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Categorizing a Collection

How to Organize a Coin Collection > or maybe how not to...

The Fun is in the Hunt

There are many ways to organize and store coins. Over my years, I have had several systems of keeping my coin collection managed and cataloged. Before we had personal computers, I used coin books and handwritten lists. I knew what I was still hunting for, what was coming out, what dates were hard to find, but as the collection grew, it became harder and hard to keep all of this in my mind and was back to writing lists out on what I was actively seeking and what I could afford to get. It's always a game for any collector to pay the bills and keep collecting at the same time, never mind how tight the budget gets once you have a family. Then the decisions manage themselves, as I have no money, therefore my decisions are managed by the bills. However, there is usually a bit of discretionary money if I skip some lunches and squeak out doing some trades for certain things I'm after. Sometimes it takes months or decades to find that next thing you're looking for, so if you budget accordingly, it can work out that you have the money for once that magic object appears for sale.

 

Note: If you see a magnifying glass icon (      ) next to one of the pictures, this means that there is a larger view and you can click on the picture to see it better in a pop-up window.

 

Also if you see some double down arrows, (      )there still more to see on the page, I wanted each set to be viewable by itself.

When it comes to coin collecting, there are usually some main categories of how to address a collection. Often, the collector goes by dates and location, but with zodiac and other exonumia, this does not always work. Instead, grouping them by the designer, country of origin, or theme will often work best. With Zodiac coins, you can always go by the individual sign as well (like grouping all your Capricorns together), but I don't recommend this. What I ended up settling on was based on the usage of the sets and pieces. When I examined what I became interested in, it formed a series of sub-collections fairly quickly.

 

     1. Zodiac Coinage (True & Non-Circulating Currency)

     2. Zodiac Medals (Made for Commemorative Reasons)

     3. Zodiac & Astrology Tokens (Made for a Purpose)

     4. Zodiac Luck Pendants & Talismans

     5. Zodiac Bullion (Made of Precious Metals)

     6. Zodiac Geocoins & Calendar Items

 

I will explain each one of these categories as we move to each section of the examples I have been lucky enough to find over the years.

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