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A Magazine-length Post About Coin Books
Last fall a member of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (a/k/a C4) announced
in two different online discussion groups that he would be conducting a poll of the membership. One of the groups is inhabited only by members of C4, while membership in the other is open to any interested party. There is considerable overlap between the two groups, with the same people showing up regularly in both. A collegial mentality prevails in both groups, and they are populated by many of the big names in the collecting field of "colonials", those coins that are catalogued in the first chapter of the Redbook, before the Federal half cents. The question posed was, "What are the five most important books, and what are the five most important auction catalogues, having to do with colonial numismatics?" It was essentially an essay question: no multiple-choice, no matching, no true/false, no fill-in-the-blank. Participants had to search their minds and their libraries and come up with their own lists of the top five most important books and catalogues from scratch. The results were published in the Winter 2009 number of the C4 Newsletter. Here are the top ten vote-getters in the book category: 1. Crosby. The Early Coins of America 2. Bowers. The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins 3. Breen. Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins 4. Mossman. Money of the Anerican Colonies and Confederation 5. Miller. The State Coinage of Connecticut 6. Carlotto. The Copper Coins of Vermont 7. Nipper. In Yankee Doodle's Pocket 8. Betts. American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals 9. Newman. The Early Paper Money of America 10. Yeoman. A Guide Book of United States Coins As I have very limited interest in auction catalogues, I will not copy that part of the survey results at this time. I find three things noteworthy about these results. First, in spite of all the real and alleged shortcomings of its author and its content, the Breen Encyclopedia finished "show" in this horse race. Second, two of these books - the Bowers and the Nipper - were published in 2009 and have quickly become favorites in the field, in spite of the user-discovered shortcomngs of the content of the first and the author-acknowledged shortcomings of the content of the second (the reputations of the two authors remain pure as the driven snow, in spite of frenetic efforts on the part of their detractors to dig up dirt on them, one could speculate). Whitman has issued a corrigenda list for the Bowers title that occupies an entire 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of small print, and has indicated that these corrections will be one day be incorporated into a second edition. Finally, two of the titles - the Miller and the Carlotta - are very narrow in specialty, yet find themselves in the company of the more generalized books in the list of the top ten. James "I Report, You Decide" the Early American |
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A Magazine-length Post About Coin Books
On Feb 28, 7:13*am, "Mr. Jaggers" lugburzman[at]yahoo[dot]com wrote:
Last fall a member of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (a/k/a C4) announced in two different online discussion groups that he would be conducting a poll of the membership. *One of the groups is inhabited only by members of C4, while membership in the other is open to any interested party. *There is considerable overlap between the two groups, with the same people showing up regularly in both. *A collegial mentality prevails in both groups, and they are populated by many of the big names in the collecting field of "colonials", those coins that are catalogued in the first chapter of the Redbook, before the Federal half cents. The question posed was, "What are the five most important books, and what are the five most important auction catalogues, having to do with colonial numismatics?" *It was essentially an essay question: *no multiple-choice, no matching, no true/false, no fill-in-the-blank. *Participants had to search their minds and their libraries and come up with their own lists of the top five most important books and catalogues from scratch. The results were published in the Winter 2009 number of the C4 Newsletter.. Here are the top ten vote-getters in the book category: 1. *Crosby. *The Early Coins of America 2. *Bowers. *The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins 3. *Breen. *Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins 4. *Mossman. *Money of the Anerican Colonies and Confederation 5. *Miller. *The State Coinage of Connecticut 6. *Carlotto. *The Copper Coins of Vermont 7. *Nipper. *In Yankee Doodle's Pocket 8. *Betts. *American Colonial History Illustrated by Contemporary Medals 9. *Newman. *The Early Paper Money of America 10. *Yeoman. *A Guide Book of United States Coins As I have very limited interest in auction catalogues, I will not copy that part of the survey results at this time. I find three things noteworthy about these results. *First, in spite of all the real and alleged shortcomings of its author and its content, the Breen Encyclopedia finished "show" in this horse race. Second, two of these books - the Bowers and the Nipper - were published in 2009 and have quickly become favorites in the field, in spite of the user-discovered shortcomngs of the content of the first and the author-acknowledged shortcomings of the content of the second (the reputations of the two authors remain pure as the driven snow, in spite of frenetic efforts on the part of their detractors to dig up dirt on them, one could speculate). *Whitman has issued a corrigenda list for the Bowers title that occupies an entire 8 1/2" X 11" sheet of small print, and has indicated that these corrections will be one day be incorporated into a second edition. Finally, two of the titles - the Miller and the Carlotta - are very narrow in specialty, yet find themselves in the company of the more generalized books in the list of the top ten. James "I Report, You Decide" the Early American Random thoughts over the first cuppa this A.M., (1) Books - there is a "test of time" and a "memory-deterioration" test that all new reference books probably have to go through. See how the copper community feels in ten years about those books published in 2009... (2) Yes, one of the two authors of a 2009 book has an impressive published oeuvre, but mon vieux, you insist on some kind of "purity"??? Purity??? The gentleman is a commercant, first and foremost. IMHO, publishing and advertising may overlap here. (3) The Red Book should get an award for being the most improved numismatic book of the last decade. It is really much much better than it used to be and it is a great value for the money ('though I can't judge the quality of the Colonials section as well as some other areas). (4) Opinion. High-end Coppers are a pricey speciality pursuit and, based on some of the players I have encountered, it is something of an ego game. Now for the second cuppa. oly |
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A Magazine-length Post About Coin Books
oly wrote:
[magazine-length post about coin books snipped] Random thoughts over the first cuppa this A.M., (1) Books - there is a "test of time" and a "memory-deterioration" test that all new reference books probably have to go through. See how the copper community feels in ten years about those books published in 2009... Judging by how that community already feels about the first mentioned title, I don't see things changing with that one, especially with its Whitman imprint. The second author mentioned, self-published, takes very much a "big-tent" approach to the topic, of which many of the "puckered" crowd take a dim view. (2) Yes, one of the two authors of a 2009 book has an impressive published oeuvre, but mon vieux, you insist on some kind of "purity"??? Purity??? The gentleman is a commercant, first and foremost. IMHO, publishing and advertising may overlap here. OMG, you're right, I had never noticed that. You are most perspicacious! (3) The Red Book should get an award for being the most improved numismatic book of the last decade. It is really much much better than it used to be and it is a great value for the money ('though I can't judge the quality of the Colonials section as well as some other areas). Advance pub for the 2011 edition promises big changes in the Colonial section. I can't wait. Mebbe, just mebbe, the glaring inconsistencies of the first 63 editions might just be corrected and/or clarified (New Jersey 1787 small planchet, plain shield, for example, which does not exist in reality, yet the TPGs dutifully slab coins that way). (4) Opinion. High-end Coppers are a pricey speciality pursuit and, based on some of the players I have encountered, it is something of an ego game. That's very true. I've seen it! Now for the second cuppa. A ta santé! James the Collector of Really Low-Down Coppers 'but nevertheless owns a couple of VFs' |
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