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 Replies: 25 / Views: 14,221 |
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Valued Member
United States
183 Posts |
What methods do people use to keep track of their collections? I am considering building some sort of inventory and not sure what would be the "best" approach.
I am typically competent with Excel spreadsheets and considering building one to track:
denomination, year, mint, ~grade, quantity, some sort of inventory #, metal content, purchase price/date, sale price/date, maybe photos.
Is there a recommended software that does this already in a very handy way? If so, is it transferable to something like Excel that can be shared with others who do not have the software?
Thanks!
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
I regularly have to create formulas in Excel and make spreadsheets in my day to day job, so I have made up my own tables, with calculations for types, quantities, values, etc. Takes a little time on the initial setup, but I think this is the best way to go since each collector's spreadsheet will be unique to their own personality, much like a PC desktop.
I cannot comment on what programs would be "Easier" to catalog your collection.
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Valued Member
 United States
183 Posts |
Ya my regular day to day job involves building spreadsheets so I know I can do it, but it is more a question of are there better alternatives. I agree that customization to exactly what I want would be handy. Something that does not come to mind easily is a way to manage photos if I want to manage those with my inventory. I could probably set up code referencing file names associated with an inventory number that would open them on click, however initial set up would definitely take some time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
Excel! Free (for me), highly customizable, and pretty easy.
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Valued Member
United States
314 Posts |
Try doing this in the comment section of a cell
1. Right-click the cell which contains the comment.
2. Choose Show/Hide Comments, and clear any text from the comment.
3. Click on the border of the comment, to select it.
4. Choose Format|Comment
5. On the Colors and Lines tab, click the drop-down arrow for Color.
6. Click Fill Effects
7. On the picture tab, click Select Picture
8. Locate and select the picture
9. To keep the picture in proportion, add a check mark to Lock Picture Aspect Ratio
10. Click Insert, click OK, click OK
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2669 Posts |
Pictures make an Excel spreadsheet huge, very quickly. But there's also office.org (free) for an equal to Excel if you don't get that one free. I use Exact Change, and it can export to CSV files (usable in Excel/Office.org) with a report generator than can output everything you want. It has US and World coins, with the ability to add newer issues if you want to (although it's regularly updated). Support is good - I've had a couple of questions (specifically about import/export features) and was answered by a real human, with real answers, who obviously knew the ins and outs of the software. Some other threads with ideas: https://goccf.com/t/72327https://goccf.com/t/50175https://goccf.com/t/69422 |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
I use an excel spreadsheet. I have a tab for each denomination. Each tab reflects the type of coin in year sequence with the mint mark, grade, and any specifics i.e, errors, silver, or slabbed. I also have two columns for pricing, Red Book and blue book values. I buy at a lot of local auctions so I just recently added purchase price column. This works great for me. I photo each coin/set as I buy it and update the spreadsheet. Once a year, I email the spreadsheet to my insurance company and download all pictures to a DVD. Great record system just in case anything every happens to my collection. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1745 Posts |
MS Access database for me. I haven't added picture, yet.
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Valued Member
United States
364 Posts |
Excel all the way...I can track total bullion value of all my silvers and it is instantly recalculated....I don't bother inventoring (is that a word?) the clad.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
20753 Posts |
Many years ago I started using Excel for a spread sheet on my ocins. Originally I had columns for the date, mint, grade, cost, present value, where purchased, when purchased and way to many other columns. It took me way to much time for all that to enter and I slowly realized it was all mostly a waste of time. Why do I need all that info. I never sell coins so what difference does a lot of that make? So I slowly deleted a column here and another one there until I ended up with just the date, mint, grade. One page for each Album. One for rolls. One for coins in 2x2's. Now this works for me fantastically. I also print out each page and put it in a 3 ringed binder for easy access.
Still a lot of work due to having over 100 Albums and considering adding more.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
902 Posts |
I use Coinmanage 2011. Exellent for American & Canadian coins
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Pillar of the Community
United States
539 Posts |
I use excel to keep a really simple list. I like some of the 'packages' but I just don't have that kind of collection that warrants those. I do like the 'adding a picture' method above. I do fear (as xshift notes), that it will really make the file big. I may need to split. But I also now need to scan or take a picture of every coin - that will keep me busy for quite some time...LOL
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
19942 Posts |
Excel
Lincoln Cent Lover!VERDI-CARE™ INVENTOR https://verdi.care/
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Valued Member
Canada
311 Posts |
Try Liberty Street. I believe you can download free for a trial. I love it. You can print want lists instantly.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1213 Posts |
Too bad that Liberty Street is only available for Windows - it looks pretty decent.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2605 Posts |
You don't have to inflate the Excel file with images, instead you can link each entry to an image which could be kept in a separate folder.
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Replies: 25 / Views: 14,221 |
Posted 01/16/2011 12:50 pm
