No comments about Before Writing: Volume 1: From Counting to Cuneiform.

No comments about A Guide Book of Modern United States Proof Coin Sets: A Complete History and Price Guide (Official Red Book).

1 comments about The Whitman Coin Guide to Coin Collecting.

1. I have always liked coins. I have always regarded them as little pieces of art. However, I usually just put the ones I decided to collect in a bag or a drawer. I purchased The Whitman Guide to Coin Collecting because I wanted to start getting serious about coin collecting.

   As someone looking for good basic information, I found this book a jewel. It contains the basic information any coin collector needs, particularly information about how to find and properly store coins, the history of coins, and how coins are graded or valued. In fact, although I was already starting to get serious about my coin collection (minor as it is), the book was so interesting, particularly when it discusses how coins themselves are truly history, that it really intensified my interest. I have spent a fair amount now on buying proper equipment and materials to store the coins I already had and have even begun visiting a local coin shop to purchase more coins.

   I highly recommend this book to anyone with any interest at all in coins. Because of the historical significance of coins, it would also be interesting for anyone with an interest in history.

3 comments about Numismatic Forgery.

1. Gone are the days of thoughtless coin purchases, and carefree days of yore. Today, the average Joe Numismatist faces a staggering array of crooks out to bilk him of his hard earned cash, by selling recently manufactured numismatic forgeries. Mr. Larson write very intelligently, with wit and humor! I found this book to be not only fun to read, but as much of a page turner as any I have ever read! Bravo sir! I will buy you a cup of coffee should you venture into my neck of the woods. I will guarantee any prospective reader that his book will inform, educate, enlighten and scare the pants off you. You will never look at a rare coin the same way again. Rated 8 stars.



2. Covers: Alteration (tooling, adding mint marks); Casting (centrifugal); False Dies (engraving tools, from electroplates, from casts, explosive impact); Collars; Planchets; Striking (hammering jigs and the 'gravity hammer'); and Wear/Patina.

   Although written in the style of a "how-to" manual for replica and clandestine workshops, the book's target audience is collectors and authenticators. To employ Mr. Larson's techniques for crime you'd need to know the basics of precious metal casting, tool and die machining, gunsmithing, and numismatics. For readers without a metal lathe but with a serious interest in authentication and forgery-fighting, the book will provide an understanding of the covert minting process.

   I was most impressed by Larson's treatment of the manufacture of steel dies through explosive impact copying. His procedure involves modifying shotguns to drive cast hubs into annealed dies. Larson's diagrams are explicit enough to convince the numismatist that explosive copying is practical. Details only of use to criminals, such as the type and quantity of gunpowder to use, are deliberately withheld from the reader.

   Larson quotes an anonymous authenticator who examined 114 1916-S quarter eagles during the 1980s. 56% of them turned out to be fake! Hi-volume forgers in the Middle East and the Orient *already know* many of Larson's techniques. _Numismatic Forgery_ may provide a few useful tips to jewelers and machinists independently turning to crime, but the primary value of the book is to educate collectors in the characteristics of the illicit workshop.




3. A must read for anyone who buys coins: dealer or collector.
   Very insightful and a much needed tool for the industry. There has been nothing quite like this. Nice back cover short reviews by Jim Halperin, Ken Bressett and Mark Salzberg. This book is major league.

3 comments about The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins (Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins).

1. This book contains the official grading standards of the ANA so obviously it is a must own for people who wish to grade within the standards of the ANA. I mean, that is why I purchased the thing but you know what?, I found that I didn't really need it...at least not this edition of it. This is because the ANA is the, ahem, gold standard when it comes to grading coins so practically any current book that you buy concerning the grading of coins will use this information as the baseline. Thus, you can buy books on the hobby that may focus on a topic more exciting to one and which are interesting reads as well, but which nevertheless will refer to the standards elucidated here as the starting point of any discussion of coin grade. What I am saying is that the information contained here is critical to establishing a coin grade so you probably already know what you need to know about these standards from other coins books you have read which purport to help you to establish grade bcause they use this book as a jumping off point. So, use this book as a reference manual, especially if you want to become a professional grader and all the while hope that the ANA comes out with an easier to read and more useful edition soon. Either that or read the other books out there by well-respected coin experts who use these standards and help you "how to use" the standards laid down in this book. The reason that I'd rely upon experts who write books on the hobby for such guidance is that they understand what makes one coin more desirable than another even though each ostensibly meet the objective standards contained in this book, and they tell you how they know and try to instruct you how to do the same. The best way that I can demonstrate what I am talking about is that I bought a coin on ebay that was slabbed by NGC to be a 1938 D/S buffalo nickel. I returned the coin to seller because the '8' in '1938' had been sheared off at the mint. Yet, this coin was in MS-65 condition according to the standards laid down in this book. Get my point?



2. How many times have you heard a dealer say, "shine it up and it'll be BU?" If you're like me, you've seen the questionable grading standards of some dealers. Having a guide like this is absolutely essential if you're going to be spending money on coins. Being able to grade coins well is as essential to the hobby as buying the coin.

