Mastodawn

🪙 Roman Empire Solidus — Theodosius I, 378–383 AD

Obverse: Draped and cuirassed bust of Theodosius I facing right, wearing a diadem. Legend: D N THEODO-SIVS P F AVG.

Reverse: Constantinopolis seated facing on a throne, head right wearing a mural crown, holding a globe in her left hand and a sceptre in her right, right foot resting on a ship's prow. Legend: CONCOR-DIA AVGGG // CONOB.

📏 21 mm · ⚖️ 4,38 g · 🥇 Gold

📖 RIC IX 43b

🏛️ Department for Ancient History, University of Freiburg (Inv. 10051)

🔗 https://ikmk.uni-freiburg.de/object?id=ID12829

Shot using a Sony A 7R V, 100 mm, at f/8.0, ISO 100, 1/250 s.

25 photos were focus-stacked for each picture.

Disclosure of generative AI use: removal of single fibres from the rim of the coin.

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Twenty five focus stacked exposures? On a subject so thin that I could slip it in a mailing envelope? Wild. 🤯

Lazy Dragon Mar 3

Yes, and that is already with an aperture of f/8. The depth of field is still rather thin with a macro lens at such a close distance. But I did not want to move up to f/11 to avoid diffraction. Also, it would have drained my flash batteries much faster.

I might have gotten away with a slightly longer step length, but I did not want to risk gaps in sharpness.

With the silver denarius, I actually had to cull two stacks because I was too skimpy and undershot, so the final pictures were not sharp throughout.