DON'T Use A Microscope To Look At Your Coins Until... 

My coin shop website portsmouthcoinshop.com/ Coin Help U Community coinauctionshelp.com/forum/index.php

I can testify that since I purchased a microscope every coin I look at has something unique about it. Thank you for taking the time to explain. 👍

Hilarious to see this person explain to you how doubled dies are made, I had no idea the mint uses safety pins to mint coins. You have the patience of a saint. Awesome video.

Thank you Daniel, I will review your videos you have listed above before I set up my microscope. A few other coin enthusiasts have some videos here on youtube that are helpful as well, especially on mechanical doubling. You have the patience of a saint, keep up the good work as it's very much appreciated.

Daniel I regard you as the most knowledgeable coin you tuber on the net. But you havent gotten to be and older guy looking at coins.My neck ,eyes and age has resulted in my use of a microscope. But when question is risen I use both the lope and microscope to ensure my coin find. Most of these young people have no clue about double dies. Thats why they watch your channel. You are a wealth of knowledge and I watch your vids everyday.Cause even and older guy can learn new things about coins.Thank you for all you do!

Microscopes make common coins look strange. Yes!!! Understand the minting process. So many coins are victims of die wear, die abrasion, weak strikes, machine doubling, poor plating, etc. They all have distinct looks. If you know what you are looking at these coins make sense and you will understand why, in most cases, they have no value above face. But for old dudes with bad eyes, like me, the new digital microscopes are a big help in seeing coins well (especially if you are looking for errors and vareties).

I consider digital microscopes to be a plus when it comes to coin collecting. Gone is are the days of eye fatigue and eye strain via squinting for hours into a tiny eyepiece of a loupe, as you're trying to balance a coin in your fingers. I'm so tired trying to maintain focus on a sliver section of a coin -- for a long enough time -- to identify a particular mark, error, or artifact. Moreso, the many times I wanted to magnify an area to verify (or discount) the beginning signs of verdigris (green corrosion damage). So now, with the digital microscope, one can place a coin onto a stable, flat surface, and clicking on the microscope fuction (with adequate lighting) and see clearly on-screen the various devices on a coin, check the fields, etc. --- Eye strain be gone! You can also take "screen captures" of your coin (and save them in a file, or print them), and again, all in a relaxed fashion, without eye strain. It's a true pleasure to have your coin imaged on a large display screen (on your computer) and then casually get a reference book (RED BOOK, or other coin book, or webpage) and comparison-view the coins. The digital microscope is a boon to any coin collector. Yes, one can still choose to hold up a coin to the light, use your loupe, and squint into the tiny, lens opening, and take 2-3 seconds to quickly find what it is you're looking at on the coin, and pull away to make your determination. But tiny details take a bit more than a couple seconds to come up with a conclusion one can be certain. And what about just enjoying the close-up view of a coin?! The beauty of a coin's design. And lastly, a digital microscope can certainly identify the beginnings of "metastasizing, green verdigris" on a coin. You might be looking at the reverse of your valuable 1914-D cent to determine the grade (by looking at the lines in the wheat stalks). When suddenly you come across three, tiny, bright green dots. To the naked eye, or even a common loupe, those dots would be impossible to see. But now, you notice clearly that your valuable coin has the beginnings of a green cancer that will get larger. And ultimately destroy the value of your coin (and if seen by PCGS, you'd get a "details" grade or worse. With the confirmation of a diseased coin, you'd certainly edit that coin from your collection. But, I do agree with you that one must still know the differences between errors and common minting issues. That can be learned. And yet, having a modern viewing device that eliminates eye strain, and gives one the benefits of viewing the face of coins on-screen comfortably, is something that should be celebrated.

Daniel, it’s great to see more informative stuff from you. Your getting to the point where you’re like Apple - they have an App for everything and you have a video for everything. Appreciate your continued work on educating all of us out here.

Your patience to newbies is stellar! & too much to do on scopes, I'm totally happy with ( the new illuminated loupes anyway)!

.I am planning to buy a microscope soon like yesterday. I knew I had to learn about the minting process to be able to define what I thought I saw. NOW I will relax and as Always a good treasure hunter knows when to take a nap. Thank you Sir for your integrity and wisdom you share ! HOLLER BACK SAN ANTONIO TEXAS !

I can't thank you enough for sharing very helpful information for someone like me that is totally new at collecting. Thank you!!

This is great timing for us, we have 10 sets of 1970 US Mint sets, not proof. Anyways, we are going to submit the best one of the ten sets, and the 16x jewelers loupe is what we use to detect defects, blemishes, and so on and so forth. Oh, and when we look at the coins we use one light, sunlight.

