This list is a mix of the best on the Web when it comes to coins and coin collecting. I tried to select the best site from each of several categories (such as coin forum discussion sites, coin news, coin blogs, price guides, etc.,) plus I tell you why I think these coin-related sites are worth your time to check them out. In a way, they could all be ranked number 1 or 2 in their own categories, so don't put as much emphasis on the ranking as on the fact that they made the list!
1. Coin Community
Category: Coin Discussion ForumsThe Coin Community Forum is one of the friendliest coin-related forums on the Web. It's family-friendly and they have plenty of in-house experts to help you out with your coins.
2. CopperCoins.com
Category: Specialist Coin SitesCopperCoins.com is easily the best site on the Web for folks who collect Lincoln Cent die varieties. The site has thousands of varieties listed, complete with large detail photos to help you attribute your coins.
3. Heritage Auction Galleries
Category: Alternatives to eBay/ReferenceThe Heritage Auction Galleries Coin Web site contains an immense archive of auction results and more than a million coin photos. The site also features coin auctions and coin-related information. You don't want to miss this site! It's amazing!
4. Vcoins and Vauctions
Category: Alternatives to eBayVcoins and Vauctions are sister sites run by a coin collector who got tired of the lax ethical standards on eBay. Vcoins is host to hundreds of like-minded coin dealers, and the Vauctions listings get longer every week. Although founded in ancient coins, the sites are rapidly growing in the U.S. coins and world coins areas as well.
5. SmallDollars.com
Category: Specialist Coin SitesSmallDollars.com is a Web site that is entirely focused on small module U.S. Dollar Coins, such as the Presidential, Sacagawea, and Susan B. Anthony Dollars. The site has very in-depth information about the coins, artists, errors and varieties, patterns, and pretty much anything else you might want to know about the small dollars.
6. Don's World Coin Gallery
Category: Coin ValuesDon's World Coin Gallery is a legendary Web site devoted to coins from virtually every issuing authority in the world. Don has tens of thousands of coins listed on his site, including photos, prices, a coin identification guide, and lots more for the world coin collector. The most amazing thing of all? Practically every single coin on the site came from Don's own collection!
7. Wildwinds.com Ancient Coin Reference
Category: ReferenceThe Wildwinds database of ancient coins was begun by ancient coin dealer and collector Dave Surber more than a decade ago as a record of which ancient Roman and Greek coins sold for how much money. Soon, his archive of thousands of coin images and descriptions was hailed by ancient coin collectors everywhere as a wonderful cataloging and attribution resource. Now with more than 100,000 images, Wildwinds also covers Celtic and Byzantine coins, too.
8. Coinflation.com
Category: Misc. Coin-RelatedCoinflation.com tracks the intrinsic, or base metal, value of circulating coins. If you wonder what the melt value of the silver in your quarters or silver dollars is worth, or the copper value of pennies and nickels, Coinflation has them all listed, tied to current spot prices. The site also carries an interesting news feed relating to coins and coin metal values.
9. Numismaster
Category: Collecting Software/Coin ValuesNumismaster.com was founded by Krause Publication, the Standard Catalog of World Coins people. They put the whole catalog online, along with coin collection management software, and added in some news and blogs. It's a very useful coin collecting resource; too bad it's not free...
10. CoinLink.com News
Category: News & BlogsCoinlink.com, founded in 1995, has evolved into one of the most comprehensive coin news and reference sites on the Web. The site makes my list because of its outstanding news aggregator, which is a cross between a news feed and a hundred-author blog. Coinlink is a true labor of love by longtime collector Scott Purvis.
