Anyone here use Coin Collector's Assistant Plus software? I've been looking at it and just wondering if it is worth it at all. Any info from someone who knows about it would be appreciated. Also if anyone has the Coin grading guide associated with the software. It is the virtual version of the ANA grading guide.
I have used it for the last 3 years and just upgraded to version 8. In general it fills my needs for keeping current inventory and sorting into varied collections. It provides room for much more information than I am interested in keeping - particularly for Ancients. The assigned values are acceptable in most cases - with some "wild" exceptions! It is definately easy to use and has all necessary tools. I have, but do not use, the grading program. I find answers to my questions much easier to find in the actual ANA Guide - but I also have taken the grading courses at the ANA Summer Sesssion.
I cannot comment on your question, but if it's coin inventory software that you're interested, look into CoinManage. Based on the Coin Collector's Assistant Plus screenshot; it appears CoinManage is much more well put together. Personally, I think a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is the best way to inventory my collection. Because not only is it easy to view all at once, but it's highly customizable and you can even hyperlink coin images. CoinManage allows you to run canned reports and primarily shows you 1 coin at a time, and it doesn't allow for customization. But I guess you can use filters to run basic reports in Excel. So if you don't have or know how to use Excel, then I would recommend researching CoinManage to see if it would meet your needs. -LTB
Thanks everyone for the replies. Currently I have my inventory on a Word document, and after looking around and thinking more on the subject I'll probably end up transferring it to excel instead of dropping money on a program.
The only problem I have with Excel is how do you update the values? I know you can do it manually, but if you have hundreds of coins like I do, it is to much. Programs like my Coin Manage will automatically update the values and mintages. I still use Excel, but that is based on my exporting the data from Coin Manage to Excel where I can manipulate more like I want.
Well since I plan on getting a new Redbook every year, I figure I'll either update them all or just use my spreadsheet in conjunction with the physical Redbook. I know it's nice to have values all right there with the other info, but I don't really plan on selling stuff since collecting for me, atleast so far, is for fun not profit. So with that being the case the values are really only a nice piece of info for me rather than a necessity. So I have values in my sheet right now so I guess I have a year to decide what I want to do. Haha
All coin collecting software is about the same. I have reviewed perhaps a dozen packages, first in 1993, then a couple of times later over the years for Coins and the Celator, and message boards online, and the ANA Numismatist. I first worked as a computer programmer at White Sands Missile Range in 1978. I went back to school in 2005 in criminal justice and started with a class in Access and ended with a class in Java. I am the webmaster for the Michigan State Numismatic Society. I never met a program I didn't like. When you ask someone and they say, "I use this and I like it," all they are saying is that "I only know this and I don't dare admit that I was wrong." It is called cognitive dissonance: we justify choices we cannot change. From my own personal perpective, based on my needs, I never cared about automatic pricing updates, but other people do, and that's fine for them. When I worked at Coin World, I learned from Stuart Segan who came there from Greysheet to be their Trends editor. For me, the ANA Grading Standards are fine -- but I never collected US Type. My interests were in ancients, for which there are no published standards. So, that is less important in a product. As a writer, I have been with Word since Windows 2.0 -- I can make it sit up and sing. So, when I started collecting, I used a word processor to organize my hoard. But there is nothing like a spreadsheet, especially if you are good with one. Regardless of what you do, I recommend that you start with some system before you buy software. We are all pretty handy with computers. You could do it in PowerPoint if you wanted. But until you do something, you have only a vague idea of what your real needs are and what trade-offs you are willing to accept.
