How to Organize Your Coin Collection List

Many hobbies require expensive equipment or special skill sets before you can get started – but not coin collecting. With just a little bit of research and planning, you can build a collection that’s both beautiful and uniquely personal to you.

When building your collection, you can start by picking a theme. For example, a number of design themes recur on American coins. Or perhaps you want to honor a specific date span in your family history, or the era of your childhood. You can even choose a country to focus on. Many collectors like to collect by denomination, or a particular type of coin – such as silver or gold.

Another way to organize your coin collection is by series. The simplest form of a series collection is the Year Set, which consists of one coin for each year that a coin was produced. From there, you can expand to a complete date and mint mark collection. Once you’ve completed a series collection, you can then move on to a type set, which consists of all of the major designs for a particular denomination.

No matter how you choose to organize your collection, it’s important that you keep a catalog of your coins. A simple checklist will help you track the coins you own and chart your future acquisitions. Whitman Publishing has a handy 6×9-inch book, the Check List and Record Book of United States Coins that’s ideal for this purpose. You can also find a variety of free checklists online and at your local numismatic store or show.