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Coin Microscopes and Supplies
You don't just look at your coin collection. If you just wanted to look, you could use any old magnifying glass.
Most coin collectors want to catalog the collection. They want to capture a clear image of the smallest detail, or record videos as they review a specimen (that's microscope talk for your coin).
So straight away, the best coin microscope is a digital microscope.
A digital microscope comes in a handful of forms. Let's narrow down the options so you get the right features.
On magnification
Beware of false magnification. There is a big difference between budget-priced and value-priced. Some budget-priced USB microscope models make lofty magnification claims. What they actually do is zoom in on the digital image - resulting in a pixelated look at the coin and taking away the ability of a coin collector to find scratches, defects, or other irregularities.
There are two types of digital microscope we recommend for a coin collector.
A stereo microscope with USB camera for image capture.
A Dino-Lite USB digital microscope.
Both avoid the pitfalls of budget-priced microscopes and provide the right real magnification range for coin viewing and cataloging your old coins.
If you like the idea of that traditional microscope style - the binocular or trinocular head and the fine focus knobs, a stereo microscope is what you want. You can add an affordable USB camera so you can capture images and display them easily on a screen in your coin shop (or your living room). The microscope camera simply attaches to an eyepiece.
A magnification level of 7X to 45X will allow you to see the entire coin at one setting, and very fine details at another.
A Dino-Lite handheld microscope is many coin collectors' favorite USB coin microscope.
It has built-in lighting with adjustable brightness
It has a built-in camera, so you can capture pictures with the click of a button
It achieves up to 230X distortion-free magnification
It can charge (or download images to your computer) with a simple USB cable
With the addition of a wifi adapter, it can stream to your iphone or any smartphone within range
About working distance
Your coin microscope should have a working distance of at least 2 inches if it isn't a Dino-Lite digital microscope. Better if it's double that. Why? Because some of the coins you look at have a smaller diameter than the objective lens they sit under. With a small working distance (the distance between your error coins and the microscope lens) you can't easily switch between coins. The lens is in the way. You need space for your fingers, and that's why working distance matters to coin collectors like you using a stereo microscope.
It's a little different with a Dino-Lite. Many coin collectors use their Dino-Lite device freehand. Stands are available if that is your preference, but not required.
Your coin microscope is here somewhere. We brought together this curated collection so you don't have to sort through hundreds of options with almost invisible differences.
And if you aren't sure what you need, give us a call. We've helped thousands of coin hobbyists find coin collecting microscopes they swear by today.
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