I had to skip many auctions here on e-bay since I wasnt able to ascertain the grade of a coin. Since the quality and condition of a coin is so important in determining its value it is the seller who is loosing out. Of course buyers loose as well, especially if there is a seller who overstates the condition of his coins. Especially disapointing is the fact that so many coin sellers point at their picture for grading but then provide a low resolution photo, or an image that is very poorly focused.

Here you see my setup, a shadow box is about $70, the photolight $60 and most quality didgital cameras will do.

The trick is not to use the zoom but to adjust the camera so that there is only between 4 inches and 10 inches between the lens and the coin.
see below. I used an old standoff for a flash to have the camera reach inside the shadow box. To adjust for the diameter of the coin adjust the height of the camera by sliding the tripod up

The last tip I have is to take the picture at an angle. The coin needs to be lit just as the picture above shows and the camera angled at about 30 dregrees This gives you just about perfect definition and every detail is visible. I have not found a better angle to give you little distortion and no harsh reflections. The Camera settings are
automatic exposure, auto focus, the self timer is set to 2 seconds and the auto focus is set to “close up”.

and here you can have a look at some results <img src=http://members..com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=flyingtigercalgary>