How to Keep Notes on Coin Inventory for Your Team

Keep notes on coin inventory by writing them on the coin's own record, not in a notebook or a shared document, so anyone who opens the coin sees them. Write down what a field cannot hold: where the coin came from, what a grader or another dealer said, which customer asked about it, and any problem with it. Date each note, say who wrote it, and name the teammate who needs to act on it.

A one-person shop can keep this in its head. Once two or three people buy, grade, and sell, the facts about a coin get split between people, texts, and sticky notes. This guide covers what to write, where it goes, how to write a note someone else can use, and how to find notes later.

What to write down

Provenance

Where the coin came from and anything that came with it.

• Who you bought it from, and in which purchase.
• Paperwork that came with the coin: an old auction ticket, a receipt, a letter from the original owner.
• Earlier holders or old cert numbers if the coin was cracked out or regraded.

Provenance is easy to lose. The seller remembers it at the counter, and three months later nobody does. Write it the day the coin comes in.

Example: "From the Davis estate purchase. Came in a 1950s envelope marked 'Baltimore 1958'. Envelope in box 2A3 with the coin."

Grader and expert comments

What someone with an opinion said about the coin.

• Grading service results, especially when a coin came back lower than you expected or with a details grade.
• A second opinion from another dealer at a show.
• Your own view on whether the coin could upgrade, and why.

Example: "Sent to PCGS in the June submission, came back MS63. Mike at the Baltimore show thought MS64 and said the reverse luster is the reason to try again."

Customer requests

Who asked about a coin and what they said.

• A customer who wants first call on a coin.
• An offer you turned down, with the amount and date.
• A coin on hold, and until when.

Example: "Susan Clark asked about this on the phone 10/14. Offered $1,850, we said $2,000. She wants a call if we drop it."

Problems

Anything wrong with the coin, its holder, or its record.

• Holder damage: a cracked slab, a scratched label, a loose insert.
• A coin that does not match its label, or a cert number that does not look up.
• A return, and what the buyer said was wrong.

Example: "Small crack at the top left of the holder. Do not ship until reholdered. @Kevin Walsh can you add it to the next PCGS submission?"

What not to put in a note

• Facts with a field. Grade, cert number, cost, and location belong in their fields. A note that says "now in safe 3" while the location field still says safe 1 is worse than no note.
• Facts you will filter by. If you will want every coin with a Norweb pedigree, make Pedigree a field.
• Things meant for the customer. If a buyer should see it, it goes on the invoice, the listing, or the description.

On the record or in a shared document

Put it on the record	Put it in a shared document
Facts about one coin	Rules for every coin, such as your buying policy
A conversation about one customer	Your pricing guide for a series
A problem with one invoice	Show checklists and setup steps
Who asked about a coin	Training notes for new staff

If the note is about one thing, it goes on that thing. A coin note in a shared document gets found only by someone who already knows to look for it. A coin note on the coin gets seen by whoever opens the coin, including someone who has never heard of the issue.

The same goes for other records. A note about a customer ("prefers PCGS, pays by wire, does not want calls before 10") belongs on the customer. A note about an invoice ("paid half, rest due at the next show") belongs on the invoice.

How to write a note someone else can use

A note is for the person who opens the coin next month, not for you today.

1. Lead with the fact. "Holder cracked at top left" before "noticed while pulling coins for the show".
2. Use names and dates. "Susan Clark, 10/14" instead of "the lady who called".
3. Give numbers. "Offered $1,850" instead of "made a low offer".
4. Say what happens next, and who does it. "Kevin to add to the next PCGS submission."
5. Answer in the same thread. When the problem is fixed, reply under the note ("Reholdered, new cert in the cert field"), so the story reads top to bottom.

Two clear sentences are enough for most notes.

Mentions: when to tag a teammate

A mention tells one person a note needs them. Use it when:

• Someone has to do something: "@Kevin Walsh please reholder before we ship."
• Someone has the answer: "@Linda Ortiz do you remember what we paid for the rest of this set?"
• Someone needs to know before they act: "@Mark Harris hold this one for Susan until Friday."

Do not mention people on notes they do not need. If everyone is tagged on everything, people stop reading the tags.

Searching notes

Notes are only useful if you can find them. Write with search in mind.

• Use the same words every time. Pick "reholder" or "re-holder" and stick with it. Pick "hold" for a coin on hold.
• Use full names. Search for "Susan Clark" finds the notes that use her full name, not the ones that say "Sue".
• Name the show or submission. "June PCGS submission" and "Baltimore show" turn into search terms later.

Searches that pay off:

• "regrade" or "upgrade" to find every coin someone thought could do better.
• A customer's name, to find every coin they asked about.
• "cracked" or "reholder" before a show, so no damaged holder goes on the table.

Worked example: one coin through a season

An 1881-CC Morgan in a PCGS MS64 holder comes in with a purchase from Robert Hughes in March.

March. At intake, Linda writes: "From the Robert Hughes purchase. He bought it at a show in the 1990s, no paperwork. Nice luster, I think it has a shot at 65."

April. Kevin replies under the note: "Agree on the luster. Adding to the May submission."

June. The coin comes back MS64 again. Kevin replies: "Came back 64. Not trying again. Priced as a 64."

August. Mark writes a new note: "Susan Clark asked about this at the Chicago show. Offered $200 under our price, we said no. @Linda Ortiz she wants a call if we come down."

October. Linda replies: "Called Susan, sold at our price minus 5%. On invoice."

Anyone who opens the coin in December sees the whole story in order: where it came from, the regrade try, who wanted it, and how it sold. Nobody had to ask anybody.

Common mistakes

• Notes in texts and email. They leave with the phone or the person.
• Notes with no date or author. "Customer wants this" helps nobody a month later.
• Status in notes instead of fields. Location, grade, and cost go in fields, or the note and the field disagree.
• Customer-facing words in internal notes. If a buyer should read it, write it where the buyer can see it.
• No follow-up. A problem note with no reply looks open forever. Close it with a reply.

How CoinManagerPro handles notes

In CoinManagerPro, notes go on coins, purchases, contractors, memos, consignments, auctions, platform sales, customers, and invoices; each has a Notes section on its page, and for a coin it is on the Details tab. Type the note, type @ and select a name to mention a teammate, and click Add note or press Ctrl+Enter. The member you mention gets a notification in CoinManagerPro and an email with the note and a link to the record. Each member gets one email for each note, and when you edit a note to add a mention, only the new member is told.

Replies stay under the note they answer. A note can hold links and bulleted or numbered lists. Each note shows its author and time, and marks a note that was edited. The author can edit a note, and the author or an admin can delete it; when a deleted note has replies, the replies stay.

The Notes page searches the text of every note, best match first, with the matched words marked. Use quotes for a phrase, and select a kind of record, such as Coin or Customer, to narrow the search. A member sees the notes on a record only when they can open the record, and the search leaves out notes they cannot open. Notes do not go on invoices, listings, or the consignor portal. For facts you want to filter and export, add custom fields instead. The steps are in the categories and notes help article.