Provenance & Coin Flip Inserts

Many years ago I was introduced to a code system that has served me well. It is a simple number replacement using a keyword with nine letters and no repeating letters. If you need a word, check this list.
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100817171459AAWEmn2
My word is on this list but I'm not telling which it is. For example, lets select the keyword AWESTRUCK. That means
A W E ST R U CK
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

All letters NOT in the key word are zeroes. I prefer that all codes have four letters so the system works for coins up to $9999 if you round off cents. That covers my collection but you may want five digits. I like to use the "wild zeros" to force meaningless words. For example, then, a $75 coin would code UT using 2 digits or GLUT using four. $50 coins would be any four letter string where T is the third letter as long as the other letters were not in AWESTRUCK: DITY, CITY, PITY, BBTB, OOTR all mean the same thing since only the xxTx is operative. After a short adjustment period using your word, those nine letters become second nature to you. I do recommend selecting a word you can spell. If I had it all to do over, I might select a compound word with a four letter first part and five letter second. COPYRIGHT works. That way the number 5 starts the second part of the word making it easier to count to other numbers. After using my word for so long, I'm not changing but I do suggest using a little care i the selection.

 

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Simple, yet tough to break, unless you’re in the CIA.

 

I have thought about doing a website at some point. But for now, all my coins and the research is in my Forvm gallery until a more suitable venue is found.

 

I have to ask, why does a collector need a cost code? Who are they hiding the cost from and why? Obviously dealers need them. For 30 years I have used a code based not on a word or name, but randomly, and interspersed with gibberish only I can decipher. There is only randomness to explain it, but it works for me.

 

I can't speak for anyone else... but I hate seeing what I paid for a coin on the flip.
Don't know if I can express this feeling exactly...
I added that info at first but I found it distracting and sort of takes away from my enjoyment when I look at my collection.

Firstly I know buying coins is a luxury and not a "need".. so if I see all of these numbers add up I will feel guilty (a bit at a time adds up as we know).. it's how I am ..even on my meager budget.

Secondly these coins mean more to me than a number - that is not how I define them. Am I happy to see a coin I own sell for twice the price? Sure.. do I ever expect to sell my coins? Probably not (certainly not for a profit).
Is the information useful - maybe.. but not for me... they are only worth what someone is willing to pay - never mind the amount I paid for them.

I make the best deal I can when buying.. but all I feel once I own them is pride of ownership, a great sense of history and stewardship for the next owner.

 

Everyone is different and it would be interesting to see what others might have to say about this. I am a cheapskate. I like to find the bargains if I can and I suppose its just part of how I grew up poor. So, I like to record the prices I have paid, with no code. I record the data on my tags and I also keep a Word document with the same. Often when I post coins I have I often delete the "Cost" line as I feel a bit weird if I have paid a strong price and would not like it if people felt I was bragging. But then, there are members here who pay 100 times what I do for some coins, so...

 

I like Ken Dorney’s opening words: “Everyone is different”. On the question of “why record the price”, I am a data geek - maybe obvious from the question in OP of this thread.

For me the price is not only about my budget or being able to calculate profit or loss if I sell, it is useful context to understand the coin and the stories around it E.g. the currency on the OP insert tells me that this coin likely was in the UK at one point in its travels, and the price could lead to a long winded post on market factors and fluctuation:
- £100 was written on the insert - that seems high to me
- communication tech and online auctions and databases have moved us closer to a perfectly efficient market (still no where near perfect)
- how has dealer pricing related to sales price over time?

Why was it minted, where has this coin been, what has it purchased, who made it or held it, what was going on around it, how did it survive, how has the market fluctuated, are a few of the questions raised by a coin in hand, and every data point adds to the story that takes enjoyable time to explore.

 

I’m torn about recording the price paid. I do clearly write the price paid on the back of the insert that I create with no code. Hopefully there’s a previous tag that I can use to cover up this amount as well.

I like to share my collection without others seeing my cost, however, I don’t use a code because if something happens to me I want my family to know the approximate value. That way they don’t get “taken” when they sell my meager collection.

I usually attempt something like this where the price paid is on the back but obscured.

 

This resonates with me... It's part of the fun and excitement of the hunt, especially when it's something you love. I record the price paid and from where digitally in my spreadsheet, but it doesn't go on my tag.

 

Thanks @dougsmit, you have me looking differently at some of my flip inserts e.g.