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 Replies: 14 / Views: 5,820 |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Greetings Folks!  I've been perusing coin forums all over the internet for quite some time looking for answers to my questions, but it would seem that my situation is unique enough to warrant my own post (and a first one at that!). I wanted to come to you guys because you seem to be the most active and helpful! So, here we go: My grandfather passed away 3 months ago and left a massive coin collection (at LEAST 3000 coins!) to be divided up amongst my father and his brother's widow. I have been given the arduous task of sifting through and cataloging his collection to make sure it is equitably divided between our families. While my grandfather did a good job of storing/labeling some of his more valuable coins, the large majority of his collection is loose and has not been properly labeled.   Since I am a complete novice at numismatics, I need a software program that will help me identify, catalog, and (most importantly) appraise these coins at current market value so that no one gets slighted when everything is divided up. It is also important to me that this program allows for value updating on at least an annual basis because I think my father and I want to take up my grandfather's hobby after the collection is divided up. Thanks in advance for your help! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1391 Posts |
You and me both.  If you find a program like that tell me about it.  I have tried several different companies software product but none of them do what you are asking for. |
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New Member
 United States
5 Posts |
Couldn't agree with you more. I noticed that a lot of people use MS Excel and Access, but that wouldn't really work for my current situation. The data entry and research for current pricing would be far too labor intensive for the amount of work I have ahead of me already. A bunch of my classmates who are also novice coin enthusiasts are coming over this afternoon to help me organize the collection according to face value and year/series to hopefully make the data entry process a little less painless.
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Oh! And I forgot to mention that this collection has a lot of Canadian currency, Canadian proof sets, and American proof sets. Not to mention dozens of rolls of uncirculated State Quarters (sorry for my ignorance on the proper name for these). |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
81 Posts |
I use The Pro-Coin, It is a one time payment with free updates every year. The pros of it is I can post pics of the actual coin, build graphs, see what percentage of a collection I have completed. Cons The values they use are updated every quarter from Coin World, but not all the grades show a value. It is cheap and does the job for me. Customer Service is fast if you have any problems. Hope this helps James |
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Valued Member
Australia
216 Posts |
Hi Guys, I use ExactChange and could not be happier. Ok it only updates prices for US coins automatically but that is not really a problem. The real benefit I think is the amount of pre-populated coin data that is in the DB. Images and info etc. Makes identifying coins a lot easier. Plus the reporting to find gaps in my collection is a real help too. Cheers |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1510 Posts |
I would just divide it up 3 ways--if you have 50 morgans then divide them up ect-- if you go your way when you get the values of the more expensive coins then the conflict will begin. And it will be harder to divide (ok you get this dime BC its worth 50 bucks, but you get 10 dimes because that equals 50 dollars ok you get some pennies that equal 50 dollars....ect)
Retired USAF 1983-2003
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Valued Member
United States
359 Posts |
Hi CacophanousCoinage. Sounds like you will need a combination of the Red Book http://www.amazon.com/The-Official-...4413-7740332and a software package. The Red Book will give you great pictures for identification, leading you to the coin which you can then find in the software. I would find it easier to identify the coin in the Red Book as opposed to digging through the software program. As far as the software program, I would use CoinManage. Version 2011 is their latest, with a free update available at: http://www.libertystreetsoftwarefor...283#post6283. Granted their customer support is nearly nonexistent, but it is a very comprehensive, quick and customizable program. Updates are $20 to the new version. I have tried all of the programs you listed, but none were as comprehensive as CoinManage. Coin values are updated multiple times per year. It contains US, UK and Canadian coins. Yesterday I tried a demo of Pro-Coin, the program is sluggish.. Seems to have good customer service from what I found. Now comes the tough part.. The grading of the coins so they can be accurately valuated. Proper grading take experience, books such as http://www.amazon.com/Official-Amer...81980&sr=8-1 can be of good assistance. If your family understands the value of the coins then they most certainly will need to be valuated and divided. If they have no interest, then you may be able to get away with Coinstar's recommendation. |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Thanks for the pointers everyone. I think I'm going to go with Coin Manage. Also, after talking with my dad last night, I think it may be easier to just go with getting wholesale values on the more "spendy" coins for the purposes of the probate court. At the risk of getting ever so slightly off topic, do you have any recommendations at seeking out a reputable coin dealer I could pay to have some of these coins appraised?
Thanks again!
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Valued Member
United States
81 Posts |
The two dealers I work with in Tucson AZ are Rick Snow, Eagle Eye Rare Coins and Tony Tumonis, Glass Shoppe Coins. Hope this helps you
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
Sorry to drag this up again.
I have had EC for a couple of years, but it has started locking up on updates, etc. Gregg apparently works by himself and doesn't always get to fixing or answering things.
So, I have have looked at Pro-Coin and find it pretty reasonable in quality and price. Sluggish (!!) as others have said and I can't figure out why. Also, it should KNOW that Silver Eagles have 1 OT of silver in them so I don't have to add it for each coin. Tech support is excellent though.
Now I have found Numis Professional. Really a clean, tight interface. Good price. But, NO response through their "Contact" or "Support" forms. No direct e-mail or phone. Is anyone using this software? The Con is it is using Java and pops "Uncaught Exception" errors occasionally.
Neither one of these is very friendly for going beyond USA and Canada though.
Thoughts?
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
CacophanousCoinage you are probably well beyond this, but tips anyway. 1. The coin values in the software is --more or less-- full dealer retail, but not the true resale value for you and me. I would get a dealer buy price to use as a basis for probate. 2. Keep in mind with bullion, the long term capital gains tax on coins is HIGH!! However, the "Cost Basis" for the heir that gets it and sells it is the value on the day he died--not the original cost. I would go with SPOT on that day unless it is more rare. You can search Heritage Auction listings for values also. Those are truer. Entering a coin in their online database (exportable as Excel or PDF) will value most coins at Numismedia wholesale. You always want to stay low for probate. |
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Valued Member
United States
143 Posts |
AN UPDATE-
At least Pro-Coin tech gets back to you.
I have tried THREE times to get a response from Numis Professional. Nada, nothing, nil!! They are now on my "don't waste your money" list.
To me, support is a factor with any program, whether large or small.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
 If you sort of stick around the different forums you would hear this same subject come up a lot. Most replys are to simply use Excel. If you have Microsoft Office, it comes with that. If not try to get a copy from someone. The reasons are simple. Once you make a spread sheet for those coins, you can transfer it to almost any computer on Earth since Excel is so popular and common. Also, Excel is really easy to use, modify, add to or change. If you do use it all you have to do is simply make a page for each type of coin. Then make a column for date, mint, grade, approxiamte value. Place the value based on the Numismedia web site. IF your not particular about the sort of exact value but only approximate, use the Red Book for values. Usually excessive prices but all equally excessive so for your purposes, should be OK. Make sure you add the date on the pages so you will know when it was done since coin prices change all the time. One of the best things about Excel is since it is on almost all computers, there is no need to add strange new programs to everyone imvolved computers. Many people do not want a program added to their computer so some of the purchased ones that may or may not be OK, may not be wanted on other's computers. |
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Replies: 14 / Views: 5,820 |
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Posted 06/28/2012 1:53 pm
