Jason,

With regard to your "cropping" question...

I scan multiple chips in at a time. I don't use any "cropping" functions that might be built into my scanning software. Instead, I use a not so well known feature of (at least) Windows 7 and Vista (not sure if it existed in XP) called the "Snipping Tool". You access it the first time by clicking the Start Button and typing in Snipping Tool in the Search area (thereafter, it's available at the top of the list in the left pane of the Start Menu (or you can right-click drag and drop it to your desktop and create a shortcut).

This is a really great tool - I use it all the time for lots of different things. It allows me to snip (crop) "anything" that appears on the screen.

For my chip collection, after I scan a bunch in, I usually zoom in and then use the Snipping Tool to pick off the individual chips and store the image (Save As) in a particular folder .

This works great for me. it's easier than a lot of the cropping features built into my scanning software - plus it's global in it's functionality - not just available within the scanner software.

I too use terry Shaffer's Collector's Assistant to organize my chips, but often find it faster to just open a tree-like folder/sub folder arrangement (Chips>USA>Nevada>Las Vegas) to just quickly look at a particular chip.