   This guide has more information that simply what to look for in grading coinage. It has information on the history of the hobby, how to detect cleaning and other alterations, what the key areas are to look for in coins, and some other useful articles.

   Grading coins is both art and science and you'll find even experts grading the same coin differently. But with a book like this you can have a basis of comparison. The only thing I wish the book had is more color photography of each grade/coin. But that's what the book Photograde is for...




3. This book is one of the finest if not the very best tool avaliable today, not only to collectors but dealers as well. I strognly reccomed the purcahse and use of this book. Keeping in mind that you must pay close attention to the details for accurate grading.

1 comments about So-Called Dollars.

1. So it took 45 years but at long last we have the official second edition of the title 'So-Called Dollars.' So-Called Dollars are roughly defined as silver dollar sized medals that are not issued as trade tokens or storecards; by schools, coin clubs, the military or political organizations/candidates and have been issued in at least one form of metal. The first book was issued in 1963 by Messers. Hibler and Kappen and listed 1000 different medals each assigned it owns HK number. A sort of cult arose around the book with many collectors attempting to either collect the book (all but impossible) or sections of it. The medals cover a wide panoply of subjects and many are available for surprisingly little money. The problem was that the book was never re-issued so that used copies often sold for above one hundred. Four intrepid collectors banded together at the behest of the original publisher and produced this updated version in paperback (a hardbound deluxe edition was also offered to private subscribers). This version is far superior to the original because it has been able to locate and photograph many of the medals not pictured in the original, it has added some of the metallic varieties not listed in the original and it has added and amended a lot of critical information on the medals. Now there are likely around 1200 official HK numbers listed which makes the hobby at least 20% more fun. The only two complaints I have about this edition are: The cover is made from flimsy paper that will wear out quickly and the greatly expanded index makes it difficult to search for a specific medal by name. Still, this book is definitely the so-called BOMB and you must own it!

No comments about Roosevelt Dimes 1946- , Album.

No comments about Money and Government in the Roman Empire.

No comments about An introduction to Celtic coins (A Colonnade book).

3 comments about 100 Greatest American Tokens and Medals.

1. I bought this book on the wildly enthusiastic endorsement of it by a medals dealer (who just happens to specialize in one of the entries). While I agree this book is good for the hobby and is not a bad effort; owning it is not a wholly satisfying experience.
   First the good stuff: The authors have done a fine job of compiling the list of 100 different medals and tokens representative of a broad spectrum from the mundane to the sublime. They also did a generally good job with the background essays on their selections because they are easy to read and sometimes informative. Cross reference numbers from numbering systems found in various books that have catalogued the items are supplied, as are population estimates and some then current pricing information. The presentation and layout of the book are also outstanding. Actually, the book is a pleasure to look at because the full color reproductions are excellent and the layout is top notch.
   In fact, I like almost everything about the book so why only three stars?
   This is a three star book because while it is very likable, it really isn't lovable. This is because the editors didn't give us enough of the kind of information that makes a thing the 'Greatest'. Just throwing together a collection of 100 different examples within a genre because a survey of experts tells one to isn't reason enough, in my opinion.
   The book misses the kind of background stories that caused the collectors, writers and dealers to love them enough to vote them as '100 Greatest'. For instance, I too love the Higley Coppers found on pps. 14-15. I think they are cute and cuddly but I want to know why Samuel Higley was compelled to mint his own coins, for God's sake. What about the coin shortage at the time; how they were used; was there any competing specie circulating at the time? Or take entry No. 47, 'George H. Lovett's Nod to Coin Collectors' which is a fine entry but no mention is made of the Lovett family's long and illustrious relationship to the medallic arts which is doubtless why the medal was voted on the list.
   This book misses the inside information that personalizes what are otherwise just objects. Granted, many of the book's entries are beautiful works of art, but mere beauty is not enough to carry a project such as this. Rest assured that the world teems with beautifully struck medals, aesthetically pleasing medals but this doesn't necessarily make them deserving of greatness.
   Also this book is Made in China. One day China may produce high quality art books but today is not that day. As a book collector it is of utmost importance that art books such as this are produced with the best of values from the best of materials and this book, sadly, was not.
   Just three stars, my friends, but I do agree with the reviewers below this is a great library book.



2. This book is a wonderful collection of KEY MEDALS and TOKENSs. With beautiful pictures, this books tells the story of the medal or token featured as the Top 100 by a select group of Numismatic Experts on the subject. Fun to read; fun to see what medals and tokens made the Top 100 list.
   
   I liked the book so much, I even bought a copy for my local library... JAS



3. Libraries catering to collectors as well as any interested in the history of American medals must have this oversized, lavish survey of rarities in the medal and token world, which explores the U.S.'s first coinage, medals and tokens and includes a foreword by numismatics Russ Rulau and David Alexander. Full page, large-sized color photos of coins and metals provide extraordinary, exceptional detail making this a 'must' reference for any library catering to coin collectors or American history buffs.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch