Today’s Mail Bag question comes from Aaron who asks about the mobile apps that I use related to coin collecting. I actually use just a handful and most of them I’ve written about here on the site at some level. Unfortunately, one of my favorites isn’t available any longer.
Here is the question Aaron sent in using the contact form on the About page…
Hi,
You wrote in another mail bag article that you use coin manage for your collection software on your PC. What apps do you use on your smartphone?
Aaron
In all, I have five mobile apps installed on my Android phone that I use somewhat consistently.
- PCGS CoinFacts
- PCGS Coinflation
- ANA’s Money.org
- NGC
- PCGS Cert
Of these apps, the two I use the most consistently are CoinFacts and NGC. CoinFacts, if you haven’t checked it out, is a great app for getting facts about coins. You can get information such as the mintage, weights, composition, and images of those coins. You also get links to eBay sales of that particular coin. It is handy for learning details about a coin before you consider it as a purchase.
The NGC app, which I’ve written about here, provides three essential services that I need from it. First, it lets me see and manage my NGC graded collection of coins which is nice if I’m sharing with a fellow collector. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it lets me verify a NGC certificate number. With counterfeiting a continuing problem in Numismatics, even graded coins, the ability to quickly scan a NGC certificate bar code and verify before buying is a real plus. I’ve yet to have any dealer at any coin show give me side-eye for doing this as they too want their buyers to be confident in their purchases. Third, the app lets me track my submission of coins to NGC for grading.
The one app that sadly is gone is the PGCG Photograde app. For whatever reason, PCGS pulled it from both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. It was a hugely handy app when trying to do a quick grading comparison of a coin. Hopefully it will return.
I hope this answers your question Aaron and thanks for taking the time to write in.