What kind of database programs do you guys use?

Stork

Especially you Mac guys. I just got a completely unnecessary MacBook (yay!!) and would like to start a real database for my coins (and books and dvds and home inventory and all the other projects I've never done). I'd love to hear what kind of things you guys are up to...everything from the most simple (like my current Word document I just keep plugging into) to the most complex. Any Mac specific software recommendations would be appreciated, but I am far from a well-versed computer type. My talents lie elsewhere .

Cathy

StubbyMcNumbthumbs

Sorry I don't have a Mac, but I've always used MS Excel for all my collections/accumulations item tracking.

Works great, simple and extremely versatile.

Rickc300

No Mac for me either... And I too use MicroSoft Excel for my little hoard.

Rick

skingspan

I write software for a living and I have never found it necessary to track my coins in any kind of a database. I just use Excel. If I were to create a database I would probably just use Access. I think there are a some Mac coin collecting inventory databases out there that you can download. Just google it.

zeebob

I use a Moleskin brand notebook. I keep my receipts and results of sales in sheet-holders in a 3-ring binder. Easier for my wife if I die suddenly. She'll never find an Excel sheet or a database.

I do, occasionally put together an Excel spreadsheet just to have an electronic list, but it usually out of date sooner than latter.

spoon

Don't trouble yourself making a DB for books, just use LibraryThing. Free to list up to 200 books, a modest donation to keep going.

It may take a little playing with to figure everything out, but it is a pretty powerful, full featured system. You can export your data from there at any time. Entering books is super-easy.. you can even buy a barcode scanner for $15 if most of your books are new enough to have barcodes. There are meetups, swaps, discussions, all sorts of things organized through there (maybe even in Japan ). Another interesting feature is the "I See Dead People's Books" collection.. they've cataloged famous people's libraries. It's a bit more interesting considering another feature shows how many books you have in common with another user, so you can compare your collection to, say, George Washington, or Tupac! This is a site built by geeks, for geeks. There are some other sites that try to do the same service, but they're either owned by Amazon or otherwise meant only as a marketing vehicle and fall far short in comparison.

Here's my incomplete listings (I need to pony up the $19!)

BigAlan

I use MS Access for books, coins, phone number, tools etc. Kinda $$$ and learning curve can be high.

mnemtsas2

I write software for a living too and have contemplated writing a database for my collection several times but like most I just use Excel. I just don't see any great benefits that time spent writing a database will give me that Excel doesn't do for me already.

Aethelred

I use Microsoft Word 68

marcmoish

Google Docs, Excell style worksheets work great (like MS Excell) and you can log on anywhere and anytime

JCMhouston

I use Open Office freeware spreadsheet that reads and writes MS Excel files. See openoffice.org .

wybrit

Excel, with macros as needed.

Zohar

Unrelated but for image editing - www.photoscape.com - freeware.

StubbyMcNumbthumbs

<< <i>Unrelated but for image editing - www.photoscape.com - freeware. >>






I include a hyperlink to a pic in my excel doc for each coin. Photoscape is great for cropping and combining, etc. and it's FREE!

Walter

Well I wrote my own, runs on-line with an MS SQL backend, so it'll run on any system (still doesn't work properly with Internet Explorer or Safari). I wouldn't call myself a Mac guy, but I couldn't say no to a Macbook Pro, such a beautiful notebook.

My software is slow, unresponsive at times (still working on it), but it does exactly what I need (which no other product does).



Table view, I click on something and choose edit and I get:



Which will soon have an image uploader (at the moment I upload them manually by FTP and have to manually add the entries links into the database), takes about half an hour for a dozen images. :S

If I choose Sell I get:



The first bit will list coins on my website, and the bottom bit links with my accounting software to issue/manage invoices, calculate taxes, etc.

If I choose Web View I get:


Which gives me templates for my eBay listings.

If I want to add coins:

covers

In the vein of a "does everything I want" database (but NOT a real database as I don't care about adding numbers, etc) - I simply use an HTM page on my website. A screen shot follows. I can add links to images of my mounted page with more detail information, links to info on the Roman emperors for coins in that era, links to enlarged images, etc. I use a single column for ease of use when viewing from blackberry as a single column. I also have a hidden link to a URL with cost and provenance information. In addition to use as a faux database, it makes it easy to share. Site is here

FilthyBroke

I wish I had the patience to store my info like covers or walter does. Upon purchase of a coin, I'll cut and copy the seller's info to a text document for later reference, plus I keep my receipts (in a big box that now looks more like a trash can). When I get around to it I use my photos and write the text under them, but I'm woefully far behind on that.

I doubt this helps answer the OP's question though, sorry.

Stork

Thanks for posting everyone. I had evolved from the pen/paper method as fabulously demonstrated above, to a Word document version but somehow felt there could be 'more' out there. Walter, that is very impressive! You even have the ability to upload a coin by PCGS/NGC number?! The research view looks interesting too--do you use that alot?

It's fun to see the variety...and to get ideas as I graduated from the Aethelred method to the Word document version...and hopefully on to something a little better .


Cathy

Walter

Walter, that is very impressive! You even have the ability to upload a coin by PCGS/NGC number?! The research view looks interesting too--do you use that alot?

Yeah, the bulk adding makes entering PCGS orders very quick, just enter the first and the last numbers and presto, 106 new coins in my database. The research button only works for Australian coins and just links to the relevant page on http://www.bluesheet.com.au/ - allows me to check past sales, population data, etc - all the valuations are done from there automatically too which keeps all the values up to date without me doing anything and in theory allows me to keep a running total, graphing, etc of my collection's value but I haven't added features to total and graph the values yet.

Though valuations and the research link depend on it correctly identifying the coin, for Australian pre-decimal it's fine, just gets confused with commemorative issues that have a normal issue of the same date (basically checks for country/date/denomination/grade prefix match), e.g.:

and I just have to choose it manually, but for Victorian sovereigns, with all the different varieties, I have to manually select the type for almost every coin.

lordmarcovan

<< <i>I use Microsoft Word 68 >>



Good one, O Dead King. I too find Word 68 hard to beat sometimes. No real problems with it, unless the pencil goes dull!

I used Excel in the past. Now I just use CU forum threads with thumbnails for my collection lists, at least for the Victorian type set and the love token set. Eventually I plan to follow suit with the holey coin collection and my metal detector finds album, but there are still hundreds of coins that lack photographs. The advantage to doing it here on the forums is that the collections get seen by others (at least when I bump them ttt with newps), and they serve as both gallery and wantlist. I use Photobucket for the images, thumbnails, and slideshows. I reckon these threads are all I need. I can link to them from anywhere in cyberspace if I want to show somebody a coin or tell them what I am looking for. I'd do a website but lack a lot of the necessary HTML/tech knowledge. So my lists are right here, at least for now.

It's a lot of work keeping up with one's collection(s), ain't it?

Aah, but 'tis a labor of love.