Loupes for the panda lover

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fishball

New Member
Silver Stacker
Last time 25Grizzlies showed us a loupe he got from Hong Kong for analyzing Panda coins to see flaws the naked eye cannot.

Anyway, I was looking on Dealextreme because they have 11.11% off today, anybody want to recommend any particular one on there?

Or are they all crap and I should stick to the sellers on eBay?
 
fishball said:
Last time 25Grizzlies showed us a loupe he got from Hong Kong for analyzing Panda coins to see flaws the naked eye cannot.

Anyway, I was looking on Dealextreme because they have 11.11% off today, anybody want to recommend any particular one on there?

Or are they all crap and I should stick to the sellers on eBay?
Click to expand...

You can get cheaper loupes on ebay. I bought a 60x loupe for $2.51 with free shipping.
 
fishball said:
Does the magnification, the brand etc matter all that much?
Click to expand...

I did a bit of googling before buying this one. All reviews rated their optics top notch.

Whether brand matters or not I don't know but I assume so. There are brands which will sell for 100s but probably the gain is miniscule if at all over something that costs much less. Magnification definitely matters. Too small probably no good, but too high mag may be overkill. The most important at least is the quality of the optics. You want a loupe which will give you absolutely clear vision. The triplet I mentioned is to correct the chromatic aberrations in single glass optics. You are going to use it for coins right, not gems, etc?

Here's one of many reviews I read before I bought one.

http://www.rockhounds.com/rockshop/belomo.shtml
 
Yeah its for coins only.

Thanks for the advice, I will consider my options before proceeding then.

Not gonna be able to get it any time soon anyway with the Xmas online shopping flooding the postal network.
 
I have 2 different ones from eBay.

Get one that has a built in light if you can.

I really liked 25Grizzlies though, as it was slightly bigger and looked more sturdy.

Having said that, almost anything will do the job pretty well.
 
Hahaha... 25Grizzlies, leading the way in establishing the necessity of loupes! :) Top stuff!
 
Be careful going too magnified as it is hard to hold and also will show a little too much detail. Remember the graders generally only use a 10x anyway I believe ?

I also think a larger size piece of glass etc... is better I use about 3 different ones. But they are all large and saves you squinting and also lets lots of light through. I also use a 10x Microscope which is good for looking for the finer details and this gives me enough detail. I am waiting to get a USB adapter for this to then take macro shots.

Buy once buy well :)

P.S I have not used a lit one before I could see the benefit if the light was strong enough
 
yennus said:
Hahaha... 25Grizzlies, leading the way in establishing the necessity of loupes! :) Top stuff!
Click to expand...

It's hard to be an awesome panda collector without a loupe :lol:

In other unrelated news, Sydney demand for loupes has multiplied by 10 times this month.
 
Yeah loupes are crucial when on the road if you are lucky enough to be able to view your OMP coins in person before purchase. 10 times magnification is fine... 60 is for gems/overkill for coins.. That's alll you need... but I do recommend a light, then you are are always viewing coins under the same environment, no matter where you are. Good scales too are req. hong kong again $12 off the bay.
 
Thor122 said:
Fishball if you buy the loupe. Put here the link. Im too thinking to buy one.
Click to expand...

Ended up buying from here:

http://www.geo-tools.com/lens.htm

After reading that review null posted just felt I couldn't use the crappy ones on eBay ;)

Still a tiny sum compared to price of buying good coins!

Not sure how much the shipping will be though, but totally should come below $40 which seems fair for great lens.
 
Let me know how they are K... look pretty :) I think you;ll regret not having the light but either way a good purchase. They're cheap enough to get one with a light anyway. My one is a 40x magnification + light. It doesnt seem overkill actually it's pretty good plus it came with excellent scales. If you decide you're not happy or would like to try another set, here's the link off ebay.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/250901317382?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
 
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