Instructions on how to round-crop coin images

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dans40
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Joined: Sun May 30, 2021 5:52 pm

Instructions on how to round-crop coin images

Post by dans40 » Thu Dec 29, 2022 1:23 am

For years I have struggled with trying to figure out how to crop round images, namely all of the coins I have scanned throughout the years. I've recently figured out how to do this without too much effort and the results are fantastic!

This is assuming that you must have some way of scanning your coins and are satisfied with your results, but are unable to figure out how to crop them so they are cropped round images instead of cropped square images.

The answer is GIMP (https://www.gimp.org/). GIMP is an open source image management tool, with functions much like some of the commercial image management applications you can purchase. If you do not know how to use GIMP, then I suggest that you download it just to see what it can do. If you want to get right into it, follow the steps below to round-crop your coins.

I'm going to try to describe it the way I do it, which I think is the shortest way but if you find a better way or a way that suits you, please go ahead and give it a try and post your results here.

NOTE: Before you begin, you must convert your image to a .PNG file or any file format that allows transparent backgrounds. Since JPG files cannot have transparent backgrounds, GIMP can help you to do this if you use "File/Export As" and save it as .PNG.

Steps:

1. Load GIMP
2. Click and drag your uncropped coin image into the work area or click File/Open and open your image
3. In the top left corner click the "Ellipse Select Tool" icon.
4. On your coin image, click and drag your mouse from the top left corner of your image, to the bottom right of your image. In the centre of the ellipse tool, you will see a round outline with a small box on each corner. Just keep dragging until you envelop your coin within the rounded area, and let go of your mouse. To select the entire face of the coin, you can drag each corner closer to the edge of the coin as close to or as far away as you like. I like to crop mine right to the outer edge of my coins.
5. Once you have your coin selected to the area you want to crop, you will see a pulsating outline of your coin. Press CTRL-C to copy the selected area into the buffer
6. On any area outside the selected area, click the empty space once to de-select your selection
7. Right-click on an empty space outside of the selected area and select "Layer/New Layer" and click OK on the pop-up tool menu to accept the default settings. You now have a new blank layer.
8. On the empty layer, press CTRL-V to paste your selected area. This creates what's called "Floating Selection (Pasted Layer)". To continue, click anywhere outside the cropped area. Doing so removes the Floating Selection. You now have two images, one on top of each other. The first one is your uncropped original layer now in the background and the other one is your new layer with the cropped image in the foreground. Now we need to delete the background image.
9. On the tool menu on the right hand side of the screen, right-click the original layer and select "Delete Layer".
10. Now you want to crop the image to the content borders. Click the "Image" menu and select "Crop to Content".
11. Since you already converted your image to a .PNG file, you can save it now by clicking "File/Overwrite ... " to over-write your original image, or you can click "File/Export" and save it as a new filename if you want to keep your original.

That's it!
1967 Canada 1 Dollar - o.png
1967 Canada 1 Dollar - o.png (505.11 KiB) Viewed 12903 times
1967 Canada 1 Dollar - r.png
1967 Canada 1 Dollar - r.png (479.22 KiB) Viewed 12903 times

If you have any questions, let me know.

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