Software for Collection of artifacts and valuables?

Iain · 28th July 2021, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill M

Over the last 30 years, we have been collecting artifacts. For insurance purposes, we need to have/create a database that delineates each article, incorporates pictures, descriptions, etc.

We have about 1,000 items that need to be sorted and each item marked.

I have a rough start. I made a list of all the items for insurance purposes. Brief description and have many images and many images are keyed to the item. Many of the items had a small stick on labels. and they fell off.

But all this is just paper, handwritten lists.

I want to have a flexible system that can show each item. A system that can mark each item individually.

Please help me find a database/system? For the PC.

There are quite a few systems out there for managing collections (mainly art) , some are paid subscription services while some like this appear to be free to collectors (https://www.portovenereart.com/#!/home). I can't vouch for any of these but they may prove useful.

Gonzoadler · 28th July 2021, 10:44 AM

I use an Excel table to list my pieces and give each of them a number which depends from the item category. For example, a dagger could have the number D0103.
For each piece I made some photos I save together with the Excel table in a folder. The pictures have the item number + the picture number as name, for example D0103_1 for the first picture of a dagger.
Not the most elegant way, but it works and you can use all the functions of Excel.

Regards
Robin

Bill M · 28th July 2021, 10:58 AM

Ian, I am looking at your suggestion. Free to collectors. A bit overkill for me. I am looking for an inventory number, description, image (could be multiples), from who I purchased it, and when.

Gonzoadler, I like the simplicity of excel and downloaded a few templates. CHecking to see how to embed images.

I guess I can attach labels with zip ties? Other ideas. I have seen some museum tags are painted in tiny numbers on the items in unobtrusive areas.

Iain · 28th July 2021, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill M

Ian, I am looking at your suggestion. Free to collectors. A bit overkill for me. I am looking for an inventory number, description, image (could be multiples), from who I purchased it, and when.

Gonzoadler, I like the simplicity of excel and downloaded a few templates. CHecking to see how to embed images.

I guess I can attach labels with zip ties? Other ideas. I have seen some museum tags are painted in tiny numbers on the items in unobtrusive areas.

In this case pretty much any gallery software will work. Depends if you want it only sitting on your local PC, personally I prefer to keep things cloud based as it removes the issue of hardware failure locally.

Kubur · 28th July 2021, 12:42 PM

You can also look at freewares for libairies, books, coins, stamps, wine...
It will work for weapons too.
My advice, take something simple to use otherwise you will never use it.

Lee · 28th July 2021, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kubur

My advice, take something simple to use otherwise you will never use it.

This is, in my opinion, excellent advice. About a decade ago I built a Microsoft Access database and for about a year I was diligent in documenting my accessions in it along with images, saved sales pages, etc. I never did work backwards in completing it and fell out of using it when the particular computer it resided in developed issues. Presently, I am using old fashioned paper in file folders. Lew had, for a good time, given his accessions a sequential number and documented what each was and what he thought it was worth in a bound notebook. This proved very useful to his family upon his untimely passing.

Ian · 28th July 2021, 04:28 PM

Lee,

I recently had to catalogue all my items before shipping them to Australia. This was necessary for insurance purposes, to deal with Australian Customs officials, and to navigate the strict laws in Australia regarding documentation of edged weapons and their ownership. Since I had over a thousand pieces to itemize, it was necessary to have a simple software system for my records and a corresponding tag for each item that identified its catalog number and linked it to my records.

For digital records, I chose to use a series of Excel spreadsheets, with each sheet denoting a particular geographical region or country. These spreadsheets were collected into two workbooks, one for Philippine items and one for everything else.

Because I have more items from the Philippines than anywhere else, I broke these into geographic or ethnic groups, with individual spreadsheets for Moro (MOR), Lumad (LUM), Visayan (VIS), and Luzon (LUZ). For the second workbook I had individual spreadsheets for: Africa (AFR), Mediterranean (MED), India/South Asia (IND), Mainland SE Asia (MSEA), Indonesia (INDO), China (CHI), European (EUR), South American (SAM), and Miscellaneous (MISC).

Each item was given a number and tag. Within each category, items were numbered sequentially in order of their date of acquisition. For example, the Moro collection was numbered MOR1001 to MOR1112, the South American items SAM1001 to SAM1054, etc.

