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Tracking your finds...

TN Girl

New member
I'd be interested to know how you guys track your finds. I was thinking about creating an Excel spreadsheet, but maybe there's a better way?
 
Myself unless it's a very special find I don't record it.. Takes the fun out of a "Hobby" if you have to do records and all that..
But hey, thats just my opinion. Lots of people like to spreadsheet out everything...
 
My keepers, I put them in 2X2 coin folders with the date found and where found. I might add the condition and the Redbook value. I then put them in a coin page that holds 20 of them and then into a three ring binder. I can usually get two or three years of finds per binder. The clad, I just dump them into a container after tumbling them clean and take them to the bank a couple of time per year. I keep track of the dollar amount by year and spend the money on something nice or another hunting trip or vacation. Some people will buy a gold coin or two with their clad money. Other interesting finds, I save in big jars, 3 gallon, and bring them out to show people from time to time. Great conversation piece. We are on our second jar of stuff. All trash gets dumped. The wheat cents, I put in big jars as well and the grand kids will get them when they are old enough to start coin collecting. That is the pile above and to the left of the 2X2's.

this is an example of a months finds so you know what I'm talking about.
 
TN Girl - I use a 13 column ledger pad to track my finds. It has columns for date, description(location), and 13 columns. I use the 13 columns like so, pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, * , coins, total coins, value, total value, then I have four columns left for notes. The fifth column with the * is for halves and dollars. Since I don't find that many. In the notes section I record any fifth column finds or silver coins. I don't keep track of wheat pennies although some people do. Costs about $8.00 at any large discounter or office supply store.

The thing I like about this is after you fill a page you can total your columns down to double check your math.

coins = coins found for that hunt
total coins= year to date
value= value of coins found that hunt
total value= year to date

I prepared an example for you but when I hit the preview button it got compressed and didn't look like it would be of much help.

for now you can just keep a detailed journal in a notebook so you don't forget anything, until you decide how you want to do it.

If you have any questions let me know and maybe I can send you a shunken photocopy or something.
Take care, Dave
 
Both very different, but appealing suggestions. I like the idea of saving misc items of interest in a big jar and Dave's ledger sheet sounds like a great way to track the types and value of the coins I find. I'll probably enter the info on a spreadsheet though. Thanks to both of you!
 
TN Girl, some people call me obsessive, some even hint that I'm just plain crazy, but I record everything, from almost every angle. Having said that, I dont record junk (but I keep some of it. I find it adds another dimesion to my hobby, and sometimes it is interesting to go back through the records to check on things. It is a very personal thing, and I wouldn't criticize anyone for not recording anything at all....it is all a matter of personal preference, in my view. I dont record anything on my computer...basically I just dont trust them enough...they can crash, they can wipe off stuff, and when you update them, unless you are a complete computer wizard (which I am definitely not), you cant wipe all the records from the data base...you may think you have, but in many cases you haven"t. I just use books, ruled up to suit the design of my records and keep tallys of what I want to know. I have a single exercise bopok for each detector, and a composite one overall, and numerous other ones to boot. It allows me to look back and review sites which I dont visit very often, to see the types of things I found there and what time of year it might have been etc. etc. I rule my books so that I can keep records for the numbers of coins found and also for each denomination of coins found, plus jewellery items and whether they be gold, silver or junk. Date and location of finds are also included in the records. How you arrange your records is a matter of personal choice. I started off keeping records of the date of each coin, but this got too tedious, and now I keep such comprehensive records for the "special" coins.
I probably am obsessive, maybe a little bit crazy, but I enjoy the record-keeping part of the hobby as well....though not as much as I enjoy finding stuff. HH Sapper.
 
Hi TN Girl
I like Elton am not much of a record keeper. I use the Treasure Tracker 2. It is a older program from 1998 I think? But all you do is put in the number of dollars, 1/2 dollars, quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies in their little boxes and it adds them up for you. You will get the total of each coin and a grand total of all the coins found. Very simple and easy to keep up with the coins found. I know that if I put the web page it won't come up so just google treasure tracker 2 program. .....Z
 
Sounds like Sapper's got a real system going there! I'm not sure my records will be that detailed, but it sure would be interesting to go back and review them from time to time. I'll check out Treasure Tracker and see what I think. Thanks to you both!
 
hi tngirl. i'm one of the guilty parties who doesn't document everything i find. sure, i document the valuable [darn few] pieces, and those that are historically significant like cw buttons, buckles, and coins. after many years of hunting, the pile has accumulated to the point where it's almost no longer feasible to take the time to document everything. the funny thing is, i can identify where and when i found 99% of my stuff. running a spreadsheet is a great idea, but you'll have to stay on top of it for it to be effective. that alone requires more than most people are willing to do. also too, you can document all day long, but all your efforts will come to naught if the relics/coins and documentation become separated in a way that they cannot be reconciled or learnt from. some people print off a copy and keep the copy with the coins and relics. that way, the reference is always there and the data stands little chance of being lost or separated.
i'm a big fan of coffee cans - they hold a lot of miscellaneous/low value stuff, you can't see through or in them, and they stack easily in a dusty corner. nobody gives them a second's notice. when bad weather hits and i can't get out, i'll start to go through these cans and try to figure out what some of these things i found are [usually by overloading the whatzit forum!]
i, as well as many others, found out long ago that keeping coins and other valuables in jars is a really bad idea. theyr'e just too easy to see and steal. if you wanted to show someone a particular piece, then you'd have to bring the whole jar out. bad idea. nowadays, if you want to protect what you've found, buy a lockbox or a safe, then don't tell anybody about it. times are getting harder for a lot of folks. it's the only way to go.
let us know how you do, tngirl. i hope you will benefit from this post and the other posts - they all have good ideas and info in them. just my two cents, and thanks for reading, and hh!
 
After mulling over all of your suggestions, I think I'm only going to track special finds (jewelry, relics, etc.) and coins (tallying the clad separately). Trying to figure out what the mystery items are sounds like fun, so I'll definitey do that, too.
 
I do keep track of my special finds. I put them in a cookie tin! :laugh: Really though I have most of my good finds apart from my ones I keep but not very good finds? I dunno everybody uses a different way, beale.
 
Thanks for the software link! This may be the way to go. I'll check it out at home this weekend when I have more time.
 
I haven't checked out the software listed above, but another user just informed me that it contains a virus. Proceed with caution!
 
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