In an age where practically everything is digital, investing in hard assets is becoming more and more attractive, and a growing trend amongst investors is the collecting of rare coins. While purchasing a coin may be much less complex and costly than acquiring something like real estate, coin collecting has its own challenges. With no one central location of information to refer to, it can be difficult for the average investor to estimate coin values without endless research from multiple sources of varying opinions. This causes many aspiring coin collectors to shy away from entering the industry, wary of making an ill-informed purchase.
Thanks to the use of technology, there appears to be a solution. Today we're reviewing the exciting new app from Numis DB, short for Numismatic Database. For those new to the subject, numismatics is the study of rare coins, and Numis DB has created an unprecedented new platform that allows users to gain instant access to the value of any coin from any time period, country or region through a vast searchable database.
The Challenge: How to Get True Market Value of Rare Coins and Currencies
Traditionally, coin values are assessed by professional numismatists, who through their own private research and expert opinions, decide what a coin may be worth - the problem is, their coin-value-opinions are just that... opinions. They suggest values based on their personal belief system and that uses outdated methods stretching as far back as 100 years ago (archaic to say the least). This information can be incredibly hard to find, especially for ultra rare coins, and can vary among singular sources. While there are a few sites in existence that have created their own coin database, they tend to focus on specific regions or sub-specialties, and lack the technology to stay consistently updated. Numis DB promises to be the first database to pull from multiple sources to provide the current known value of coins from every possible region and time period, and allow users to access that information instantly. The Numismatic Database also leverages the expertise of its founder, Grant Powell, a long-time numismatist and former Google employee with over twenty years of experience building apps for companies such as Spotify, Porsche, American Express and many more.
Our First Impression of the App
The design of the app and mobile site are both sleek, simple and easy to use. The disciplined structure and clean look makes them easy to navigate and read. While going through the app, there were no bugs or glitches, and everything worked as promised. The site was fast-loading, which was impressive considering the vast amount of images and data it houses, and has all the same features of the app. For those new to coin collecting, you can educate yourself within the vast knowledge base provided on collecting, dealing and the history of different coins and currencies.
What struck us as most impressive, right off the bat, was how simple, yet intelligent their main search feature is. Typing in something as broad as a country or region, or as specific as an exact coin and the year it was minted, brings up a list of entries to explore. When selecting a particular coin entry, a user can see the coin's details and specifications, pictures, and approximated value. Cross-referencing links at the top of the page lead to similar coins of the same region, value, or type.
Anyone who has been to a coin or antiques show knows that the amount of options can be overwhelming, especially for the average buyer lacking expert levels of knowledge. In the past, collectors would have to either walk away from a coin they had questions about, or buy blindly and do their research later. Having the ability to instantly search and locate a coin's value in an app in your phone while considering a purchase is a game-changer for coin collectors everywhere.
Mind-Blowing AI Features
At the core, this coin values app offers near real-time market values of numismatic items based on a proprietary algorithm that factors in several dimensions of data including: 1) recent sales and auctions from multiple sources, and 2) a proprietary pricing engine that factors in rarity, availability, quality (grade), and most interestingly... popularity. In other words, trending coins may be worth more than other coins, even if those other coins are more rare.
Possibly even more promising are the upcoming features that the Numis DB team are working on releasing down the line, with big plans to continually integrate technology into the coin collecting and dealing industries. Using artificial intelligence and big data from multiple sources to track data and improve their coin valuation algorithm will allow users to trust that the listed values they're seeing are the most current. Additionally, an upcoming crowdsourcing feature will help to determine the true market valuation of a coin based on consumer sentiment, something that no other company has done before. What was once the product of just a few people's opinions, Numis DB is aiming to change the way we view a coin's real-time value. Their goal to use market opinion to gain an unadulterated, unbiased value is unprecedented in the world of numismatics.
Another incredible feature in the works will be the use of image recognition technology within the app, making the search feature even easier. Numis DB promises that eventually, a user will be able to identify any coin simply by taking a picture with their phone, and the app will further provide them with the coin's approximate grade (a numerical system of ratings 1-70 that is used to note the state of a coin's condition), and approximate value, instantly!
While most industries have embraced the use of technology to combine and compare large amounts of data, coin collecting has been far behind the curve, until now. There are no real competitors to compare this app to, because we were amazed to find that there are truly no other apps like it. The team at Numis DB are forging a new path in the coin collecting and dealing industries, and their use of technology will not only bring coin collecting and dealing into the present era, but likely introduce a whole new population of investors to rare coins.
In Conclusion, We're Impressed!
We were very impressed with the ease of use and intelligent design of Numis DB, and are excited to see how the upcoming app features will change the numismatic industry. We recommend this app to everyone from fledgling collectors gaining an interest in rare coins, to the experienced investor or coin dealer who wants a faster and more reliable way to get the value of any numismatic item. Having instant access to a coin's value will make the process of any coin transaction easier, whether browsing a pawn shop, attending a coin show, or simply wondering if a coin you've found buried in the back of a drawer is worth anything.
Download the App
Download the numismatic database app now to gain instant insights and information, and be the first to experience its upcoming, innovative features.
