Cataloguing · Free to Start
The coin catalogue software
collectors actually use.
A free, structured numismatic database for serious collectors. Catalogue every coin by mintmark, grade, designer, metal and provenance. Tag it, filter it, search across the whole collection in one click.
20+structured fields per coin
4,704+British coins pre-catalogued
£0to start
Quick answer
Coin catalog software is a database tool that records the structured details of every
coin in a collection: denomination, year, mint, mintmark, grade, designer, metal, weight, mintage,
catalogue reference, provenance and purchase data. Unlike a spreadsheet, a proper catalogue lets you
search and filter by any field, group coins by series, and produce reports for insurance, sale or
estate purposes. MyCoinage is a free, browser-based numismatic database for UK and US collectors,
built around 20+ structured fields per coin.
Why your collection deserves a catalogue, not a list
Most collections start as a list. A drawer, a notebook page, a one-line entry per coin. Lists are fine when there are twenty coins. By a hundred, you cannot answer the questions a list cannot answer:
- Which silver coins do I own that are graded EF or better?
- Which 50ps from the 2012 Olympic series am I still missing?
- Of the coins I bought before 2020, which have appreciated by more than 25 percent?
- Which coins came from the Spink March auction, and what did I pay for each?
- If I died tomorrow, would my partner know the difference between the £1 1983 New Pence and the rest of the £1s in the box?
Each of those is a database query, not a list scroll. A catalogue gives you the fields the queries depend on. The work is in entering each coin properly once; the payoff is everything you can ask of the catalogue afterwards.
What MyCoinage catalogues for every coin
Each of the 4,704+ coins in the public database, and each coin you add to your private collection, sits inside the same field schema. You don't have to fill in every field, but they are there when you want them.
| Field | Type | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Country | enum (GB, US, …) | Issuing nation, used as the top-level filter. |
| Denomination | text | Face value as struck (e.g. 50 Pence, 1 Crown, ½ Sovereign). |
| Year | integer | Year of issue. Year-range coins use a start and end year. |
| Mint | reference | Royal Mint, Heaton, Birmingham, Soho, Sydney, Philadelphia, Denver, etc. |
| Mintmark | text | The mint identifier on the coin itself (H, P, S, D, W and so on). |
| Mintage | integer | Total struck. Drives the rarity score and is the key signal of scarcity. |
| Series | reference | Thematic grouping (Olympic 50p, Queen's Beasts, Harry Potter, etc.). |
| Grade | UK or Sheldon | Both grading scales supported. See the grading guide. |
| Metal | enum + purity | Gold, silver, copper, nickel, base, mixed. Purity stored as decimal (.925, .916, etc.). |
| Weight | grams | Used with metal and purity to calculate melt value when relevant. |
| Diameter | millimetres | Standard physical attribute. |
| Edge | text | Plain, milled, lettered (with inscription), security, etc. |
| Obverse designer | reference | The artist of the obverse (e.g. Jody Clark, Mary Gillick, Christopher Ironside). |
| Reverse designer | reference | Often the more interesting attribution. |
| Image (obverse) | file | Pre-loaded for the catalogue, your own upload for your collection. |
| Image (reverse) | file | Same. |
| Catalogue references | Spink, Numista, Krause | Cross-referenced to the major reference works. |
| Rarity score | 1–100 | Computed from mintage, survival rate and demand. |
| Liquidity score | 1–100 | How often the coin actually trades. Useful when valuing. |
| Purchase price | currency | Your private record of what you paid. |
| Purchase date | date | Powers gain/loss over time. |
| Source | text | Where you bought it (eBay, Spink, dealer name, gift, inherited). |
| Storage location | text | Album, slab, capsule, vault, drawer ID. Searchable. |
| Tags | free text | Anything you want. Stack multiple per coin. |
| Private notes | text | Provenance, regrade history, anecdotes. Never shown publicly. |
Cataloguing methodology in five steps
You don't catalogue a collection in one sitting. You catalogue one coin properly, then another, and let the system handle the rest. Five steps cover most of what serious collectors do.
Identify before you record
Use the identifier to confirm what the coin actually is. Year, denomination, monarch, mintmark, variety. Recording a misidentified coin pollutes the catalogue.
Match to the catalogue row
Every public catalogue entry has a slug, e.g.
1-crown-victoria-1st-portrait-1839. Match yours to it. The structured fields (designer, mintage, edge, references) come along for free.Grade honestly
Pick UK descriptive (Fine, EF, UNC, FDC) or Sheldon (1–70). The valuation depends on it. The grading guide shows wear patterns by tier.
Record purchase + provenance
Source, price, date, lot number if there is one. Notes for chain of custody. Provenance is what separates documented from anonymous.
Tag it
Tags are the difference between a database and a list. "Mum's collection", "for sale", "regrade", "vault A": filter by any of them later in one click.
Tagging, filtering, finding
The collection view is the catalogue's working surface. Every field is filterable. You can ask the catalogue for slices like:
- British silver, EF or above, bought before 2022: three filters, one click.
- Anything tagged "for sale" worth more than £100: tag plus value sort.
- Coins from the 2012 Olympic 50p series I'm still missing: series filter with a "not in my collection" toggle.
- Coins designed by Christopher Ironside: designer attribute, no manual list-keeping required.
- Sovereigns from the Sydney mint, by year: mintmark filter, sorted by year.
Filter combinations are bookmarkable. Save the URL for "my regrade queue" or "what I'm hunting in the next auction" and return to the same query whenever you want.
Catalogue reference numbers we cross-link
Catalogue numbers exist so two collectors can talk about the same coin without ambiguity. MyCoinage cross-links the major reference systems on every coin page where they apply:
- Spink (UK): the standard reference for British coins, used by every major UK auction house. The "S" number sits next to the coin's canonical name.
