MORE NUMISMATIC USES FOR PHOTOSHOP

I would like to follow up on Bill Eckberg's piece discussing the use of Photoshop as an analytical tool. I've used Photoshop overlays with images of ancient coins to confirm die links, but I've never used color in the way that he has. His example showing that the 1792 disme and 1793 half cent dies were produced from the same obverse hub has been enlightening.

Aside from Photoshop's use in the more scientific endeavor of confirming die or hub linkages, I would like to share with your readers ways in which I've found the software to be useful for education. For example, as part of a talk I presented about coins of the Severan Dynasty, I used Photoshop to overlay images of three denarii of Emperor Geta, all struck from the same reverse die. My intent was not to demonstrate the obvious die linkage between the coins, but to illustrate how circulation wear affects the details of a design. Each coin is in a different state of wear, and I used Photoshop to create an animated GIF showing the reverse design transitioning from a state of lesser to greater wear. I achieved this effect by sequentially fading the upper layers into the lower layers.

 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G5MwdTT0U2bcDdE3Q9APV8-p2TLeuVD0/view?usp=sharing

In the same presentation I used Photoshop for the purpose of clarifying a rather complex reverse design on a sestertius of Caracalla. The catalog description is:

Septimius Severus and Caracalla (and Geta in background, just visible between them) standing left in military dress, holding transverse spears in left hands; before them, two soldiers, one standing facing holding vertical spear, the other standing facing, head left, holding vertical standard; at the feet of the soldiers, captive seated right.

It would be a challenge to identify all the components of this design on a well-struck, uncirculated or extra-fine example using just the naked eye, even with magnification. But on my coin, circulation wear, encrustations, and a severe double strike all contribute to obfuscating the scene, and the written legend surrounding it, even more.

In Photoshop I used color to highlight the individual letters in the legend, as well as the human figures in the design, making the coin much easier to read. I also added text labels to identify the figures in the scene as specific individuals corresponding to the catalog description. In my presentation I included only still images on separate slides showing the raw coin and then the color-enhanced version, but I've combined them in an animated GIF to show here.

 
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w2K3UqzpmYi7W6bH1MSXpXDY1MVLfkq0/view?usp=sharing

I hope Mr. Eckberg's discussion of his analytical uses for Photoshop, and my examples showing some educational or illustrative uses, might inspire others to explore ways to harness this powerful software for numismatic uses.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 9, 2022 : On Photoshop As an Analytical Tool (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/club_nbs_esylum_v25n41.html)

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