I am in the process of re-organizing my collection, moving the coins into 2×2 acid-free paper envelopes; taking new photographs where required. Just finished designing this label insert, which is heavily inspired by what I had received from an eBay dealer a few years back. The idea is to record as much information as possible for the person who acquires the coins after me. I plan to design a separate label to be printed on sticker paper and pasted outside the 2×2 envelopes for easy identification. Feel free to suggest any improvements and share your own labels/ideas.
Those labels are a great idea. Just a suggestion: how about putting the coins in mylar flips, coin in one side, label in the other. That might make it easier to view both the coin and label.
Sticker paper and paste have chemicals. I wonder if they have potentially negative affects? If you use clear plastic flips, you could have the coin visible and the label in the other half of the flip.
I would prefer the design if you dropped all the dividing lines or at least made them much thinner. Many people including dealers who might get your collection might prefer it were the purchase price expressed in a code. It also might be possible to simplify the design by omitting unnecessary labels (e.g. wt. dia.)when the next field makes it obvious. A few years back I asked a dealer friend what information he would like to have on my coins were he to be given them to sell by my heirs. He answered that it made no difference since he would have to redo the write ups completely before publishing the information under his name. No every seller would feel that way but I would expect as much from anyone I respected enough to handle the sale. For the record, I seriously doubt that anyone is placing any value or interest in my paper envelopes. I put on them what means something to me. Full details would be available on my computer database but I rather doubt many people would bother to look if they bought the collection.
I greatly value the collector tags that have come with my coins, especially the ones that identify the collection it came from and includes all provenance information known at the time. I know that some collectors don’t think anyone would care that a coin came from their collection but I guarantee you somewhere down the road someone who owns your coins will care. At least one weirdo has shown that they do (me), as illustrated in this thread I posted earlier this year. Tripolis Probus: Finally Photographed my AMCC 2 Win I agree with some of the above comments that your tag might look better if it were simplified and the space taken up with borders were reduced. I wouldn’t necessarily try to model your collection tag after a dealer tag as they both serve two separate functions. I would think you don’t need the labels “Metal”, “Mint”, “Purchased From” etc. as it should be mostly obvious to you what AR Denarius means without labels. I also think you might benefit from putting all your purchase info under provenance and making that field bigger. If you ever get a coin with an extensive provenance you’ll want more space in that field.
I hope @TIF and @Deacon Ray won't be mad at me, but I had to steal a picture of their fantastic 2x2 paper envelopes and labels from an old thread. They really are artists, aren't they ? Here are the links for the members who missed it : https://www.cointalk.com/threads/direct-printing-on-2x2-paper-envelopes.351679/ https://www.cointalk.com/threads/judaean-coin-storage-paper-envelopes.350775/
Making collector’s tags to keep with your coins is a good way of both helping future owners and keeping your collection organised. I like your design! My own tags are handwritten but contain about the same information as yours. I used to store my coins in two-pocket foldable saflips with the coin in one and the paperwork in the second pocket. By now, I have switched to trays and now just use my tags like labels placed underneath the coins:
I don't use tickets, but I really like your design. Perhaps thinner lines, as suggested by dougsmit, would make it even better. And I also like your logo!
Thats the cats meow...i want to do something like that for all my coins and get a display case just as nice.
Edit: following links before asking helps! I really like these, probably more than I should - lol. How do they print on those little envelopes that wouldn't fit in my printer. Then I'd also be worried that the ink defeats the purpose of the paper envelopes. I just write my identifier on the envelope and keep them in chronological order and all the details are in an excel spreadsheet. Here is the spectacular 3.217:
I am with Orielensis. Trays and hand written tags. Several years ago my daughter bought me a quill pen and ink vial and I have been using that method since to slowly replace my printed tags. SC
Thanks. Visibility is not a priority for me personally as I do not plan to display the collection. I do, however, plan to number the envelopes in some way to be able to retrieve a given coin quickly.
Thanks. I think I will err on the side of caution and avoid the stickers entirely, instead writing the coin number at the top right outer edge/flap to aid quick retrieval. Having the coins visible isn’t a concern for me. After I have photographed, weighed, and measured a coin, I rarely go back to it, unless I need to check it under the microscope for some specific reason. Sometimes I think I am actually into collecting expensive pictures of coins.
Thank you. I think I will do away with the lines entirely. I wanted the information to make sense to a lay person as well, so went a bit overboard with details that would be redundant to most delaers and collectors. Re-looking at it, I agree that things like “Wt.” and “Dia.” can be removed safely. I could not understand what you meant by “purchase price expressed in a code”. Could you please elaborate? I understand that there is no guarantee that my labels will remain with the coins: they can be easily destroyed, lost, or discarded. Fresh research may render some of the attributions obsolete. My name adds no value to the coins either. The labels essentially allow me to better organize and personalize my collection, and there is a chance the information (especially provenance) on them may survive and be of use to a lay person or non-specialist dealer or collector. I also plan to maintain a digital database.
Thank you. I will do away with the lines and some of the labels to create more space. Some are purely for the benefit of non-collectors.