I need Help BIG TIME

seemyauction

I've started an online auction site for coins & currency....while building the Categories I came to the realization I know nothing about coins that were not made in the USA.....


If you would please suguest a layout or Must have Categories.....



Thank you
Alan

coinpictures

Well, given the large number of regions and countries out there, as much as I hate to say it, I would look through eBay's world category arrangement and use that as a jumping off point. I'm sure folks here will gladly chime in on what aspects of eBay's world coin categories they like and don't like.

Suggestion: You *REALLY* want to register a domain name rather than using a numeric IP. Whenever I see a numeric IP address on a web site, that screams "fly by night" or "scammer"....

Dawg144

I agree, eBay's categories are pretty good.
One problem, however, is that I'd separate Italy/San Marino from the Vatican. Those don't belong together whatsoever.
I'm also not a big fan of the "gold" category. That really throws me off whenever I'm searching for any gold pieces.

lordmarcovan

Ebay has a pretty good system, but if you want a simpler way to go, just do alphabetical A-Z categories by country name. You don't even need to break it down by individual country that way- just have a category for "A" countries, "B" countries, "C" countries, etc.

This is how I do my antique mall inventory. My coins are catalogued by country name, as the name appears in the Krause catalogs, which makes looking everything up easier for me.

And since there are no country names that begin with "X", X can be for Exonumia. Or unknown-country "mystery" coins. That could be a fun category. You could make "X" the "Exonumia and Miscellaneous" category, maybe.

In addition to alphabetical country categories you could have an additional one for ancient and medieval coins, perhaps. You probably should, since somebody searching for Roman coins doesn't want to have to dig through a ton of modern coins from Russia and Rwanda and so on.

Using the simplified alphabetical system will require a little bit more thinking from your searchers. The only downside to this simpler system is that somebody searching for British coins, for example, might have to look under "E" for England or "B" for Britain or "G" for Great Britain, if the folks listing auctions use different titles. Ditto for "Russia" versus "USSR". You get the idea. But it is simple enough, and somebody who is looking for something in particular should be able to navigate the alphabetical listings just fine.

As you grow, and the categories get really full, then you can consider giving certain common countries their own subcategories later. Start simple, and grow into a more complex system if needed.

You could have a separate category for proof and mint sets if you like, but those could just as easily go under the alphabetical headings by country.

You'll definitely need a category for mixed lots of world coins from assorted countries.