Breen tops the list

The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic Bibliomania
Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of U.S. Numismatic
Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the email counterpart to the
association's quarterly print magazine The Asylum. The top vote-getter was
Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins.
Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first reference of
choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably maligned for
technical faults and lack of supporting documentation, Breen's breadth is
staggering. Nowhere else is so much information packed into a single volume.
Pre-federal, federal, territorial, commemorative, it is all here. Allowed
only one book in an American numismatic library, this would be the expected
choice. With copies on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars
and no competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum, vol. 12,
no. 25, June 21, 2009]

James

"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the email
counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The Asylum.
The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of United
States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first reference
of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably maligned for
technical faults and lack of supporting documentation, Breen's breadth
is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information packed into a
single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial, commemorative, it is
all here. Allowed only one book in an American numismatic library,
this would be the expected choice. With copies on the secondary market
selling for hundreds of dollars and no competitors in sight, this
reference will endure as the standard comprehensive guide for the
foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum, vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus remains
the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the email
counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The Asylum.
The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first
reference of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably
maligned for technical faults and lack of supporting documentation,
Breen's breadth is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information
packed into a single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial,
commemorative, it is all here. Allowed only one book in an American
numismatic library, this would be the expected choice. With copies
on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars and no
competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum,
vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus
remains the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

In the most recent issue of Asylum, NBS announced only the bottom half of
the list of one hundred, with the promise to list the top half in the next
issue. Only the top two were reported in the issue of E-Sylum referenced
above, the number two spot going to Crosby. I fully expect that the Redbook
will occupy a berth within the top ten, and I will report back once I find
out for sure where it ranked.

James

"Bob F." wrote in message
...


So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!

So predictable...

Jump for another dime, you monkey.

"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the
email
counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The
Asylum.
The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first
reference of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably
maligned for technical faults and lack of supporting documentation,
Breen's breadth is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information
packed into a single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial,
commemorative, it is all here. Allowed only one book in an American
numismatic library, this would be the expected choice. With copies
on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars and no
competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum,
vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus
remains the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

In the most recent issue of Asylum, NBS announced only the bottom half
of the list of one hundred, with the promise to list the top half in
the next issue. Only the top two were reported in the issue of
E-Sylum referenced above, the number two spot going to Crosby. I
fully expect that the Redbook will occupy a berth within the top ten,
and I will report back once I find out for sure where it ranked.

I'm an American numismatist and, for US coins, my go to book is the Red
Book, not Breen (which, due to its high price, I do not own).
I suspect that is the case for thousands of other American coin
collectors as well.
For Canadian coins, my go to book is "Coins Of Canada" by Haxby,
followed by the Charlton Catalogue.

Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the
email
counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The
Asylum.
The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first
reference of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably
maligned for technical faults and lack of supporting documentation,
Breen's breadth is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information
packed into a single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial,
commemorative, it is all here. Allowed only one book in an American
numismatic library, this would be the expected choice. With copies
on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars and no
competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum,
vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus
remains the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

In the most recent issue of Asylum, NBS announced only the bottom
half of the list of one hundred, with the promise to list the top
half in the next issue. Only the top two were reported in the issue
of E-Sylum referenced above, the number two spot going to Crosby. I
fully expect that the Redbook will occupy a berth within the top ten,
and I will report back once I find out for sure where it ranked.

I'm an American numismatist and, for US coins, my go to book is the
Red Book, not Breen (which, due to its high price, I do not own).
I suspect that is the case for thousands of other American coin
collectors as well.
For Canadian coins, my go to book is "Coins Of Canada" by Haxby,
followed by the Charlton Catalogue.

No argument about your being an American numismatist, Bob. Likewise am I.
I was not included in the survey, and suspect that you were not, either.
But it is not arguable that, in the eyes of those American numismatists who
WERE surveyed, Breen was voted #1.

I also use the Redbook extensively, and there's a copy of it in less than my
right arm's reach from this keyboard. I keep a copy of Haxby just as close
by, in a bookcase to my left.

My copy of Breen was bought when the cover price was $75, and I got it at a
40% discount from that number, from a friend who was a book dealer. Because
of its price, I can understand why the Redbook is in the hands of far more
U.S. collectors than is Breen. The Redbook is far more portable, as well,
and contains remarkable depth and breadth for its size and price. I use
Breen as much for his taxonomy of colonial coins as anything else. And yes,
as far as that taxonomy is concerned, he made the whole damned thing up -
fabricated it, some would say. But until the recent attempt by QDB to
present colonial collectors with an alternate comprehensive taxonomy, Breen
was all there was. It remains to be seen whether Bowers' "Whitman"
numbering system will catch on. Something tells me it will not, just as
Breen's re-cataloguing of early large cents in his posthumously-issued work
still occupies a distant second place from Sheldon's.

James

Mr. Jaggers wrote:
But until the recent attempt by QDB to
present colonial collectors with an alternate comprehensive taxonomy, Breen
was all there was. It remains to be seen whether Bowers' "Whitman"
numbering system will catch on. Something tells me it will not, just as
Breen's re-cataloguing of early large cents in his posthumously-issued work
still occupies a distant second place from Sheldon's.

James

A few years ago QDB wanted to renumber the Fuld attribution numbers
for Civil War Tokens. I am SOOOO glad that the idea fell flat.

