The Best Way to Keep a Coin Book Organized

Basic Organizing Tips

• Always wear soft, cotton cloths when handling coins. Always set coins on a soft cloth or towel when examining them. Purchase a very good quality magnifying glass for examining coins. Purchase a small halogen lamp to provide adequate close-up lighting for the coins. Use a plastic ruler instead of metal for measuring details on a coin; metal rulers can damage the surface of the coins. Also, purchase a coin reference book to aid you in identifying and classifying coins. These tips can be found in the Collector's Corner area of the United States Mint website.

Organizing By Theme or Type

• Organize your coins by theme. If you are collecting state coins, coins that feature animals or coins that show famous figures in history, you can arrange them on separate pages in your album. Label the page according to the theme and order the coins alphabetically by the first letter of the state, animal or famous figure.
  Or, you can organize your coins according to type. The nickels would go in a section labeled "Nickels," quarters in a section labeled "Quarters" and so on. You could arrange the coins from earliest to most recent, or vice versa.

Organizing by Date, Age or Location

• Organize your coins by date or age. You could organize them by year or decade, or by the period they come from, for example, Early Spanish or Ancient Roman.

  Or, you can organize your coins according to location. All United States coins would go on in one section or sections. Then, coins from another area for as many different locations as are represented by the coins. Also, if you wish to combine these methods, you could place the coins from older or no longer existent locations, Ancient Rome for example, in the front of your coin album and place the more modern coins in later sections organized by location and date.