No comments about Those Amazing Coins: A kids guide to coin collecting.

1 comments about Penny Whimsy.

1. Most collectors don't need to be introduced to this referance book. However, if you're new to collecting, understand that this is considered by many, (if not most) collectors to be the MAIN referance book for older US large cents.
   
   It covers the years 1793-1814. The book was written in the 1940's, and updated a couple of times. The author goes to great length to describe the characteristics of the different die varieties for these years. Besides the descriptions, each one is also documented with a photograph. The photos are lacking at times, but they are quite helpful none the less.
   
   Bottom line, if you're interested in Large Cents, this material is required reading.

1 comments about Crime of 1873: The Comstock Connection.

1. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Robert R. Van Ryzin's "CRIME of 1873: THE COMSTOCK CONNECTION". This meticulously researched book offers an original perspective on one of the most colorful chapters in U.S. history. Of particular interest are the previously unpublished letters that expose the collusion of a high government official with a powerful California banker. Interwoven throughout Van Ryzin's story is the lore of gold and silver strikes and the characters who made mining in the West such an important part of American history. This book takes a close look at the creation of the U.S. Trade dollar, the Morgan silver dollar, and the famous Carson City Mint. Van Ryzin's chapter on the Free Silver Movement gives insight into this often misunderstood political movement, led by William Jennings Bryan. With financial wrongdoing ever present in contemporary reporting, the CRIME of 1873 drives home to readers that having the best government money can buy nothing unique to our times.

2 comments about Canadian Coins, 62nd Edition - A Charlton Standard Catalogue (Charlton's Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins).

1. Good product, nice condition for used book and very prompt service in delivering book.
   
   Jim Cesario



2. Charlton's Standard Catalouge of Canadian Coins is a great reference and price guide. I would highly reccomend it.

5 comments about The Complete Lincoln Cent Encyclopedia.

1. This reference is a nice piece, although to me, it falls a bit short of Sol Taylor's Complete Guide to the Lincoln Cent. The book has very good photographic reproduction, and has some interesting information on die varieties and RPMs. It also reveals a lot about some key issues such as the 1909S VDB and 1922 Plain!

   So where does it fall short? To me, it reads a little too much like a reference. Aside from a few key dates, many of the date listings give very little information on the quality of the coins produced for that issue. This is where Taylor's book seems better suited, as it very often describes the colors, die states, and strikes of virtually every issue.

   If this is addressed in later editions, than I think this title holds the potential to really achieve a legacy among Lincoln Cent collectors!




2. This is an interesting book for Lincoln cent collectors. Overall, the book appears to contain a lot of information about varieties. This is no doubt the result of a great deal of background research. There are, however, at least two areas that I puzzled over.

   The first area is related to the description of blistering. On page 18 in the second paragraph of "Wrong or improperly mixed alloys", it is stated that blistering is caused by residual chemicals left on the planchet after plating. I'm a little puzzled as to how blistering can be caused in this manner, unless the copper is compromised and a contaminant attacks the zinc. A majority of blisters that I've observed using a 30x stereoscope appear to be between the zinc material and the copper plating with no apparent penetration or compromising of the copper plating. The conclusion that I've arrived at after examining the later type of blisters is as follows: 1) The zinc material is not being cleaned properly before the plating process. 2) The plating process traps a contaminant between the zinc material and the copper plating. 3) The contaminant reacts with the zinc, thereby resulting in a blistering effect of the copper. The blistering phenomenon should have been explained in greater detail.

   The second area has to do with the descriptions and pictures of the 1909S VDB die varieties. Specifically, the description of the Die No 2 variety (page 40) would tend to indicate that the mintmark, while being level with the bottoms of the 9s, would have the same relative position between the 9 and 0 as the Die No 1 variety. The description for the Die No 2 variety seems to be vague on this point. In addition, the picture that is provided for the Die No 2 variety seems to match the description and the picture for the Die No 3 variety. It's obvious that these two pictures are of different coins, but the variety appears to be the same. This leads me to question the picture representation of the Die No 2 variety, a better description would have helped (or maybe the correct picture).

   I would have liked to ask the author about these to points rather than writing a review, but no e-mail address was provided at Amzazon.com.

   One more point of frustration - The grading section could have easily included pictures and did not.




3. This is an excellent book for anyone collecting Lincoln cents - It lists EVERY known variety of the entire series from 1909! It's great for finding valuable coins you didn't know you had.



4. This is a Collector of Lincoln Cents a must have BOOK. I didn't know there were so many diffrent varities of each date. This book has all the information anyone would need to properly collect Lincoln Cents.



5. This is the most complete book every written on the subject of Lincoln Cents. With information from all three leading grading services (ANACS, PCGS & NGC) you can tell exactly how rare is rare.

No comments about Numismatic terms of Spain and Spanish America.

No comments about Quarter Questions.

1 comments about Greek Coins and Their Values (Volume II Asia and Africa).

1. The first nearly 50 pages are necessary introductory material such as coin types, deities, denominations & weights, coin dating, a list of other detailed references upon which this work is based, ancient alphabets, a glossary of terms and a couple of conversion tables.

   Following that are the actual sections which break down as such: Asia Minor - archaic; Asia Minor - Classical & Hellenistic; The East - Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, etc; Egypt and N. Africa - Egypt, Kyrenaica, Carthage, etc; Hellenistic Monarchies - Seleukid, Ptolemaic, Macedonian, Baktrian, etc.

   Not every single coin minted is pictured or listed but boy - if it's not in this book or it's companion Volume 1, buy it! This is a pretty thorough reference work and for what you will come across in the everyday market, this will certainly get you through most of what you will see. Anything more complete will be in a large multivolume set costing 100s, possibly 1000s of dollars so I would not pass on this waiting for something better. The one strike against this book is you must not take these prices as set in stone. They do not reflect the new reality of today's rapid exchange of sales taking place on the internet. In addition to that, the prices are in British pounds as the author is from the UK and this will throw some American users. Once you get over that, take the prices as a guide as to the commoness and/or availability of a given issue. If it lists for £15 - £50, it may be a pretty affordable piece to add to your collection. If it lists in excess of £1000, I would not count it out, but you may have to wait til you are rich and famous to buy it!

   Overall, without spending 100s of dollars, this is the best guide you can get to attribute ancient Greek coins from Asia & N.Africa for your greek coin collection. It's numbering system is the most commonly used by collectors and dealers alike. It has an easy to follow and consistent format and is copiously illustrated and documented. If you collect ancient Greek coins, it belongs on your shelf.

1 comments about Statehood Quarters Collecting Kit.

1. The folder that you put the quarters into only shows one side of the quarters. For these new quarters, I wanted to be able to see both sides of the quarters. Whitman's other binder is much better.

No comments about East Baltic Regional Coinage.