Microscope?

[Carissa T]

I just ordered an entry to the uncleaned coin contest... this will be the first time I have ever attempted cleaning ancient coins and in fact the first time I have even bought ancient coins or any collector's coin for that matter since I was 10 years old (20+ years ago). I haven't lost my love of numismatics, I guess it just went into hibernation for a long long time.   Anyway, it would seem that a USB microscope would be a great idea for really seeing the detail and avoiding damage when trying to clean the coins up. I read over all of the "101" articles on the site and the one on magnification must be a little old because it speaks about taking digital magnified pictures of coins as being a very costly endeavor.... not anymore. $35 will get me a USB microscope these days. But it did mention that 15x magnification is really the highest useful setting. Anybody use one or have any tips or thoughts?

[casata137ec]

Many people use microsocopes for cleaning and I have talked to folks that swear by the usb versions. I have said this a million and one times and I will say it again: the best tool in your arsenal for coin cleaning is patience, but being able to see what you are cleaning is a definate plus! Good luck on your contest coins, and make sure you use this board as a reference.

Chris

[Danny S. Jones]

High magnification is useless on cleaning coins. I use a large magnifying glass mounted on a stand. A USB microscope seems to be a good idea if you can get one cheaply and at a low magnification. The big bucks are in stereo microscopes, but you don't need to invest in one of them unless you're a serious student of numismatics, or can justify the cost vs use in another manner.

Regards,
Danny

[Carissa T]

The one I am looking at does 10x - 230x. I can't seem to find one that does much less than 10x, but probably the 10 - 15x range is what I'm looking to use anyway (anything lower than that and I can probably use a regular magnifier of some kind). I'm excited to get started!

[driekus]

Would anyone using a microscope tell me what brand they are using?

[Johnny]

I am using a non-USB stereo microscope.  brandname "amscope" which has a widefield 5 X eyepiece which magnifies to 5X -15 X   and a widefield 10X eyepiece  that does 10X-30 X it has a built in 1X and 3X objective lenses   

I keep using the  10x and 30 X  for cleaning,  I find the 5X widefield is like looking down a long tunnel

 

I attached pics of a random coin under 5X, 10X ,15X  and 30X in this case Gordian III obverse.  the coin never moved,  just different magnification of the same center point

Not sure how much you know about microscopes, so I also added a pic of a microscope stating the parts, this microscope is a biology microscope,  and thus has fine adjust, bottom illuminator  ECt ECT,  which are not found on coin microscopes

link to Amscope 

http://www.amscope.com/Coin.html

hope this helps

[driekus]

Does anybody care to write about there experiences using a usb microscope?
Im thinking of purchasing either a stereo or a usb microscope. If I can get away with $35 for a usb rather than $135 for a stereo microscope.

[Sosius]

For cleaning, I would not recommend the USB microscope. You have to get the USB microscope very close to the coin, leaving too little space to work on the coin. However it's great for attribution and quick pictures.

Cliff