Patent Application
20090295912
The present invention relates generally to coin collecting and valuation of coins, and more particularly, to an apparatus to produce optical images of coin edges both to aid in valuation, help uniquely identify a coin, and aid detection of the counterfeiting of the coins.
The interest in the collection and conservation of coins and related objects has been historically considered a personal interest activity, with little formal standards or controls concerning the trading of coins. The recent rise in the value of coins compared to earlier levels has promoted trading of coins to a higher degree of professional structure, most significantly by the advent of commercial third party coin grading services who have developed systems to apply a widely accepted quality grade (based on a numerical scale from 1 to 70 with 70 being the highest quality). After examining and determining the grade of a coin, the commercial services place the coin in a clear plastic holder in which a grade label with a reference barcode is affixed. The clear plastic holder is then ultrasonically welded around the coin, thus permanently linking the grade to the coin within the case. A barcode is linked to the database which can be searched to confirm that the referenced coin was graded by the commercial service, along with some additional transaction details such as the date, place, person grading the coin, etc.
The grading service charges a fee for the provided services and gives a warranty of grading accuracy as part of the transaction value. The result of this commercial service is to allow the plastic encapsulated coins to be more readily traded as their trade value is directly linked to the professional quality grade on the plastic holder.
However, the current commercial grading services lack repeatability and consistency, as they are based on human opinion. Further, contemporary services are unable to prevent “grader-shopping” in which a coin owner may specifically hunt for the highest value for a given coin since there is currently not a common database or rigorous objective means for identifying a specific coin.
Perhaps more importantly, there is currently no simple and robust means to detect coin counterfeiting. Therefore, what is needed is a way to uniquely and quickly identify a particular coin that can defeat counterfeiting and confirm a coin identity.
In various exemplary embodiments, an apparatus to record images from a coin is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a stage configured to position and rotate the coin. The stage is further configured to produce an angular positional signal output to indicate a rotational position of the coin. A first and second reflecting device are configured to concurrently image near-edge portions of both obverse and reverse sides of the coin. A recording apparatus is directed simultaneously toward an edge of the coin and the first and second reflecting devices.
The appended drawings merely illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present invention and must not be considered as limiting its scope.
In various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein, the value of the coin authentication and grading process is extended to include an ability to uniquely identify a specific coin by the detection and extraction of discernible coin specific features. The coin specific features are noted by concurrently recording a 360° panoramic view of both near-edge obverse and reverse features as well as the edge of the coin.
The creation of such a system solves many problems in the existing coin grading and certification business and adds value to the coin for the benefit of the coin owner. One benefit includes an ability of a party to determine if the coin has been previously seen and to review the last grade and certification reports. This can assist in minimizing grading variations in cases in which previously graded coins are broken out of the plastic holders and resubmitted for grading a second time, which is done in hopes of arbitrarily receiving a higher grade on the resubmission. It is known that this process happens today, but there is currently no means to prove a given coin is really the same one previously submitted. Having a reliable and fast means to determine if a given coin has been previously graded significantly reduces the chance of a variation in the resubmitted grading process as the reappraisal team will put in additional effort to assure an accurate result, potentially reducing warranty costs and warranty reserve requirements.
Further, a unique coin identification can reduce insurance costs by providing more absolute proof of ownership in the case of theft or loss. A permanent record of the coin ownership history can be created adding a pedigree value to the coin.
Moreover, coin owners not wanting their coins to be encapsulated in a plastic holder can have the means of having a professional grade applied to an unencapsulated coin, with a separate certificate of grade being provided, the coin and the certificate being linked by the coin ID file to assure the right coin stays associated with the grade certificate.
Due to the coin stamping process, each coin is unique, even when the coin stamping process occurs at the same mint and on the same coin-type. A single coin-type requires three stamping dies, one die each for the obverse and reverse faces of the coin and one for the edge of the coin. However, each coin has a unique stamping signature due to even slight misalignment issues between the three dies and imposed “jitter” (i.e., an unintentional variation in the stamping process caused by factors such as slight vibrational effects) while the stamping process is performed.
What is disclosed therefore is an apparatus and method for finding and recording unique permanent features of a coin that may be converted into an electronic identification file, thus allowing subsequent searchers to find and verify a specific coin. Also, the electronic identification file prevents counterfeiting of coins since each stamping signature is unique. The system comprises several components functioning together to provide an ability to analyze, capture, record, store, and retrieve a variety of physical coin characteristics that, taken together, can uniquely identify a given coin against a population of thousands to a million or more nearly identical versions of the same coin. A partial list of physical characteristics includes:
With reference now to
A first 107A and a second 107B prism are mounted to the top plate 105 and the support plate 101 respectively. The first prism 107A directs an image of the near-edge obverse surface of a coin 109 towards an imaging lens 117. The second prism 107B directs an image of the near-edge reverse surface of the coin 109 towards the imaging lens 117.
The coin 109 is placed or otherwise mounted on the stage between the support plate 101 and the top plate 105. The stage, in turn, is mounted atop a rotating pedestal 111 to form a kind of turntable. Means for centering the coin 109 upon the pedestal 111 are described in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 12/426,861 and 12/426,870, both filed Apr. 20, 2009 by the present inventor, the subject matter of which is herein incorporated by reference. An optional reference disk 113 may be employed to provide a rough indication of angular rotation of the coin 109 to a user. The coin 109 itself is indexed in the image that will be recorded by some selected design feature on the edge or near-edge obverse or reverse surface of that coin type, such as a designated numeral of a mint date stamped into the coin 109. The pedestal 111 is controlled by and coupled to a rotary encoder system 115.