Thank you for putting this video out..... I was sooo excited when first starting out { which was almost a year ago}, but after I Joined several coin groups and getting told over and over that what I had found was nothing I found myself getting discouraged. I found that I was no longer enjoying the hobby so I removed myself from the coin groups that I had joined and decided to take a break... I decided I no longer was that interested in collecting and started getting rid of my collection. This of course made me unhappy because I had spent such a long time building my collection so I decided to keep it even if more experienced collectors said it was garbage. It was my garbage so I decided I would keep what was left of my collection. I was told that as I progressed I would become more refined, I'm still torn about my feelings of being basically called un-refined, this is a tough crowd lol. All in all I have decided tp keep collecting but to stay far away from coin groups...

Good stuff, I picked this up before I bugged everyone around me with those types of questions. This will certainly help those jumping into coins right now!

This makes so much since to a novice/beginner coin collector. There is so much stuff out there, some of us just want the plain truth. Thank you.

Thanks again Daniel very informative and honest as usual!!

Good advice. People generally are not even aware of the term pareidolia let alone how much it affects everything we do.

Thank you for all your help.

Thanks again for the info and your time.

I’m so happy I ran across this video. I was searching for a microscope just for coins. Although I still want one I just don’t know what kind to buy, this article gives me a new insight as to not getting caught up on everything I see.

I mean this as a compliment.. you should write a book called coin collecting for dummies. I literally new almost nothing about coin or currency collecting before your videos.. now I feel like I am expert been doing this for years.. I seriously appreciate all your help sir

I have the 16x as well. And I've been curious about this. And I thank you for educating me

I'm so glad that I came across this video. I was searching for a coin microscope because I got sucked in watching all those coin guys on tik tok talking about all this money people are getting finding miss-struck coins. I will be watching your videos real soon. Thanks

Thank you for sharing!♡

A good rule to go by is, Too much magnification + a little imagination = seeing things that are not really there! Love your videos Dan, keep it up!

New sub. Just found u looking for a magnifier because I'm new 2 all this too. Really like the honesty, and really good delivery...very genuine. I have some things that came up ( a 1943 no mint penny, etc. ) but I'm older...hopefully a bit experienced with getting too excited about what u "think" u have. Ur site/channel seems really honest, and I think I will binge it for awhile for info. Much thx.

I thought i knew a lot about coins but i learn something new with about every video i watch of yours. thanks

great information...thanks!

But Daniel, I KNOW I have a special rare error and you don't understand the esoteric errors that only I know about. The real knowledge is out there and you are a big source of it if a person will just take the time to learn. Thanks Daniel.

I am truly learning more and more from your channel. Thank you much.

Nice, keep up the good work, I love watching things under the microscope!

You are an awesome teacher Daniel. I am learning soooo much .Thank You

Great info again, thanks again.

Excellent advice!

Spot on. Having purchased a microscope recently, I'm not impressed by it. My trusty 16× loop tells no lies. Thank you for the straight forward info Daniel.

Enjoyed the video as always. Have a great day!!!

Interesting video Dan, scopes can be deceiving and will make things look doubled even though there not. Great video Dan.

Great video! Excited to learn some more about all of this!

Love this channel. Always help full. God bless sir from Australia.

Very good video man. And keep on informing us. Some of us understand what you are saying and want to learn more. Thank you

Good morning Dan, good content. I have and use a microscope from time to time but I don't use it to look for error coins. The main purpose of my microscope is to try and confirm coins that would grade MS70 and to look for any flaws that would keep it from being a 70 other than that, that would be the main reason I use my microscope also trying to determine if a coin is a real coin or a fake coin. Just my input have a great day!

Thank you for the great information

Watching videos again thank you Sir!

Thanks for the knowledge. Best firsthand knowledge no nonsense coin info on the Tube. A like is the reward for the moment.

So glad you did this video. Hubby and I are just now sorting some coins and I'm learning what to start looking for. But we're older and can't see so good. I wanted to get a microscope just to help us even see the dates! 🤣I'm sure we would start down the rabbit hole of seeing things that we aren't supposed to see as we go along. New sub.

you are in my head! lol I was just about to buy one...thanks for the video.

I use my scope to read the date . I was told I have issues with both eyes so I look at the dates with my scope there's to much stuff to look for spacificly for me so read dates I'm good lol great information as always Daniel .

I use mine to see dates and mint marks easier than straining my eyes. I am NOT searching for some obscure rarity

Thank you for your help.

