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. 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.
2. 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.
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. 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!
5. CoinNetwork.com
Category: Social NetworkMichael Zielinski has hit on one of the cleverest (but perhaps most obvious) Web site ideas of the year with Coin Network. The best way to describe it is "the Myspace of coin collecting."
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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...
9. 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.
10. TrailDies.com
Category: Specialist Coin SitesTrailDies.com focuses on a certain type of doubled die coin variety, the "design extension" type. More commonly known as "wavy steps" or "die trails," these intriguing penny varieties are cataloged in lovely micro-photographs that show you exactly what to look for.
