3x that allows convenient viewing of the entire coin under different lighting conditions. Higher magnifications can make it difficult to position the coin, your head, & the light. Higher magnifications can also make it impossible to view the entire coin at the same time unless all you collect are dimes. You should use the same high quality glass all the time for consistent grading. Once you assign the grade, you may want to look for varieties or attributions such as full bands etc. For this, I find a 10x loupe or 15x loupe works for me. The 7x does not give my poor eyes enough resolution to really see mint marks, varieties, and counterfeit diagnostics. Of course, these suggestions are for use in the field. If I'm at home I still use the same 3x for grading but I can use a binocular microscope to see the really little things.
/agree. One important point for everyone to remember is the higher the magnification the stronger the light you need to see through it. Unless I have a very strong light source right there, I cannot use a 30x as its too dark. Basically, you want to use as low a magnification as possible to do what you need to do with it. If you have younger eyes don't use a 10x when a 3x or 5x will do. You are not grading "better" by using a higher magnification.
This was a very interesting and informative thread. I was thinking about getting _A_ magnifying glass and the timing was perfect... Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread. I appreciate the insight. No pun intended! Regards. -L
Exactly what I do. But even for some variety work I won't gover 10x - large cents can look extremely bad under 15x, and the details sometimes get lost. Just my opinion of course.
just get 2. I have a good 4x for general use and a 10x for overdates DD etc. like many things one size doesn't fit all needs. many have (or will) thousands tied up in coins, spring for 2 different magnifiers you guys.
Hi Tristen, Just an FYI, unless the loupe is made by an optics manufacturer (like Bauche and Lomb), its likely that it isnt really a 10x, and its very likely that it isnt going to be anything close to 20x. Those cheap loupes that are all over the place arent even close to the magnification they have listed. It will prolly work ok, but you still might want to consider one of the lower priced magnifiers/loupes from a good manufacturer. You'll get the magnification listed, and the clarity-which is very important-should be better. Related to the subject, I'd think that a true 10x would be more than enough. If you think about it, its essentially transforming a 1 inch coin to one that is 10 inches wide, not much smaller than a dinner plate. A 20X would make that same coin about the same size as one of those big 50lb disk weights, I believe. Just imagine those were half dollars hes lifting....
I got a set of these at Harbor Freight for like 2 or 3 bucks. There were 5 total. I think 2x, 3x, 5x, 8x, 10x. I look for errors and have found the 10x is good enough, except trying to look at the FG on 1988's. I just did an experiment and if I put my 5x inside my 10x it actually works. I thought it would be blurry. Now I can check those 1988 FG's faster! The one in this picture says Anchor. This one isn't mine. Mine say India. lol