- Krause / SCWC (worldwide): the Standard Catalog of World Coins. KM numbers are used internationally for non-UK issues.
- Numista ID: a community catalogue identifier used widely online. Useful for cross-checking against listings.
- Royal Mint / US Mint reference: where the issuing mint maintains its own catalogue, that number is recorded too.
Catalogue references make every coin in your collection portable. If you ever sell, the buyer (and their auction house) can match your description to theirs without having to interpret it.
How MyCoinage compares to other coin catalog systems
| Capability | MyCoinage | OpenNumismat | Coiniverse | Numista | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser-based | Yes | Desktop install | Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-built catalogue rows | 4,704+ | DIY | Worldwide | Worldwide | DIY |
| Mintmark as a structured field | Yes | Yes | Free text | Yes | DIY |
| Designer attribution | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | DIY |
| Spink + Krause + Numista refs | All three | Most | Some | Numista | DIY |
| Realised auction prices | Yes | No | Estimates | Submissions | No |
| Free-form tags | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Provenance & private notes | Yes | Yes | Limited | No | Yes |
| CSV import / export | Both | Both | No | Export | Native |
| Free tier | 25 coins | Unlimited | Limited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Coin catalog software FAQ
What is coin catalog software?
Coin catalog software is a database tool that records the structured details of every coin in a collection: denomination, year, mint, mintmark, grade, designer, metal, weight, mintage, rarity, purchase price and provenance. Unlike a list or a spreadsheet, a proper catalogue lets you search and filter by any field, group coins by series or type, and produce reports for insurance, sale or estate purposes. MyCoinage is a free, browser-based coin catalog system for UK and US collectors.
How is a coin catalog different from a coin tracker?
A tracker is the lighter version. It records what you own and what it is worth. A catalogue goes further: it captures how each coin fits into the wider numismatic record (catalogue numbers, designers, edge types, mintage figures), supports tagging and filtering, and acts as a structured database you can query later. MyCoinage is both. The same record stores tracking data and full catalogue data; you choose how much of it to fill in.
What fields should a coin catalogue capture?
At a minimum: country, denomination, year, mintmark, grade, metal, weight, diameter and image. Beyond that, a serious catalogue records the designer (obverse and reverse), edge type and inscription, mintage figure, catalogue reference number (Spink, Krause/SCWC, Numista ID), purchase price, purchase source, sale price if sold, current market value and any provenance notes. MyCoinage captures all of these as structured fields rather than free text.
Can I tag coins by anything I want?
Yes. Free-form tags sit alongside the structured fields, so you can group coins by inheritance, theme, location, condition project, sub-collection or anything else. Common collector tags include "father's collection", "Royal Mint annual set 2022", "needs regrade", "for sale" and "vault". You can filter the collection view by any tag combination.
What is a mint mark and why does the catalogue track it?
A mint mark is a small letter or symbol on a coin that identifies which mint struck it: London (no mark), Birmingham (H), Sydney (S), Heaton (H or H next to date), Royal Mint Llantrisant (no mark), and so on for US coins (D for Denver, S for San Francisco, P for Philadelphia from 1980, W for West Point). Mintmarks are often the difference between a common coin and a key date worth ten times more, so MyCoinage stores it as a dedicated field, not a tag.
Does the catalogue use Spink, Krause or Numista numbers?
All three where they apply. Each British coin in the catalogue carries its Spink reference and, where assigned, a Numista ID. US coins carry Krause/SCWC numbers. You can search the catalogue by any of these references and they appear on every coin page next to the canonical name. Catalogue numbers make it possible to match coins across reference works, dealer listings and auction descriptions.
Can I record where a coin came from?
Yes. Each coin in your collection has a purchase-source field and a free-form provenance note. Use the source field for the structured data (eBay, Spink auction, dealer, gift, inherited) and the provenance note for the chain of custody if it matters: "Lot 1244, Spink auction 24 March 2023, previously St James's collection". Provenance turns an ordinary coin into a documented one, which insurers, auction houses and serious buyers value.
How does filtering work?
Every catalogue field is filterable. The collection view lets you narrow by country, denomination, year range, grade, metal, series, key-date status, rarity tier and tag. Filter combinations stack, so you can ask the catalogue for "British silver coins 1837–1901 graded EF or above" and get the answer in one click. The /coins browse page filters the whole catalogue (4,700+ coins) using the same controls.
Can I import my existing catalogue?
Yes. The CSV import tool accepts a file with one coin per row. Required column is the slug (the URL-friendly name, e.g.
1-crown-victoria-1st-portrait-1839); every other column (grade, purchase_price_gbp, purchase_date, source, storage_location, tags, notes) is optional. Existing collectors typically import a 50–500 row spreadsheet in under a minute.Is the catalogue private?
By default, yes. Your collection records, including grades, purchase prices and notes, are private to you unless you opt in to a public profile and the leaderboard from Account Settings. Even with a public profile, individual coins can be marked private so they do not appear publicly or on the leaderboard. Provenance notes are always private.
What about coins not yet in the catalogue?
The catalogue grows weekly. If a coin you own is not present, you can submit a coin request from the search page and an editor adds it to the public catalogue, usually within a few days. There is no "fantasy" or non-canonical entry; every catalogue row maps to a real numismatic reference.
Related reading
- Coin Grading Guide — Sheldon 1–70 and the UK descriptive scale, with wear patterns by tier.
- From spreadsheet to catalogue — what to import, what to keep, what to drop.
- What is your collection worth? — valuing the catalogue once it's built.
- Coin Collecting Glossary — every reference term explained.
- Coin Collection Insurance UK — how to value, document and insure a collection.
Catalogue your collection properly
Start with one coin. Free forever for the first 25.