Thanks for the video, explains alot for me now .

Im new to this and i was just about to buy a microscope. I think i will watch your videos you recommended first. Thanks

Great information thanks for Sharing my friend

Good job on this subject. I am saving my safety pins in case the mint needs them in their coining process.

Thank you for explaining what all them words mean. No one else has ever explained it. That I have seen.

Thank you for your advice. Even just using a loop, I find my imagination getting the best of me. I have a magnifier in my jungle wish list, but have not bought one yet. I find, that I have to really manipulate my loop, at all kinds of angles and trying to get the light in the right direction, so I can debunk my own self, when I think I see things that might be varieties. All too often, I get my hopes up, and then realize I am mis interpreting what I see. I think a magnifier would help me though, eventually. The only thing I have found recently are those quarters with "in god we rust". I have some coins with varieties, but not yet found anything "Earth shattering", but the the "fun" of looking at every thing, is still alive!

Couldn't agree more Daniel. I still don't have a microscope. Although, I will be getting one soon. My eyes get tired way faster than they used to. Looking for little green men with safety pins on my coins is tough with a 10x loupe. 😂😂😂

Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend, Daniel!

Hey looks like your channel is doing well. I was one of the first subscribers. Love the content looking for a coin microscope ran across this video! Just using it for Morgan VAM's and Modern Great info ~ Steve

Your video brings to light the tip of every beginners iceberg. Coin microscopes are great. Most youtubers and coin searchers use them. However, they shouldn't be used to for every coin you come across. It's a tool to verify what you believe to have spotted and capture it to share if you sell it or to file it in your own data collection. When someone slides a coin under high magnification that they haven't looked over beforehand, they're already searching for anything that looks out of the ordinary from their perspective of an everyday coin. There's marginal errors in these coins to either say they're acceptable to circulate or not acceptable. The magnification will show you the marginal errors ALONG with the what's considered unacceptable. Looking over coins simply by low mintages and known errors is great. Newcomers will think that seeing two strikes on an N that less than the nut hair of an ant apart is a double die and then see another imprint of an N on top of the other two and think its a triple die. Use high magnification to prove what you can spot vs spotting what you didn't theorize about the coin. It's a tool for confirmation. Not so much a tool for a micro-error nation.

When you squeeze metal there are plenty of metallurgic things going on that are natural. Stuff that is not unusual. You will have heat from the friction involved which can discolor plating. Can stretch the metal enough to thin plating and make marks not associated with the actual die and these things can happen before the planchettes (blank coins) are actually punched out. You are 100% correct about not using a scope to look for specific blemishes. There is just to much detail to look at that will just confuse you.

I cant THANK YOU enuf for aLL the Time you've saved ME with aLL the CORRECT info YoU continue to Share with aLL your viewers! 😊SERIOUSLY! 👌👍👏 I'm sure I speak for aLL of "us" who suffer with adult ADD, since Most of us DONT have any "sense of time"😬 Especially when we are in HyperFocus mode!😳 I've been known to spend MORE than 2 hours only to discover🤔 I'm stiLL looking at the same coin 😕🙄 So MaNy Thanks to YoU!😏Keep in mind MaNy MORE of us APPRECIATE YOU... Than NoT!👏👏👏

Your time and effort to educate others is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Thank you 😊

Daniel, do you have a video or can suggest a video that explains the minting process in detail? Thanks for you very good work, my friend. 😊

Another great video. I don't use a microscope, but I do use a magnifier

5-12-23 great point I have the old a.m. scope I’ve been looking way too close damit lol I purchased the D corn didn’t realize my laptop isn’t new enough for it my vision is bad even to see a decent DD I hate wearing glasses vicious cycle I’ll figure it out. Thank you for the video. 👍🏻

I have a 20x loupe and I can identify with liking a little larger field of view. I have a 70 dollar coin scope that I love but it’s tough to get confirmation on what I may or may not have without being pesty or taking up too much time lol

I will stick to my trusty loupe every time. Thanks again Daniel.

My issues is even with some of the loops, my eyes are having problems. I am even having issues with my regular eyes, as I need reading glasses and it is getting worse. I appreciate the info and will keep it in mind.

Greate video again. Thanks to answer my question. It is true, we need education, but information is not easy to trust this days and I trust you

Thanks for the info Daniel

im only getting a loupe for one reason,im blind as a bat,cant see the little bitty mint marks,lol

Thank you for the info

Very informative

Don't use my Microscope often but sure helps my tired old eyes when I need some help.