The rotary encoder system 115 may be a servo or a stepper motor with, for example, an optical encoder, to provide an electronic output of a precise angular position of the coin 109. Motors and related systems for providing angular output information are known in the art.
The imaging lens 117 directs the image to a recording device 119. The imaging lens 117 may, if desired, have autofocus features. The recording device may be any type of sensor known in the art to record images such as a CCD array or CMOS sensor. The sensor may have pixels with different wavelength sensitivities, as in a tricolor sensor and could also be sensitive at one or more specified infrared (IR) and/or ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. A combination of the imaging lens 117 and the recording device 119 is representative of an imaging system 121 such as a digital still or video camera (neither of which is shown explicitly). Instead of a single unified imaging lens 117 and recording device 119, the imaging system 121 could alternatively have three separate imaging lenses for the three coin surfaces being viewed, and likewise could have three separate sets of sensors for recording images of those three surfaces.
Any uniform and repeatable form of illumination (not shown) may be used, including, for example, a dome of LCD diffused lighting surrounding the stage for uniform omnidirectional illumination of both major surfaces and the edge of the coin, or a set of collimated unfocused laser emitters providing illumination of each surface at specified locations from specified incidence directions. If desired, the illumination may also be polarized in some specified polarization directive, in which case the imaging lens 117 and recording device 119 may have a polarization filter in front of them to provide a specified cross-polarization (e.g., 90°) relative to the illumination light. Illumination may be at multiple visible, IR and/or UV wavelengths, whether broad spectrum or at a set of designated lines, in which case the illumination color should be calibrated and controlled for repeatability.
Images from the imaging system 121 may be linked with the electronic output of the precise angular position of the coin 109, thus forming a composite record. The composite record can uniquely identify any coin thereby detecting possible coin counterfeiting as each coin edge is different as noted above.
The first 107A and second 107B prisms are arranged in relation to the edge of the coin 109 such that the imaging lens 117 concurrently views three images of the coin 109. A first image is viewed directly of the edge of the coin 109. The first 107A and second 107B prisms are arranged such that near-edge features on both the obverse and reverse sides of the coin 109 are imaged simultaneously with the edge view.
With reference to
As will be recognizable to a skilled artisan, the area viewable by the imaging lens 117 of the obverse and reverse portions coin 109 is determined by the size and placement of the first 107A and second 107B prisms. Larger prisms may be placed so as to image larger portions of the coin 109. Additionally, the first 107A and second 107B prisms may be placed in relationship to the coin edge such that the reflected obverse and reverse sides of the coin 109 are substantially the same distance from the imaging lens 117 as is the distance from the edge of the coin 109 to the imaging lens 117, thereby mitigating any deleterious depth-of-focus problems. In another exemplary embodiment, the first 107A and second 107B prisms are replaced by front surface mirrors (not shown).
In operation, a method using the imaging apparatus 100 can uniquely identify a specific coin by building a database of identifying signatures for each coin 109 that the apparatus 100 views. Thus, the apparatus 100 obtains a set of one or more views of optically discernable individual-coin-specific features of at least a portion of one or more coin surfaces on a coin 109. More specifically, the pair of prisms 107A and 107B, the imaging lens 117 and recording device 119 obtain images concurrently from a coin edge and both obverse and reverse near-edge surfaces of the coin 109. The stage 101-105 with its rotating pedestal 111 and rotary encoder system 115 allow the images to be obtained at a set of one or more particular angular positions with respect to the edge of the coin 109 and the recorded view to be linked to the specific angular positions at which the respective views have been obtained. The set of views obtained for a given coin may comprise a complete 360° panoramic of the coin edge and obverse and reverse near-edge surfaces of that coin. As noted above, the sensors in the recording device 119 may have multiple wavelength sensitivities, so the images may be obtained and recorded over at least some portion of the visible, IR and/or UV spectrum.
The recording device 119 may record the obtained set of views for a given coin in a retrievable database as an identifying signature for that coin. As previously noted, individually-coin-specific features that are optically discernable in the views may include (1) any nicks, scratches or dings that may be present in any one or more of the observed portions of the coin surfaces, (2) various stamping signatures of the individual coins, such as coin thickness or eccentricity, relief height and placement, and variations in the alignment and registration between the edge, obverse and reverse surfaces of the coin, and (3) optically discernable features that are representative of density and alloy variations within the individual coin, namely variations in surface reflectivity and spectral response around the observed portions of the coin surfaces, dust as in a finger print or DNA sample, the stored identifying signatures of an individual coin can be accessed from the database for comparison with any coin later presented to the imaging apparatus 100. Thus, whenever a corresponding set of views are obtained from some coin, a comparison of these newly obtained set of views with the identifying signatures recorded in the database can determine whether there is a match for a previously recorded coin signature, and the degree of confidence for that match.
Referring now to
The present invention is described above with reference to specific embodiments thereof. It will, however, be evident to a skilled artisan that various modifications and changes can be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the appended claims. For example, particular embodiments describe an imaging system in the form of a digital still or video camera. A skilled artisan will recognize that other imaging systems may be employed. For example, particular applications of the coin imaging apparatus 100 may not need to record the entire visible spectrum. In certain applications, recording infra-red (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) images may be more useful to uniquely identify a coin. Further, angle-resolved light scattering or ellipsometric means may be employed to record a scattering signature with reference to an angular position of the coin. These and various other embodiments are all within a scope of the present invention. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) from prior U.S. provisional application No. 61/052,515, filed May 12, 2008.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61052515 | May 2008 | US |
