I haven't had direct experience in mounting coins for exhibition since they are not a significant part of our collections. However, I do regularly examine metals objects, including some fairly erroded archaeological coins. We have almost universally found that the use of fiber optic lights to provide raking light is an essential part of conservation examination/documentation of multitudes of objects, including two-dimensional art (paintings, paper, etc.) I would suggest that you experiment with fiber optic light sources to provide raking light across the coins in your exhibit cases and this will certainly make the coins visually "legible", even without magnification. Dave David Harvey Conservator of Metals & Arms Colonial Williamsburg Foundation P.O. Box 1776 Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 USA voice: 804-220-7039 e-mail: [log in to unmask]