Magnifiers ...

[susannyny]

Hi everyone. First time poster here and new to coin collecting.
I'm hoping that I can get some advice from this group. I'm in the market for a good magnifier. Wouldn't mind one with a light.

Any suggestions? Right now I'm using one I picked up at the local drug store and I think I can use something with a little more magnification.

Thanks in advance for your feedback!! Looking forward to learning tons from you seasoned collectors

Susan

[twoyankees]

I've got a Bausch and Lomb 10x. One 3x and 7x that fold together to make 10x. Works great,no light tho. You can get them at coin shops, very reasonable and has larger lenses than some of the loupes I've seen. Check it out, hope this helps. Tom

[jfines69]

I use a 30X... But then again I'm old and still can't see... LOL... Welcome to the LCR!!!

[1sgret]

Welcome to the Forum.

I use a Bausch & Lomb 10x Loupe and I use Natural light (1,750 lumens, 27 Watts light bulb) in a floor lamp which has a cone shaped small lamp shade and the light is located to the side and above me while searching. I could never use a magnifier with a light as it was to much strain on my eyes.

It depends where you are searching, (easy chair, Kitchen table, desk) etc. I sit in a easy chair while searching with a tray or pillow in my lap to hold the coins and keep them separated.

Link: http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CHoQ8wIwBg#

[susannyny]

Thank you so much all! Great feedback and thanks for the warm welcome!

[BadThad]

Welcome to LCR!

The first thing you need is a good desklamp. I use one with a nice, multi-movable arm. It lets me put the light right where I need it for looking or for taking pictures. Mine was about $25 from Home Depot or Lowes (I forget). Proper light is very, very important so you can easily see at multiple angles.....shadows and such can play tricks and slow you down.

Get used to using your naked eye to first examine coins. Going through every coin with magnification is a slow and tedious process.....at least it is for me. If I need a better look, I actually start with just a 4x-8x dual lens magnifier. This allows me to see the entire coin under mag. If I need to look closer, then I'll go to a 12x loupe which is plenty adequate for me.

Speed is most important to me. Most of the coins I search for a extremely rare so I feel the key is to screen as many coins as I can, as fast as I can. Fiddling around with poor lighting and using over-magnification slows you down.

Good Luck

[BadThad]

Here's a couple pictures of the lamp and bulb, it came from Home Depot for sure, it's a Hampton Bay.

[swfccsg]

Personaly, I think a 10x is the best. If you cant see an irregularity with that, then it more than likely is not worth the Look. However, at time I will use a 16x just to be able to zoom in a little to maybe verify an error or coin damage. There are so many options out there. I would suggest to keep it simple untill you find what is going to work for you the best. There are several stores with several types of Loops and magifiers. Try a few of them out in store first, prior to purchasing. Hope this helps.
Jim

[hasfam]

I don't think I can really give you any better advice than what the others have already said. There wouldn't be any point in sharing my own expereince since it's a bit unorthodx due to my being completely blind in one eye and my vision in the other eye is deteriorating as well. because of this, I have to have a lot of light to see anything and higher magnification (just to see the coin). I can't see 3D for the most part. But. I'm used to the handicap thats been around most of my life and you work around it for everything. Sometimes I envy those who can pick up a coin and see the details with the naked eye.

[susannyny]

It's all great advice. I definitely need better lighting and my eye sight isn't the best (I've hit that point in life when focusing becomes a challenge

I'm heading down to FL next month and I recall my Dad having some Jewelers loops, so I'm going to dig those up to see if they work for me. For lighting, I've been looking at a Tensor light that is full spectrum - similar to natural daylight.

[1sgret]

Yes that is what I started out with but had to change to a more focused light (Lamp shade) due to olde agee catchin up with me.

A Jewelers Loupe should work for you as long as it is 7X or 10X. (Recommended)

[WaterSport]

I am sorry to upset the cart here. Maybe others have TERRIFIC eyesight and I do not. But a hand lense does me absolutely no good looking at coin in particular when it comes to variety confirmation. I can not live with out my 60 x 100 hand held radio shack magnifier. It can be carried in your pocket to take to a show and can confirm whizzing marks or cleaning compound in the devices and with out a doubt let you see it a DDO or RPM.

WS

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2179604#

[susannyny]

WS, that looks pretty nice and the price can't be beat. I may head over to my local Radio Shack this afternoon to check it out.
Thanks!!

[mo052246]

went to radio shack and got one. best magnifier for the money. i would recomend

[susannyny]

mo052246, I went over and picked on up as well. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep it or not. While it certainly has good magnification capabilities, the viewing field is too small for my liking. I'm finding it difficult to use.

Will play around with it for a few days before I make a final decision.