Free Coin Collecting Software

There have probably been coin collectors as long as there have been coins. Louis XIV, the Sun King, was a notable coin collector. The market for rare coins has always been fiercely competitive, with meticulous and detailed standards for age, wear, and other factors affecting quality.

Now software for coin collectors makes it easier to catalog and organize manage your collection. You can download much of it for free - no "trial" period, no expiration date.

Some coins commemorate historical events - the reigns of kings, the founding of countries - others are reflections of events such as the Second World War (zinc pennies replacing copper ones). Others are valued for their artwork or for their rarity; some were only made for a few years. Coin-collecting software can keep the collector updated on these factors and prevent you from undervaluing or overvaluing coins.

This software contains databases of pictures of coins: some have over 10,000 pictures of coins from around the world. You can also add pictures of your own collection.

Other software has a database of US coins only - but they show every coin ever minted in the US. You can generate a variety of reports about any coin in the database.

Most collectors seek interesting coins in the money that passes through their hands every day, rather than haunting coin shops for rare coins. It is a fascinating way to learn about a country's history: not only the pictures on the coins, but the materials and methods of manufacture, are affected or even determined by vast historical forces. For instance, a Sacajawea dollar refers to the Louisiana Purchase - when the land area of the US increased by 50 percent.

Coin collecting involves masses of data to manage; software makes it easier. Instead of opening every folder in your collection searching for a coin, you can type in a few words to call up a nice, clear picture of the coin on your computer screen. Naturally, this makes it much easier to show your collection to others - you have your entire collection and all available information about each coin at your fingertips.

A good coin collection program has a robust search function, no limit on the number of records, and many other features. Check out as many programs as you can until you find the mix of features that suits you best. Naturally, use virus scanning software before downloading; you sure don't want to crash your computer while you're bringing your coin collection into the 21^st century.