Quick answer
Every coin inventory entry needs eight core fields (denomination, year, mintmark, grade, acquisition date, price paid, current value, provenance) plus a photograph of both sides. Everything else is optional but useful. MyCoinage captures all of these by default.
TL;DR
- Eight core fields are non-negotiable, skip any one and the entry is incomplete
- Photography is the 9th field in practice
- Provenance documentation goes straight into storage, not "to be filed later"
- Optional fields (weight, diameter, die variety) matter more for rare pieces than common ones
- A finished inventory entry should take a knowledgeable stranger under 30 seconds to understand
Table of contents
- The 8 core fields
- Photographs: the forgotten field
- Optional fields for serious collectors
- Insurance-grade entries
- What not to include
- The 30-second test
- Common questions
- FAQ
The 8 core fields
| # | Field | Example | Blank = problem? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denomination | Sovereign | Yes, always |
| 2 | Year | 1887 | Yes, always |
| 3 | Mintmark / variety | Jubilee head | Yes for rarer types |
| 4 | Grade | EF | Yes, affects value |
| 5 | Acquisition date | 2024-03-15 | Yes for CGT |
| 6 | Acquisition price | £185 | Yes for cost basis |
| 7 | Current value | £240 | Yes for insurance |
| 8 | Provenance source | Spink auction lot 234 | Yes for resale |
If any of these is blank, the entry is incomplete. Not "less detailed", incomplete. Every one of these fields affects either valuation, taxation, or authenticity.
Denomination
Use the formal name, not a nickname. "Crown" not "five shilling piece". "Sovereign" not "pound gold". Apps index on formal denomination; nicknames break search.
Year
The date as struck. For proof sets, use the set year. For restrikes, record both strike year and original issue date, a 1996 restrike of an 1887 piece is two dates.
Mintmark / variety
The decisive field for many UK coins. 1887 sovereigns come in Young Head and Jubilee Head; 1893 come in Jubilee and Old Head. One year, two to three varieties, meaningful price differences. See what makes a coin rare for why varieties matter.
Grade
Use one scale consistently. Sheldon 1-70 or UK descriptive (Poor, Fair, Good, VG, Fine, VF, EF, AU, UNC, FDC). Mixing scales confuses later. See how to grade a coin for the full crossover.
Acquisition date
ISO format (YYYY-MM-DD) always. "March 2024" is ambiguous; "2024-03-15" is unambiguous. HMRC cares about exact dates for capital gains calculations.
Acquisition price
The all-in figure including buyer's premium, postage, and any insurance costs paid at acquisition. If you paid £100 plus 20% buyer's premium plus £8 postage, the acquisition price is £128, not £100.
Current value
Based on realised auction prices at the current grade. Refresh quarterly at minimum, monthly if active collector. MyCoinage's portfolio updater refreshes hourly automatically.
Provenance source
Auction house + lot number, dealer name + invoice number, private seller's name, or "circulation find, date". Whatever identifies the route the coin took to reach you.
Photographs: the forgotten field
Photograph obverse and reverse of every coin. Not photograph-the-tray-as-a-whole, individual shots, at least 1500 pixels on the long side, on a plain mid-grey background, natural light or daylight LED.
Name files consistently: denom_year_mm_side.jpg. Store them in cloud (Google Drive, iCloud) and attach to the inventory entry. If the tracker dies, the photos survive.
Why both sides
Obverse confirms monarch and year. Reverse confirms denomination, design variety, and mintmark placement. Many fakes reproduce the obverse convincingly but mess up reverse details.
Optional fields for serious collectors
These become essential once you're holding pieces over £500 apiece.
| Field | Who needs it |
|---|---|
| Weight (g, to 0.01) | Gold, silver bullion collectors |
| Diameter (mm) | Variety hunters |
| Edge type (milled, plain, lettered) | Milled/hammered collectors |
| Die pairing / variety number (e.g. ESC, Freeman) | Specialists |
| Toning description | Silver coin collectors |
| Third-party cert number | Anyone with slabbed coins |
| Storage location code | Multi-safe collectors |
| Ownership history | Provenance chasers |
For Charles III era pieces, the design variety matters enormously, see the Charles III coin guide for what to record.
Insurance-grade entries
For items insured over £1,000, the entry needs three additional things beyond the core eight:
- A written valuation from a registered valuer (not the app's estimate)
- The valuer's credentials, RICS number or professional body membership
- Date of valuation, insurers typically require revaluation every three years
Hiscox require a signed valuation within the last 3 years for any single item above £10,000. T.H. March accept the same. See coin collection insurance UK for specialist insurer requirements.
The export
MyCoinage Pro generates a PDF export showing each entry with photograph, fields, and current valuation. Hiscox and T.H. March accept this as the general schedule; the written valuation covers the high-value pieces.
What not to include
Some fields sound useful but cause more trouble than they're worth.
- Emotional significance, keep in a separate "memories" document, not the inventory
- Who you bought it with, irrelevant to value, potentially embarrassing later
- Your opinion on authenticity, either it's authenticated (third-party cert) or it's not
- Predictions of future value, nonsense, don't bake fiction into records
- Friend's offers, offers aren't values until realised
The 30-second test
A finished entry should let a knowledgeable stranger, another collector, a valuer, an insurance assessor, understand the coin completely in under 30 seconds. If they need to ask a question, a field is missing.
Try it on yourself
Pick an entry from your catalogue at random. Imagine you're looking at it five years from now with no memory of the purchase. Can you answer:
- What is this coin?
- What condition?
- What did I pay?
- What's it worth?
- Where did it come from?
Five yeses, you're done. Any no, add the field.
Common questions
Do I need to record weight and diameter for common coins?
No. A common George V penny doesn't need 0.01g precision. A sovereign does, detects filing or plating. Budget precision where the money is.
What format for provenance, free text or structured?
Structured if the app supports it. Free text otherwise. At minimum: Source type | Source name | Reference number | Date. So: Auction | Spink | Lot 234 | 2024-03-15.
How often should I refresh current value?
Monthly at minimum, weekly for active collectors, hourly if your app does it automatically. Never leave a value untouched for more than three months.
Do I need to photograph coins I inherited?
Yes, especially inherited coins. You'll never have better provenance context than when the original owner's notes are still to hand.
FAQ
Q: What about coins I've sold?
A: Keep the entry, mark it "sold" with sale date, sale price, buyer if known. Don't delete. Capital gains need the record.
Q: Can I share my inventory with a valuer?
A: Yes. MyCoinage generates shareable PDFs for exactly this. A valuer needs the photographs and the core fields; nothing more.
Q: What if a coin has been re-graded (upgrade or crossover)?
A: Record both gradings with dates. The history matters for understanding value changes.
Q: Is there a British standard for inventory entries?
A: No formal standard, but most trackers follow the Spink catalogue's denomination conventions. The fields above are the de facto professional minimum.
Q: What about banknotes or tokens?
A: Different beast, similar fields. MyCoinage is coins-focused; for banknotes use a specialist tool like the British Notes tracker.