Jud wrote:
Mr. Jaggers wrote:
But until the recent attempt by QDB to
present colonial collectors with an alternate comprehensive
taxonomy, Breen was all there was. It remains to be seen whether
Bowers' "Whitman" numbering system will catch on. Something tells
me it will not, just as Breen's re-cataloguing of early large cents
in his posthumously-issued work still occupies a distant second
place from Sheldon's.

James

A few years ago QDB wanted to renumber the Fuld attribution numbers
for Civil War Tokens. I am SOOOO glad that the idea fell flat.

Amen to that! There has to be a compelling reason to re-number any series,
and with Fuld, there just isn't one.

James the Steadfast

On Jun 22, 8:23*am, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the
email
counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The
Asylum.
The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of
United States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of the commentary:

" Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the first
reference of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably
maligned for technical faults and lack of supporting documentation,
Breen's breadth is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information
packed into a single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial,
commemorative, it is all here. Allowed only one book in an American
numismatic library, this would be the expected choice. With copies
on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars and no
competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." *[from E-Sylum,
vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus
remains the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

In the most recent issue of Asylum, NBS announced only the bottom
half of the list of one hundred, with the promise to list the top
half in the next issue. *Only the top two were reported in the issue
of E-Sylum referenced above, the number two spot going to Crosby. *I
fully expect that the Redbook will occupy a berth within the top ten,
and I will report back once I find out for sure where it ranked.

I'm an American numismatist and, for US coins, my go to book is the
Red Book, not Breen (which, due to its high price, I do not own).
I suspect that is the case for thousands of other American coin
collectors as well.
For Canadian coins, my go to book is "Coins Of Canada" by Haxby,
followed by the Charlton Catalogue.

No argument about your being an American numismatist, Bob. *Likewise am I.
I was not included in the survey, and suspect that you were not, either.
But it is not arguable that, in the eyes of those American numismatists who
WERE surveyed, Breen was voted #1.

I also use the Redbook extensively, and there's a copy of it in less than my
right arm's reach from this keyboard. *I keep a copy of Haxby just as close
by, in a bookcase to my left.

My copy of Breen was bought when the cover price was $75, and I got it at a
40% discount from that number, from a friend who was a book dealer. *Because
of its price, I can understand why the Redbook is in the hands of far more
U.S. collectors than is Breen. *The Redbook is far more portable, as well,
and contains remarkable depth and breadth for its size and price. *I use
Breen as much for his taxonomy of colonial coins as anything else. *And yes,
as far as that taxonomy is concerned, he made the whole damned thing up -
fabricated it, some would say. *But until the recent attempt by QDB to
present colonial collectors with an alternate comprehensive taxonomy, Breen
was all there was. *It remains to be seen whether Bowers' "Whitman"
numbering system will catch on. *Something tells me it will not, just as
Breen's re-cataloguing of early large cents in his posthumously-issued work
still occupies a distant second place from Sheldon's.

James- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I think that while he is not an exceptionally original researcher (he
is more of a compiler or recycler), the coin hobby will someday look
back at QDB with gratitude for all the books he has authored or
shepherded (sic?) into existence. This is especially true in the last
several years. I can't be certain that "Whitman" is making money, but
I am amazed at all the new and reprinted titles in the last five
years. The Redbook is also a much greater reference resource today
than it was ten years ago and a lot of this improvement is based upon
QDB's works.

oly

Mr. Jaggers wrote:
Bob F. wrote:
"Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote in message
...
The results of a survey, recently conducted by the Numismatic
Bibliomania Society, and titled "The One Hundred Greatest Items of
U.S. Numismatic Literature," has been announced in E-Sylum, the
email counterpart to the association's quarterly print magazine The
Asylum. The top vote-getter was Walter Breen's Complete
Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins. Here is part of
the commentary: " Revered and reviled, Breen's magnum opus remains the
first
reference of choice for American numismatists. Although justifiably
maligned for technical faults and lack of supporting documentation,
Breen's breadth is staggering. Nowhere else is so much information
packed into a single volume. Pre-federal, federal, territorial,
commemorative, it is all here. Allowed only one book in an American
numismatic library, this would be the expected choice. With copies
on the secondary market selling for hundreds of dollars and no
competitors in sight, this reference will endure as the standard
comprehensive guide for the foreseeable future." [from E-Sylum,
vol. 12, no. 25, June 21, 2009]

So there, Goldie, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
At any rate, I disagree with the statement "Breen's magnum opus
remains the first reference of choice for American numismatists".
I believe that honor should go to the Red Book.

In the most recent issue of Asylum, NBS announced only the bottom
half of the list of one hundred, with the promise to list the top
half in the next issue. Only the top two were reported in the issue
of E-Sylum referenced above, the number two spot going to Crosby. I
fully expect that the Redbook will occupy a berth within the top ten,
and I will report back once I find out for sure where it ranked.

As chance would have it, the April-June 2009 number of the Asylum was in my
mailbox today. It does indeed report the top part of the survey results.
The top five:

1. Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins
2. Crosby's Early Coins of America
3. The Numismatist (the ANA monthly organ)
4. Yeoman's Guidebook of U.S. Coins (the Redbook)
5. Sheldon's Penny Whimsey (co-authored by Dorothy Paschal and Walter
Breen)

Several other Breen titles are found in the list of 100 greatest:

20. Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Proof Coins
25. Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. Half Cents
51. Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. Cents (published posthumously under the
tutelage of mostly Mark Borckhart)
63. Breen's California and Fractional Gold (Ron Gillio, co-author)

James the Messenger