Return from supporting papers to the measured silver dollar
Enter weight, diameter, instrument and original unit under measurements. Keep physical observations apart from packaging, attachments and oral or written accounts, preserving inconsistencies.
Next, connect complete faces, raking-light photographs and located damage views through the coin number. Use that identifier in every filename so another person can repeat the orientation.
Keep an uncertain name or variety in the identification section. Review a detail from its whole-coin image, and stop any measurement or inspection that cannot be repeated safely.
The Coin Card Begins with Readings and Orientation
Write the current name, legible inscriptions, designs, dimensions or weight, present enclosure and condition. Mark an obscured feature for comparison rather than supplying it.
Countermarks, old sleeves and background accounts may be retained separately but cannot replace examination of inscriptions, motifs, surface and rim; retain the first figures and units.
Align overviews, close-ups and readings
Keep the full circumference in both face photographs before adding details of legends, the principal design, denticles, mintmarks and edge. List every hidden area.
For a group, arrange the visible dates, denominations and main designs, then assign numbers. Each coin keeps its own two faces, edge, weight and diameter.
Use one identifier for full views, located details, measurements, packaging and documents so later additions stay attached to the correct piece.
Store provenance apart from physical evidence
A common coin name can include different dates, values or mintmarks. Group those visible features before condition is compared and leave an unclear area open.
Photograph overlapping edge sections around the circumference. Do not smooth a join, altered rim, piercing, solder point or former-mount mark.
Cite a named reference and consultation date for issue, production or historical information. Old labels, recollections and online images remain leads.
Preserve the surface and first readings
A grading holder provides its label and numerical grade, while the enclosed type, date, proposed variety and surface still need checking wherever visible.
Images can classify and locate obvious damage; composition, fine repair and areas blocked by packaging may still require direct examination. Keep the original figures and units.
Why Weight and Diameter Need Their Contact Points
When considering a provincial mint, date or Kuping denomination, start with the weight, diameter, tool and native unit. Record mintmarks, chops, holes or rim work separately and state every missing view.
Place any uncertain name or variety under identification and keep complete rim, denticle and edge views under photographs. Both sections must return to the same number without replacing an original reading.
If documentation conflicts with the coin, transcribe both wordings and dates. Do not import a period, material or variety from a similar piece.
A repeatable checklist lets the next examiner find the coin and reproduce the measurement. State what remains concealed, sealed or unsupported.
Old labels or oral accounts may accompany an enquiry, but keep them distinct from the weight, diameter and edge evidence whenever the two differ.
