would smell as sweet -- but a better photograph can't hurt!

My original title for this post was 'Most Subtly Improved', a nod to Gary and Alan's recent posts about their photography, but I could't resist the Shakespearean jest. As my photography skills slowly progress I have greatly improved many of my early coin images but sometimes it's the ones with a subtle improvement that can really catch your attention. That's the case with my Pezza della Rosa or Rose Dollar and I hope you'll agree. The nature of the design is such that nearly any photograph cannot detract from its inherent beauty,

My initial focus for collecting was the portrait eight reales of Charles III of Spain. To be honest, I have become quite bored of seeing his bust; and those of monarchs in general. When I broadened my collecting interest to all world crowns I actively sought other types of design. I became particularly enamored with the pezza della rosa, from Livorno in the Italian state of Tuscany. Interestingly, it's one of several crown sized silver coins that were minted there. Ducats or piastra were made to trade on par with the high value ducatons from the Dutch Republic. Talleros had a value equal to the thalers of the German states. The pezza della rosa, also known as pezza da otto reali, was the local equivalent of the Spanish 8 reales. As an important port and trading center, having local coins with similar values to foreign coins eased commerce and gave the ruler the seigniorage, the profit on the difference between the face value and cost to produce the coins.

My example is from 1707, during the reign of Cosimo III, the penultimate head of the famous Medici family. Initially, I lit the coin with a typical 2:00 and 10:00 arrangement. For my slightly improved version, I positioned a Jansjo at a low angle at 12:00 and one at a slightly higher angle but also near 12:00 to light the bottom half of the coin. For these early milled, lower relief coins, I seem to get better results from a setup that tries to approximate the 'in-hand' look.

~jack

To see old comments for this Journal entry, click here. New comments can be added below.