Put am affiliate link in your description for the loupes. I was going to get a scope but you changed my mind. What I've done over the years is to take a screenshot of a coin that looks like a variety or error and download the image. Then I enlarge it with edit software or mouse-roll while moving the cursor up or down and I've got a copy of a 1917 half dollar on my PC monitor that's about 9" in diameter. I've since sent it in to John Wexlar for examination and it might be a discovery coin with very distinct obverse doubling in America. First time watching, liked and subbed. Excellent video, the whole enchilada - clear voice, clear vid, and telling it like it is. Cheers, Bob

Great video dan and you have a great day..🖐🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

Just bought a Celestron. I am looking forward to using it.

I have the hardest time with double dies. I’m going to have to buy a few double dies to look at first hand. I’ll think something is doubled and keep researching and realize it’s mechanical doubling or even just false hope. Practice makes perfect they say.

New collector here. Thank's. Subscribed.

This guy is speaking facts. Tbh, I didn't want to watch the videos he's referring to either, but they've literally changed my entire perspective on coins and taught me the basic things about the striking process that I needed to know. That ALL coin collectors HAVE TO KNOW. He gave me the answers to things I thought I already knew. Do it for yourself, do it for your eyes or for God's sake do it for every numismatist who has been answering the same questions for what must seem like an eternity. Tysm for using the repetition method to eventually "learn me some learnings!"

I occasionally use just a x10 scope, however, for me this is due to a medical issue with my eyes where if I look at a coin up close using a loop for more than a few minutes at a time my vision becomes very blurry and stays that way for hours. For some reason looking at a x10 of coins on a computer screen doesn't have the same affect on me. I always start out with my loupe. If I had money available I would buy 90%. I just need to wait for some funds to hit my account on the last day of the month. I'm starting to transition back to where I have more in 90% than .999 Fine. Thanks for another video.

Dear sir, havent seen this short before. My brother got me a scope couple of weeks ago. I still havent set it up.i am in no hurry because i have my loops.Glad for your advice i was feeling pressure to set it up. Thought I was missing something now i know im not. Thanks.

I use the 20 x Loop to visually inspect coins but because I have severe amblyopia in my eye I am using my Nikon macro setting to take very detailed pictures to zoom up on my computer to further Aid me and looking at the coin close up. Has a lot of information to absorb about coins and had a grade them and what to look for. It's going to take time as in anything or you to learn about these things I'm going to check out your videos and learn more on the minting process

A microscope comes in handy if you are trying to differentiate between MS coins and high-end sliders. A lot of people got stuck with expensive sliders in the 70s and 80s before the advent of slabbing. Some of those sliders have very faint, random hairlining on the high points and that is a sign of circulation. If you can spot that with a loupe every time, great. I don't think I can.

You sound like the person I need to talk to you about my 60&64 nickels with full steps. Definitely good information in this video.

I just came across of this video of yours. And I appreciate that you suggested not to use microscope. And this is true if I see extra or Un necessary objects they might creep me out. And for sure I won’t go closer to those coins or I might start searching the corners and nooks in my house …. I can’t explain. I’m already having goose bumps.. eww I ordered mine and suppose to deliver on Monday. After watching your this video I’m going to cancel my order. Many thanks 🙏 And God Bless you.

What do you recommend beside jewelry loupes? I’d like some digital where I can see it my computer.

I used a one eye scope for afew years and ended up with eye problems (glasses}. Now I use the newer usb type scope. I also use a 10x loop.

so using a electron microscope is overkill. great video Daniel

I think the scopes are very helpful, with the ease of taking photos. But idiots are idiots, no matter what. Coins made from safety pins? That's a scream.

Good Morning Daniel!! 🍵 Well, after all! We are getting closer to the season!!👽👽👽🎃

Sounds like that guy was “tweaking” and seeing things

Damn, I just got a coin microscope and found that every coin I had was a double die. lol

Mr. Daniel you have much more patience than i do!

Well said

Thanks Daniel. Missed this spot when it was first posted. You sent me one of your 10x loupes with a recent order, and I use it almost every day. But I really think I need a digital magnifier with a USB connection to my laptop. My eyes just are not what they used to be!!! :-) Do you have a recommendation?

Hello Sir, thanks for ur valuable information.i am from Nepal.n do collection coins..

I was searching for videos about which is the best affordable coin scope because I'm tired of straining my eyes with my cheap 16x loupe which doesn't do to well IMO!

I bought one that plugs into my computer. and shows the coin on my screen. I like to see more area. I've been looking at tons of videos so I don't look for things that are caused in the stamping process . But do look for thinks like the double die errors the ear error and it goes on.