Cataloguing System

I do not assign a serial number to my coins. I suppose I have never seen a need to.

Here is how I do my spreadsheet...

• Each album has its own worksheet inside a single workbook (file) and I use the album name for the worksheet name (tab at the bottom).
• For each worksheet, the coins are listed in album order, start to finish, holes included.
• I have columns for date/mint/variety, approximate value, date acquired, acquisition price, approximate grade, and then a notes field for anything of importance (usually anecdotal or sentimental value).
• Any "holes" just list the date/mint/variety, while the other columns are left blank.
• For the coins that I have in the album I set the date/mint cell to bold.
• For the coins I am missing I set the date/mint cell to italics.

What? Are they lying around the floor?
How do ya store these? If loose
Just go to Staples or the like and get yourself three ring binders. Then get the plastic holders for the 2X2 (12 or 20 per page). Make the Excel spreadsheet like previously described. If you use the same format for the data, it will be easy to move around.
Hope this helps some.

I have thought about cataloging my collection. I was thinking of using something like this-
1-1909S-1 which would represent the denomination-date with mint mark-coin number which would increase as another of the same date was added. Then in my spread sheet I would have the number with the following columns- amount paid, date aquired, grade, value, then where is was located.

AB2008CD

A: denomination (I use A-T for Half Cents through double eagles
B: major type (ex: flowing hair cent, draped bust, liberty head, flying eagle, etc)
2008: I'm sure anyone here can figure this one out
C: mint mark (A-J used for philadelphia through westpoint)
D: minor variety

the ID# keep my database sorted and also are used for image names, BH1909HA.jpg is an image of my 1909S V.D.B.

A long, long time ago one of my bosses at a place I worked said you sure make things complicated. Why not use the KISS principle. I asked what that was and he said Keep It Simple Stupid.
So here is my simple suggestion. If you want to come up with a system, just write a number on each 2x2. 1-1= the first cent 1, 1-4 = the fourth cent. 5-3 = a nickel and the 3rd one. 5-4 = the 4th nickel. 25-7 = the 7th quarter. etc., etc., etc.
Albums are A1-1 = Album #1 for cents, etc.
There is a simple numbering system for you cataloging.
Now in a spread sheet such as Excel you just explain what is a 50-6, etc.
Eventually you make a spread sheet for all other spread sheets.
I used to do this all the time and then I said to myself, SELF, what are you doing? Why are you wasting all this time when you could be out buying more coins? So I stopped cataloging coins. I don't care what I've got anymore, I just want more of the same.

That seems awfully counter-intuitive... you don't find yourself entering the actual mint mark by mistake? And what about mint overstrikes- O/S, for example?

I'm currently working on putting together an MS Access database for my collection... Access allows for an Autonumber field which is incremented by one for each new record, so the actual serial # is minimal in length. Denomination, type, mintmark, modifier (SMDate, LDate, DDie, etc.), etc., will all be in their own fields in the table, so that they can be recognizable without any need for deciphering.

A second table will be linked by denomination, type, and mintmark, and include mintage figures and a value/grade matrix.




Just a thought... I use a lot of spreadsheets at work, and the thing about color-coding stuff, or identifying things by font, is that you can't sort by it to tell at a glance what you have or don't have. You might find it useful in the future to just create another column, "Have", for example, and enter Yes if you have it, leave it blank if you don't.

Also, a quick tip for anyone using MS Excel to create lists-
If you want Excel to do a whole bunch of numbers in order- say, 1909-2008, enter the first few values. Cell A1= 1909. Cell A2 = 1910. Cell A3 = 1911.
Now use the mouse to select these three cells. At the lower-right corner of that selection, you'll now see a small black rectangle. Click on that black rectangle, hold the mouse button, and drag the cursor down. Excel will fill in the next values for as long as you hold down the cursor.
If you do the same thing with something that Excel doesn't recognize as a pattern (say, P, D, S) it will repeat those values for as long as you drag the cursor.


Cheers,

I just sort by one of the columns that are left blank when I do not have the coin (Any "holes" just list the date/mint/variety, while the other columns are left blank). The use of "bold v. italics" is an artifact of the the origin of my list, before spreadsheets had colour; I wanted to make the ones I had "pop" out a little more in the days green or amber monitors.