Numismatic database formats

Very interesting post in our own Ed Snible's blog about data formats for numismatic collections. The Vatican is using MARC21, believe it or not.

It's broken now. But I hope some does a decent LibraryThing for coins. Decent would mean good data...

There are a few old-school online databases available, like the ANS database and Wildwinds, and while very valuable to have online, they are kind of in '80s OPAC style (ANS) or generic webpage style (Wildwinds). One problem with a coin database would be the question of what constitutes a distinct type as opposed to (say) a variety. I bet the LT works system could be adapted to a purpose like this, to allow for some natural fuzziness in the data.