Devices for use with systems and methods for authentication of collectable objects

A protection, authentication, identification device for a coin, said device comprising:

• a holder formed for assembly with said coin to provide protection and preservation of said coin, said holder housing further being formed so as to be nondetachably secured to said coin to resist disassembly and separation with said coin;
• and
• an electronic data storage device containing at least one predetermined external database link to an external database comprising at least one digital image of at least one unique appearance characteristic of said coin, selected from the group including strike, luster, defects, and abrasions for authentication and identification of said digital image with said coin, and
• said electronic data storage device being nondetachably secured to said holder housing and configured to store at least one digital image of said coin, said at least one digital image including sufficient detail to record at least one unique characteristic of the appearance of said coin;
• wherein said electronic data storage device is a solid-state flash memory storage device configured and having sufficient storage capacity to record unique characteristics of the appearance of said coin, and at least one digital image is readable and displayable by a standard computer system connectable to said electronic storage system.