Allrighty! Is this a decent pic?

[tabb]

I'm still working on getting the best, but I think I've gotten pretty close...what do you guys think?

[coppercoins]

Looks pretty good...if your magnification has different settings, you might want to consider backing out a little. The spacing between the lower extremity of the date and the mintmark are very important to determining which die you have. I do believe that coin is an RPM, but the lighting could be playing with my eyes.

[tabb]

Actually, its a 1955S RPM #3 (Just going off what another person attributed it as). I'll see if I can't play with it some more and try and make it look a bit better.
Thanks~

[Robert]

Welcome aboard, Tabb!

Chuck knows more about coin photography than I do, but here are my 2 cents.

-Lighting is a little harsh for me. Too bright and too much from the "north". Not sure how I'd fix it. (Chuck, perhaps she should get a light ring?)

-Appears slightly out of focus. Your focal plane seems to be the above the surface of the MM. Again, not sure how I'd fix that.


Good try though! And probably better than I could do.

What kind of setup do you have, Tabb?

[tabb]

Ok don't laugh~ I just used my camera to shoot thru the eyepiece of one of those kiddie microscopes. Figured I gotta start somewhere Its a pretty good cam 5 megapix with 4X zoom, but I can't get it to focus on something as small as a mintmark.

Working on getting a "real" one though!

[coppercoins]

I agree with you Tabb - looks like 1955S RPM#3 (locally referred to as 1955S-1MM-003).

As for the photography, if you have a digital camera and are using the zoom, don't. If you zoom it out all the way, take the picture using the highest resolution the camera will allow, then crop the picture in your photo editor to show the area you want to show, you'll be fine.

Your lighting is a bit too far north, try moving it closer to the optics and tilt the coin slightly toward the light with a little ramp you can make out of a piece of chipboard. Just take a stiff piece of board, cut it into a strip about 2 inches wide by 4 inches long and bend it (don't fold it) into a low arch. Use that to get the proper lighting on the coin.

Don't get a light ring to do microphotography. I have found through experience with other people's equipment (namely Bob's) that a light ring will not serve your best interests. A single light source positioned as close to the coin as possible and as close to exactly under the optics as possible will produce the best results.

[tabb]

Thanks Chuck. Well I think I'll need to try some more. Looks like the focal point of the microscope is too small to get everything needed into a good picture. But here is a couple of pics I got of my 1955D-1DO-001