Hi guys Just wondering if anyone knows of a bullion database site that lists all mints and every single bar ever made to date? OR as complete as possible-- does such a thing exist? Was hoping there's be something similar to Discogs.com (for music) and IMDB (for movies/film) but for Bullion bars/coins/etc. Cheers
http://www.goldbarsworldwide.com/ Although it is not really user friendly. I am looking to do something similar on the Perth Mint's website one day.
Thanks for that bron. I've been thinking about making such a site for a while now also, there is no real definitive central database of all the different mints and historic data about all the ingots/coins out there. It would need to be fast and very user friendly... being a web developer myself I think it's something I could do in my spare time. Only problem is building the database, it would have to be fully contributed to be users... what does everyone think, would this be useful it it existed and would you contribute to building up the database? Cheers, Anthony
Anthony, I think it would be a great idea to have such a thing available. I would be happy to contribute whatever data I could (which is potentially not much, as my stack is pretty common, Perth Mint and other popular items). I'm no expert, but it would seem that you've identified the tricky part, that is assembling all the data. The problem with it being open to input from users - how does one ensure the veracity and accuracy of the data being submitted? For some items, surely the manufacturer's websites can reveal official information, and those items will be a "no brainer" (just a lot of hack work) to put into a database. But for mints that no longer exist, or products that no longer exist, this becomes open to use/submission - and abuse - by users/nefarious users of the site. I don't mean to throw a spanner in the works - because I actually think something like this could be useful, especially if API's/whatever were developed so bullion auction sites could link into the database - but if a database is to be built and used, it must be trustworthy/trustable as well?
This is a brilliant idea. Like a wiki site just for bullion. I'll see if I can get my IT team making www.bullionmarketplace.com and www.bullionfoundry.com to have a look at this project. The best way to ensure the data is relevant and accurate is to prevent users from editing the database directly, but instead offer an ability to submit information that is reviewed to ensure its accuracy.
Guys- many thanks for the replies - this site has been in the back of my head for years now. I've actually already started work on this so expect to see a first version released within about 4-6 weeks from now. All registered users will be able to contribute and to ensure accuracy -- I'm thinking along the lines of a voting system so whichever piece of data (say Year of Mintage, for a particular style of ingot, for example) has the highest number of votes, would be taken as "most correct" unless we can reference an official source/figure directly from a manufacturer or other creditable source. If you have any tips/suggestions that you'd like to see as part of the site, please send me a PM. Cheers, Anthony
I know you asked for a PM, but I'd like to put this thought here for additional input, discussion and amendment/rejection. Considering the plan is to store this information in a database, I would imagine there is a plan/structure to this that will allow for various fields to be completed for each item. If this is already planned/set, please forgive and ignore - but I thought some discussion and input on the various fields (which ideally should all be searchable) would perhaps be useful: - Issuer (which mint, etc) - Material type (Silver/Gold/Platinum/Palladium/Rhodium(?)) - Purity - Year of issue (if generic bar, e.g. Perth Mint 10oz, then list "Multiple" - Mintage (if known) - Diameter for coin, or length for bar - Thickness for coin, or width for bar - <blank> for coin, or depth for bar - Milled edge or smooth (for coins) - Weight (in grams & troy ounces, as 2 separate fields, one can be autocalculated from the other) - Special Notes - Image(s)
Thanks for that, those fields you listed are pretty much what we have created for the most part - good to know that we're thinking along the same lines of what would be needed to make this as correct/detailed as possible. The only one we didn't have down was the Milled edge or smooth (for coins) but we'll certainly add that in. Thanks again for that, Midnight Man.
It would be also nice to have some place where all most popular bars and coins have writen dimensions such as diameter and thickness... For example, I cant find thicknes of OPM 1 oz round? Diameter is 39mm, but what is the thicknes?
