DCCR

I'm looking forward to the update we get when he finds out that he has to pay shipping in both directions if he returns the coins. “whatever the reason, you can return an article to us in the seven days following the reception of your parcel (imperatively in its original packaging and with the corresponding invoice), by specifying the reason for its return to: Cgb.fr Return Service, 36 rue Vivienne 75002 PARIS. The cost of sending and returning is paid by the customer.”

Sorry to he the bearer of bad news @Edessa. At least you didn’t get it from Roma! It's depressing it was sold in five auctions despite being a published fake and stylistically wrong. I hope you get refunded promptly.

@Edessa - if that coin is yours then ask for a refund. It's a modern Haslemere forgery. See 54-01-F1 here: https://vanarsdellcelticcoinageofbritain.com/articles-numismatic_ccb3/van_arsdell_2014c_ccb3.html

It's easier with flash or studio strobes, but it works with continuous lighting as well. You might need a brighter light though, or a longer exposure. Getting flash and studio strobes set up isn’t that hard because the same general rules apply each time: don’t point directly at the coin, bounce your main flood-fill light off the ceiling set up the exposure for the main flood-fill light first After that it's just playing with the side light(s) until you get the results you like. Sometimes I don’t even need them. I recently photographed a hoard of around 400 coins with this approach. Once you get a good result for one coin, just leave the setup alone. However, regardless of the light source (continuous or flash), you need to diffuse it to get rid of the problems of having a point source. That requires distance and a big diffuser, and your ceiling is probably the best option you have. In terms of making coin photography easier, switching from continuous lighting to flash (and finally studio strobes) was the best thing I ever did. Messing around with light sources that were too weak to give a fast exposure time, but still powerful enough to give harsh highlights, was a huge source of frustration and disappointment. Strobes were a game changer (and having a constant colour balance on all lights was also handy).

The problem I always had with this kind of setup, and it shows a bit on your coins, is that the diffuser just can't diffuse the light source enough, so you end up with harsh highlights. In my setup I bounce the main light off the ceiling to diffuse it, and then use a dimmer side light to add the highlights (sometimes I use two of these). This normally works better if I aim it at a reflector so it bounces light back onto the coin, but sometimes I just bounce that off the ceiling (at a different angle) or the wall. Any light pointing directly at the coin can give harsh results. If you have to point any light at the coin then move it as far away as possible.

The easiest way I've found to handle this is to put the coins on a glass sheet which is suspended above a white background. It's easy to cut out and replace with any background you like. The problem with taking it on a coloured background like yours is that the colour is reflected onto the coin, so it ends up with blue edges no matter what you digitally place it on.

This might be of interest https://collectingancientcoins.co.uk/roman-coins-about-britain/

For collectors and researchers interested in Celtic coins and the Durotriges, the quarter stater die study is now available from Amazon. Described by Dr. John Sills as “an instant classic” and “a must for all collectors, dealers and researchers interested in the Celts and their coinage”, the book presents a detailed die study based on over 2,000 coins, and discusses possible interpretations and purposes of the imagery, relative and absolute chronologies, the number of issuing authorities involved with these coins, possible political upheaval in Hampshire prior to the Gallic Wars, and what it all means for the existence of the Durotriges as we currently understand them. Thought to be a confederation of tribes, previous authors have systematically removed the supporting evidence until just the coins remain as the sole indicator of tribal branding. The evidence uncovered in this die study suggests that even the coins don't support that conclusion. Hardback, 426 pages, 20.96 x 27.94 x 3.02 cm (8.25 x 11 x 1.19 inches) Available now on the following international Amazon stores: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.es/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.pl/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ https://www.amazon.se/dp/B0CYCJ73WJ Amazon lets you read a sample, so you can click on the link and check it out in a bit more detail.

That's a different type @Al Kowsky. The Hod Hill staters are struck bronze. @Victrix's stater is billon, which puts it in the Cranborne Chase type. It's one of these with much less silver and more copper: http://tcx3.co.uk/coin/91-cranborne-chase/ (although with the reference ABC 2169. They differentiate between silver and billon, and the one I linked is the silver version)

Yes, it's a Durotriges stater. Cranborne Chase type

I was trying to keep in simple by dropping Wales and NI. Your second point touches on an interesting quirk in Scottish law, because since the Open Access laws were introduced, you don’t need permission to metal detect on someone's land. You do need permission to remove an item “for reward”. In general it's probably a moot point and you need permission, but technically you could detect without it, find a hoard, report it, and you'd remain perfectly legal if you decline the reward. Maybe. It could do with being clarified.

You are conflating England with the UK. In Scotland all treasure belongs to the crown, and the landowner never has any right to the property. Any reward paid is to the finder only

People doing die studies? I have 31 examples of the same type with 9 of the from the same die pair. Four examples of a type seems pedestrian.

Nice coin and nice writeup. Durotrigan coins are my favourite. Here are some of my Celtic coins (both sides are shown, so it's only half as many as it looks):

I find slabbing a parasitic and polluting industry and I don't want my money encouraging it. That, along with the hassle and risk of deslabbing them, means I generally avoid slabbed coins. I have bought one because I needed it for a die study and I was feeling impatient, but I normally ignore the slabbed coins and wait until a raw version comes along.