Cataloging
a collection can be a daunting task for many a collector. Unless you're like me
and truly enjoy spreadsheets and meticulous organization, it's not exactly an
appealing way to spend your free time. This is especially true if you're
starting from scratch and/or have a large collection. However, in my opinion,
it's a critical part of collecting.
Be
it posts from collectors on social media, or collectors featured on shows and
documentaries about collecting, I'm often surprised by how many collectors
don't catalog their collections. To each his/her own, I'm not here to judge or
preach. I simply find it interesting. A complete catalog of your collection is
a valuable asset when it comes to having the collection appraised and insured.
It's a great backup in the event of theft, loss (i.e. during a move), or
damage/destruction (fire, flood, tornado, etc.). And it serves as an archive to
preserve the legacy of your collection, both during and after you own it.
The
choice as to whether or not you catalog your collection is entirely up to you.
And if you do, the method by which you catalog it should be a system or format
that works comfortably for you. Below is a detailed breakdown on how I catalog
my Star Wars collection. It's a system I developed years ago when 95% of my
collection was still in storage. Last year, after the entire collection was
moved into the Prides of Nexu Museum, I made some upgrades to the catalog
system and completely re-cataloged from scratch (a process which took seventy
nine days). Now however my catalog is one hundred percent complete, accurate,
and consistent. Thus, going forward I only need to enter each new acquisition
as its acquired, a task requiring very little time. So while it’s a
lengthy process initially, the benefits definitely justify the time spent. Not
only do I have a detailed record of my entire collection, but the data can be
sorted and filtered to reference specific information.
Everything
I’m about to share is specific to my collection. I use an Excel document to
catalog my collection, one workbook with a lot of tabs. First and foremost, I
divided my collection up into categories and sub-categories. Each category has
a three-letter code associated with it.
Category Category
Code
Action
Figures FIG
Apparel GEA
Artwork,
Posters & Standees ART
Audio
& Visual Media MED
Displays,
Signs & Packaging DIS
Home
& Office Items HOM
Lightsabers
& Blasters WEA
Misc.
Items MIS
Novels,
Books & Magazines NBM
Statues,
Figures & Busts SFB
Toys,
Games & Models TOY
Anakin’s
Collection (my dog) K9A
The
sub-categories are more specific and are for tracking;
*character
focus collections (i.e. my Ahsoka Tano collection has a sub-category code of
ATC)
*genre
specific collections (i.e. anything Expanded Universe related is sub-category
EUC)
*a
particular favorite brand (i.e. all Grant Gould art pieces has a sub-category
code of GGC)
I
have seventeen different sub-categories.
Tabs
The
two main tabs are the Count tab and the Catalog tab. There are then tabs for
each of the twelve categories, labeled by category name. And there are tabs for
each of the seventeen sub-categories, labeled by sub-category name.
The
Count tab tracks the piece count of the collection. I actually track two
different totals; an “As Packaged” total, and an “Individual Pieces” total. The
“As Packaged” total counts each piece as it was packaged/purchased. The “Individual
Pieces” total counts how many individual items in a package. So a Hasbro Battle
Pack with five figures and a vehicle would count as one “As Packaged” piece,
but would count as six “Individual Pieces”. I feel the “As Packaged” total is a
more accurate number when stating how many pieces are in my collection.
However, I also like knowing how many total “Individual Pieces” are in my
collection as well. So I track both.
The
Count tab also tracks both the “As Packaged” and “Individual Pieces” counts by
category and sub-category. This way I have two totals for the collection as a
whole, but also two totals for each individual category and sub-category. In
terms of the categories, many also have a counter for what I call Item
Breakdown counts. This count totals specific types of pieces within a certain
category. I’ll use Action Figures as an example:
Category As Packaged Item Breakdown Individual Pieces
Action
Figures xxx xxx
3.75” Figures xxx
3.75” Creatures xxx
3.75” Vehicles xxx
3.75” Playsets xxx
3.75” Accessories xxx
6” Figures xxx
6” Creatures xxx
6” Vehicles xxx
6” Accessories xxx
So the total of the Item Breakdown column
would equal the Individual Pieces total
The
Catalog tab is the main, master catalog list of every piece in the entire
collection. The information on the Catalog tab is fed to the Counts tab, and to
every category and sub-category tab. This is the tab I manually input data
into.
Data Points and
Collection Numbers
On
the Catalog tab, for each piece, there are fourteen data point cells filled
out. Of the fourteen data points, two are assigned numbers and twelve contain
data I manually input.
Category
Sub-Category
Collection
Number
Item
Number
Additional
Pieces
Additional
Piece Collection Number
Type
Manufacturer
Series
Item
Number
Year
Item
Condition
Notes
Each
piece is assigned a unique 9-digit Collection Number. The starting number was #000000001.
The Collection Number identifies the piece within the collection. Each piece is
also assigned a unique 7-digit Item Number. The Item Number identifies the
piece within its category. Thus, each Item Number begins with the three-letter
category code. For example, the first Item Number in the Action Figure category
is Item Number #FIG0000001. So for a piece that is one “As Packaged” piece and
one “Individual Piece”, it will have one Collection Number and one Item Number.
For a piece that is one “As Packaged” piece and multiple “Individual Pieces”,
the piece will have one Collection Number and multiple Item Numbers.
Category and Sub-Category – input is three-letter
code
Collection
Number
– assigned Collection Number
Item Number – assigned Item
Number
Additional
Pieces
– YES or NO field
*If
YES then Collection Number populates in the Additional Piece Collection Number field
Type – input is
specific type of piece (i.e. T-Shirt, Mini-Bust, Poster, etc.)
Manufacturer – input is
manufacturer/brand name (i.e. Hasbro, Gentle Giant, etc.)
Series – input if
piece is part of a manufacturer’s series (i.e. The Legacy Collection)
Number – input if the
piece itself has a number (i.e. #CW44 or #297 of 750)
Year – input is the
year the piece was released
Item Condition – input is the
physical condition of the piece (i.e. Sealed in Package)
Notes – input is
information on one-of-a-kind pieces, signatures, certificates of authenticity,
important facts about the piece, etc.
The
goal is to have as much information about every piece as possible, while also
having each piece entered in exactly the same format and manner so that all the
data is consistent across the entire catalog.
Each
Category and Sub-Category tab look identical to the master Catalog tab, except
they only contain pieces belonging to their category or sub-category.
As
I mentioned before, having this amount of information on each piece in the
collection allows me to sort and filter the data in order to look at it in
virtually any context I choose, be it for reference or cross-checking against
want/hunt lists. But most importantly, my entire collection is captured and
recorded in explicit detail.
My
next project is to photograph every individual piece in the collection, and
name each photo JPG file with said piece’s Collection Number, thus tying it
back to the collection catalog. Then years from now, after I’ve sold the
collection, I can take the catalog and the photos, and have a book made of my
collection. That way, when I’m old, my collection will only be one piece (the
book), instead of thousands.
So
that’s how I catalog my Star Wars collection. I’m not sure if it makes any
sense reading it in text form, but the spreadsheet is far too large to show in
screenshots.
The
Prides of Nexu Museum
Twitter:
@PridesOfNexu
Instagram:
@pridesofnexu
