Coin Database Inventory Software?

nicholasz219

Not that I plan on selling. But considering how tired and lazy I can be now, pushing 40, I can not imagine how lazy I will be 20 years from now. And forgetful. Over the last two years with my inspiration from here, I have not only been more and more active in collecting, I have been doing a much better job of recording information about coins on the coins as I get them, taking pictures and adding them to photobucket and keeping them all in one place. (There have been several times over the last two years when I have been digging through a box or safe and have come across a box full of coins I did not remember I had.)

The reason for all of this is because I know human nature and for as much as I love coins and my future wife and daughter tolerate me and my hobby, I am not certain that when I croak that they will be all that interested in sorting through a huge mess of stuff with no rhyme or reason. And also knowing that there are not always the most ethical people around to buy that said mess of coins, I would like to have some sort of easily digestible record of what I have thoroughly identified and tagged to a picture/id number as well as a purchase price. I know collectors are usually lucky to get about 40% of retail for general stuff. I would hope that my collection will be a little better than that, honestly. But I also realize that if they at least have an idea of what the stuff is, who to go to and what I paid to get it, they can at least avoid being totally screwed in the process.

So with that in mind, I would like to be able to have pictures linked to entries, a standard format that allows for stuff like legends, varieties and plenty of references and is computer based. Does anyone here use anything available to purchase? My fiance and I would eventually be able to create an access program to do this stuff, but again I am lazy and would rather just fill in fields than have to create anything from scratch.

I think I may have asked this question a year ago, so bear with me. I have momentum now and am trying to not lose the little forward motion I have. Thanks!

YQQ

Hello,
I too would love to purchase some SW to achieve exactly what you described.
Hopefully someone has a proven product available which can be changed to collectors individual needs, not just a preset format like : here is the section for are all large cents., now match them to the pictures etc....andget them and fill in details.
lets hope...
h

worldcoinguy

I keep meaning to put an envelope in the sdb with 'coin collection details' written on the front. It would have some information to help my wife/kids in case I get hit by a bus. I would have a little note about names and contacts to help advise them, and a list of favorite coins to help them identify the better stuff. Prices really would not mean anything down the road but they might help indicate relative degrees of rarity and value if a 3rd party had to get involved.

yosclimber

I've been helping make an inventory of a collection, and what I settled on is to just use Excel.
It's flexible, so you can add any columns you want to describe the coin.
My columns are: box location, photo number, region, metal (AE/AR/AV), denomination, year1, year2 (date range), emperor, obverse legend / description, reverse legend / description, mint/exergue, reference (e.g. RIC 256), amount paid, comments.
You could add/subtract anything you think is relevant, like purchase date, grade, etc.
"box location" is a code which describes one of many small boxes the coins are stored in. There is a list of these on a second sheet with a photo number for each box.
"photo number" is from the photo filename for the obverse. So for IMG_2345.JPG, it is 2345.

Excel is nice, because you can easily sort the file by different columns, depending on what you want to look at.
You can also keep a running total of how much you paid.
You can export it to a CSV file and import that into a database, if you decide you want to do that later.

If you want a full database with displayed photos, I checked sourceforge.net, and this one looks quite good:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/open-numismat/?source=directory
It's free, runs on PC, Mac, Android, etc. It's under active development, so if there are problems, they are likely to get fixed.
There is lots of great free software on sourceforge.

Personally, I would rather use Excel, because it's fast and I can see all the data for the coin that I typed in.
I don't need a direct link to the photo - I can find the photo pretty fast using the photo number.

Selling:
Best is to have a plan to sell the stuff yourself when you are still able.
Also good to have written instructions, or at least a list of people to contact who would help, in case plan A above does not work.

nicholasz219

Yos, that is kind of what my fiance and I were thinking in terms of both excel and in just having reference points for her or whomever to dispose of the collection if I have not already done so. It is still kind of an enormous task since I have not started except for some pictures taken.

Do you have photos backed up to a disc or flash drive or something? I am certain that if I did not have that backup, as soon as I entered the last coin (which there will never be a last coin, lol) the computer will instantly seize up, light itself on fire and I will weep.

yosclimber

Yes, I use an external hard drive to maintain a backup of key folders on my hard drive.
It's just a simple USB hard drive.
I use FreeFileSync (also from sourceforge) to keep the backup current (it just copies/deletes files on the external hard drive to make it look the same as my hard drive).
This is the drive I have ($75), but there are many other brands
http://www.amazon.com/BUFFALO-MiniStation-Stealth-Portable-Drive/dp/B0046RE21G

YQQ

Thanks guys, so far and good advise.
My computer geek advises that external HD's should not be trusted completely. they are built to expire....
he suggested to use a external drive and to also use Cloud back up. according to him it is partly free or very low cost. and safer for the long term.

nicholasz219

Okay then, well it looks like having a portable flash drive and cloud backup is the way to preserve for the long term.

Now to work on that spreadsheet. *sigh*

yosclimber

<< <i>Thanks guys, so far and good advise.
My computer geek advises that external HD's should not be trusted completely. they are built to expire....
he suggested to use a external drive and to also use Cloud back up. according to him it is partly free or very low cost. and safer for the long term. >>


If the external HD dies, no problem, it is just a backup. You still have the primary on your PC hard drive.
And if the PC hard drive dies, you still have the external HD.
No need for a third backup, unless you think the PC HD and external HD will die simultaneously.

Maybe what you meant is that the files should not be ONLY on the external HD. Then it is not a backup, it is a primary.

Kdennison

I'm sorry to revive an old post; If I am breaking rules please let me know. I have been toying with MS Access and Excel and they're okay, but I kind of like something that has a GUI (graphical user interface) and links to prices, etc. Maybe I am taking the easy way out, who knows!

Do any of you here actually use commercially available software of freeware? I have looked at the Liberty Street products, Trove, and some others. But, if I know anyone that would be actually using it he/she would be on here. So, anyone using any software have a recommendation for me?

Thanks!

celavie

How about Coin Elite? Easy to use software, have to make your own listings for most world coins, but it is easy to use, you can add the prices you paid, value, pictures, where you bought them, TPG's, it totals values, etc.
I have found it most useful for organizing a large collection. Price guides for U.S. coins . . . not expensive but very functional.
RKL

Abuelo

Well, I have access to all these information and pictures at the NGC website and it is downloadable to Excel. Quote easy to use.

Abuelo

I keep back up Excel from the website just in case. ..

wybrit

I moved from Excel to Google Sheets, and have pictures of the most important pieces posted on the web. I can look up any coin I own on any device when I am at a show so that I know if the piece the dealer has is better than what I already have.

RMW

I use Word as a basis for a personal catalogue of my British pieces. I can upload pics to it.

YQQ

Just curious, what SW do dealers use?

neildrobertson

@wybrit said:
I moved from Excel to Google Sheets, and have pictures of the most important pieces posted on the web. I can look up any coin I own on any device when I am at a show so that I know if the piece the dealer has is better than what I already have.

I did the same. Excel is a little faster, but I appreciate being able to pull up my master list from anywhere on almost any device.

I just looked at my sheets and the number of catalogued coins in my collection is up to 2781, with minimal duplicates. I don't know how I could manage that number of coins without an organized catalog. There are still areas where I sold coins and forgot to remove them or forgot to add coins. I'm going to have to reconcile my inventory one of these days and am not looking forward to it.