Editing coin images: Guides and Tutorials

[Andromeda]

Hello Scholars,

I was wondering if numismatists here can help with some sort of tutorial on how to edit coin images in Paint, Paint 3D, and Adobe Photoshop or any other editing app. It is a bit confusing to crop backgrounds and organize photo plates in Paint. Is there any guide on how to assemble the obverse and reverse of a particular to make a plate that can be useful for publishing as well. Comments and suggestions are welcome!

Thanks in advance and hope everyone is keeping safe.

[Pabitra]

I routinely use paint to remove the background of coin image and combine obverse and reverse images in single image for my book.

For combining, open each image in a separate instance of paint, select the concerned region in one image, copy it, then go to other instance and paste it, position it appropriately and fix it.

For background cleaning, on a circular coin, draw a circle in white colour around the coin using the widget with thickest brush and circle widget. Then use rubber to clean up the background using white colour.

[Andromeda]

Thank you for the information. I found the option of 'Magic Select' in Paint 3D to be really useful to crop the background effectively and paste it in Paint.

[CannedMeat]

Numista has a page with information about editing images. Much of the page is specific to Numista, but the middle section about editing coin images in Gimp may be useful.

Pictures and images on Numista – Numista

[<k>]

Don't forget to search YouTube. There are many tutorials by enthusiasts on all sorts of apps, and at various skill levels.

[malj1]

I use Microsoft Office Publisher to remove the background. A very simple matter once it has been used a few times.

1. Open Publisher and click the "Blank" button -- the first button on the "Available Templates" screen. A blank page opens in the Publisher workspace.

2. Click the "Insert" tab at the top of the screen. Click the "Shapes" button on the toolbar below it and select a circle shape. Click and drag the shape of a circle on the Publisher workspace.

3. Right-click the circle and select "Format AutoShape." The "Colors and Lines" tab is already defaulted; click the "Fill Effects" button on the tab. Click the "Picture" tab, and click the "Select Picture" button.

4. Browse to the square photo, click once on it and click the "Insert" button. Click "OK" on the "Fill Effects" window, click "OK" on the "Format AutoShape" window and your square picture turns into a circle on the Publisher screen.