Tony Lawrence Coins and Stuff: Phone Apps for Coin Collectors

Phone and Tablet apps for coin collecting are extremely handy when you are away from your books and your computer. Here are a few of the ones I have looked at.

Photograde (iPhone, Android) and Photograde HD (iPad)

No, I don't usually need Photograde to tell a VF from an XF, although for series I don't see all that often it never hurts to refresh my memory. What I do like about Photograde is that it's a pretty good database of genuine coins. For example, I was recently able to dismiss a gold dollar as a definite fake because Photograde happens to use the same date for several of their examples and the fake coin date had a markedly different style. It's not always that easy, of course.
http://pcgs.com/apps

Grey Sheet On-Line

If you subscribe to the Coin Dealer Newsletter, you certainly know its value. You can also get it as a separate subscription as an on-line version. If you attend coin shows infrequently, you'll appreciate that you can get immediate access to the current issue for just $4.99.

PCGS Coin Facts

Although the app is free, you need a $99 per year subscription to actually get any use from this. Still, this is arguably one of the best general purpose coin apps available, combining pictures, prices and more of U.S. coins by date and variety.

http://pcgs.com/apps

NGC Coin Details

Lets you type in or scan NGC certification numbers and shows you images (sometimes), descriptions (sometimes) and prices/auctions (again, sometimes). Not very useful, in my opinion.
http://www.ngccoin.com/coindetails.aspx

PCGS Price Guide

Free, no subscription required. Same information is available on-line at PCGS, but it is much easier to read in the app. The prices do tend to be a little jumpy though when you scroll left or right to select grades.

http://pcgs.com/apps

Numis HD
Again, subscription required. This is access to the ANA's Numismatist Magazine. Pretty nice on an iPad; I haven't used it on my phone.

http://www.money.org/communications/apps-and-social-media/the-numismatist-app.aspx

Qollector

Although not specifically for coins, this app lets you organize and share collections. It does have coin related layouts, which you can modify to your own likes, so you could have everything you'd want to know about your collection or want lists, including photos, links to other resources, barcodes and more. I haven't yet found the patience or the time to input my collection, but I can see how this could be very useful.
https://qollector.com/