I'm trying to develop a code for inventory purpose of coins. An example I thought of would be. CHIN34S CHIN of course would be China, 34 would be the number, and s would be the metal content (silver).
The reason I want a code is so I can search for it. If I can't recall what a particular coin is, I can type the code in and reference it.
No, it can be hard to memorize over 300 different countries. Plus if a coin does not have regular letters on it, it can be hard to identify.
I tried to come up with something like this myself, and I admit I haven't come up with anything workable (for myself at least) yet. Make sure you keep good records... I was worried I'd accidentally use the same number for different coins and screw up the whole system. There are a few good cataloging programs out there too, but most of what I found were catered towards US coins and I walk on the darkside.
I'm writing software for just this purpose because my existing spreadsheet became too unwieldy. My solution was to use ye olde arithmetic sequential system of 1, 2, 3, .... 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. It isn't terribly exciting or esoteric but has an upside of being simple. For whatever this post is worth -L
You could just keep index cards in alphabetical order. You should have hard copies of your collection anyway. You can also take cell pics of the index cards.