Each spreadsheet had columns for:

Catalogue No.
Date of Acquisition
How Acquired [1 = Antique Shop, Dealer Estate sale, Gun show; 2 = eBay; 3 = Other Online Site; 4 = Auction; 5 = Collector/Private Sale; 7 = Traded Item; 9 = Other (inherited, gift, etc.)]
General Description
Dimensions
Total cost [item + postage/insurance/customs duty, etc.]
Current Valuation
Date of Sale
Purchaser's Name and Address
Total Sale Price [including postage, insurance]
Costs Incurred [repairs, postage, insurance, packaging, etc.]
Net Sale
Profit/(Loss)
Thumbnail Picture of Item
Notes/References/Special Features

It took three months to completely catalogue and photograph all my items. The effort was worth it when dealing with the Australian bureaucracy!

The financial data are important because i doubt that I will have disposed of all these items before my demise and I don't want my wife and kids to have a big problem with them. I've arranged that whatever is left over (and they don't want to keep) will go to auction with my valuation as the minimum price for each item.

There is also the issue of my book collection relating to edged weapons. The books will be sold online, hopefully here in the Swap Forum. Each book has been catalogued in a similar manner to the weapons.

28th July 2021, 04:28 PM	#7
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,399	Keep it Simple ... but with all the information you need Lee, I recently had to catalogue all my items before shipping them to Australia. This was necessary for insurance purposes, to deal with Australian Customs officials, and to navigate the strict laws in Australia regarding documentation of edged weapons and their ownership. Since I had over a thousand pieces to itemize, it was necessary to have a simple software system for my records and a corresponding tag for each item that identified its catalog number and linked it to my records. For digital records, I chose to use a series of Excel spreadsheets, with each sheet denoting a particular geographical region or country. These spreadsheets were collected into two workbooks, one for Philippine items and one for everything else. Because I have more items from the Philippines than anywhere else, I broke these into geographic or ethnic groups, with individual spreadsheets for Moro (MOR), Lumad (LUM), Visayan (VIS), and Luzon (LUZ). For the second workbook I had individual spreadsheets for: Africa (AFR), Mediterranean (MED), India/South Asia (IND), Mainland SE Asia (MSEA), Indonesia (INDO), China (CHI), European (EUR), South American (SAM), and Miscellaneous (MISC). Each item was given a number and tag. Within each category, items were numbered sequentially in order of their date of acquisition. For example, the Moro collection was numbered MOR1001 to MOR1112, the South American items SAM1001 to SAM1054, etc. Each spreadsheet had columns for: Catalogue No. Date of Acquisition How Acquired [1 = Antique Shop, Dealer Estate sale, Gun show; 2 = eBay; 3 = Other Online Site; 4 = Auction; 5 = Collector/Private Sale; 7 = Traded Item; 9 = Other (inherited, gift, etc.)] General Description Dimensions Total cost [item + postage/insurance/customs duty, etc.] Current Valuation Date of Sale Purchaser's Name and Address Total Sale Price [including postage, insurance] Costs Incurred [repairs, postage, insurance, packaging, etc.] Net Sale Profit/(Loss) Thumbnail Picture of Item Notes/References/Special Features It took three months to completely catalogue and photograph all my items. The effort was worth it when dealing with the Australian bureaucracy! The financial data are important because i doubt that I will have disposed of all these items before my demise and I don't want my wife and kids to have a big problem with them. I've arranged that whatever is left over (and they don't want to keep) will go to auction with my valuation as the minimum price for each item. There is also the issue of my book collection relating to edged weapons. The books will be sold online, hopefully here in the Swap Forum. Each book has been catalogued in a similar manner to the weapons.

28th July 2021, 10:44 AM	#2
Gonzoadler Member Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Germany Posts: 255	I use an Excel table to list my pieces and give each of them a number which depends from the item category. For example, a dagger could have the number D0103. For each piece I made some photos I save together with the Excel table in a folder. The pictures have the item number + the picture number as name, for example D0103_1 for the first picture of a dagger. Not the most elegant way, but it works and you can use all the functions of Excel. Regards Robin

28th July 2021, 10:58 AM	#3
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Ian, I am looking at your suggestion. Free to collectors. A bit overkill for me. I am looking for an inventory number, description, image (could be multiples), from who I purchased it, and when. Gonzoadler, I like the simplicity of excel and downloaded a few templates. CHecking to see how to embed images. I guess I can attach labels with zip ties? Other ideas. I have seen some museum tags are painted in tiny numbers on the items in unobtrusive areas.

28th July 2021, 12:42 PM	#5
Kubur Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2,145	You can also look at freewares for libairies, books, coins, stamps, wine... It will work for weapons too. My advice, take something simple to use otherwise you will never use it.