1 comments about Kennedy Half Dollars Folder 1964-1985 (Official Whitman Coin Folder).

1. This book offers housing for all half dollars from the year 1964 - 1985. Overall, a good holder for the average collector, but does not offer protection from dust and elements in the air.

No comments about The Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Paper Money 2009, 41st Edition (Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Paper Money).

No comments about Collecting and Investing Strategies for Walking Liberty Half Dollars (Strategy Guide Series).

3 comments about Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money.

1. The best description I can give of this work is as a "reference work," and it is not "literary." It is profusely illustrated, but not all notes are depicted.
   
   As a collector of currency for over 50 years, several errors in picture captions popped out at me immediately. I have also compared the pricing with the current market, and as any such volume the data is already getting stale. U.S. Currency is red hot at this time, and the market is extremely volatile. It is difficult for a catalog of this type to be useful for other than a short time frame, if the valuations are a reason for it's purchase.
   
   Other than these small quibbles, a recommended work. Four stars.



2. THIS BOOK IS OH SO INFORMATIVE ON PRICING ! ALSO HAS GREAT PICTURES ! THE ONLY REASON I DIDN'T GIVE IT 5 STARS, WAS THAT IT DID NOT GIVE PRICES FOR DIFFERENT PRINTING "BLOCKS" WITHIN ANY GIVEN YEAR. ALSO DID NOT CONTAIN INFO ON HOW MANY NOTES WERE PRINTED ON ANY GIVEN YEAR OR FROM ANY GIVEN FEDERAL BRANCH.



3. I'm new (again) to the hobby after ~5 years and I picked this book up over the weekend. I cannot evaluate or review the pricing information contained in this book but it seems to be on par with what I am seeing in the market. As I mentioned in the title, I'm really liking all of the color pictures and detailed information about the different series of notes - color pictures probably outnumber the black and white pictures 20 to 1. I'm very glad I purchased this one!

1 comments about The Insider's Guide to U.S. Coin Values 2008 (Insider's Guide to Us Coin Values).

1. I bought this for a family member and he loves it, very simple to look things up. A lot of book for a little money

1 comments about Coin Collecting 101 What You Need to Know.

1. Great stuff for the beginner in this book - small histories of US denominations, coin categories to buy with caution, useful pictorial guide on grading, basics on coin shows, great tips on preservation. Probably not woth a buy for the experienced, but it is called coin collecting 101. Could have done without all the pages of state quarters. Seriously, it looks like the author was just filling pages. Overall all though, worth a buy for the novice.

No comments about The Official Blackbook Price Guide to World Coins 2009, 12th Edition (Official Price Guide to World Coins).

1 comments about U.S. Stamp 2008 Pocket Catalogue (Scott U S Pocket Stamp Catalogue) (Scott U S Pocket Stamp Catalogue).

1. This book has some really nice color photos and is very organized. As it is a "Scott" product, it uses the Scott numbers and is easy to use. My only concern is that it does not picture every stamp and that the pictures are sometimes 10-15 pages away from where the stamp is actually listed in the book. Still, that not-withstanding, it was well worth the money.

1 comments about 2008 North American Coins & Prices (North American Coins and Prices).

1. Every few years I purchase the updated version of this book because it contains information on Canadian and Mexican coins as well as US coins. It is very accurate on the price you might pay for coins purchased over the internet.

4 comments about 100 Greatest American Currency Notes: The Stories Behind The Most Colonial, Confederate, Federal, Obsolete, and Private American Notes.

1. This is an incredible book to have in your library if your a collector of U.S. Paper Currency or not. Stunning pictures of each of the notes this book goes into great detail in discussing. I have this book and the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins book sitting out in my livingroom for all to see and everyone who has stopped by can not help but pick up these books. Then the oh's and ah's start pouring out !!! Absolute incredible book to have in anyone's private library without a doubt.



2. CS:
   
   I received this book and believe it is as expected. Price is at FMV (Fair Market Value). I have not yet proof read it but what I have seen it makes a great reference for those who collect currency. However, it would have been helpful to include the Friedberg number in the Appendix along with the description. Yes, this number can be variable but you have included prices that are also variable and approximate. It may have been better to give a ratio(range)year column price divided by the face value of the currency.



3. This book was exactly what I expected. Good photos and stories behind 100 of the most famous notes in history. Great as a reference or as a coffe table book.



4. It is the rare numismatic book that is educational AND entertaining. This book is one of those rare books.
   I wrote a review of this book for the Bank Note Reporter, the newpaper for collectors of paper money. I have included an only slightly altered version of that review below.
   
   My best purchase at the Chicago Paper Money Exposition was a copy of the new book 100 Greatest American Currency Notes by two of my favorite numismatists--Q. David Bowers and David M. Sundman. Chet Krause and Cliff Mishler wrote a foreword for the book making that four of my favorites all in one book. No, that is not right. Tom Denly was something called valuations editor for the book so that makes five of my favorite--and greatest--numismatists all in one volume.
   In short, the book is beautiful to behold and a joy to read. That sums it up quite nicely, but I do have a lot more to say about it. I feel that I am particularly qualified to do this because I had started a book with exactly the same premise. I still have my notebook with my work. That means that they stole my idea! Of course that is easy to say after they have completed their work and I only have a notebook. It is also untrue. The original idea was Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth's popular 100 Greatest American Coins. Imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery. I must also say that Bowers and Sundman did a far better job than I would have done (not that I did not have a few enhancements).
   The basic premise of the book is to select and discuss the 100 greatest American notes. The authors have done this admirably. The basic methodology was to survey a wide group of dealers asking them to list what they considered to be the top notes. While the methodology was good and the results were great, my first complaint is that I would have liked to have learned more about the methodology. The authors tabulated the results then provided the discussion. As the creators of this project, they have a greater insight than anyone on the subject. I would at a minimum have liked to read more of their thoughts on the results, but these are small complaints.
   If you have not seen the book you can cast a silent vote right now for your top note or top ten. Now that you have done that, you will probably not be surprised that the clear favorite of the survey was the "Grand watermelon" ($1000 Series 1890 Silver Certificate). The authors expected it to be number one and I had it number one in the notes for my book. You have to figure that a note with a nickname like that would come in first or to look at it the other way that a note worthy of being first would have a nick name. Indeed, nine of the top ten have nicknames.
   Two pages are devoted to discussing the grand watermelon and each of the top ten notes. Thereafter it is one page per note. This is the meat of the book. Indeed, the book could just as easily have been something like 100 Great Paper Money Stories.
   The two Davids excelled in the preparation of the text to describe the notes. They supplemented the illustrations of the notes and their discussions with additional illustrations (some of these of coins (gasp)). Most ot these are excellent and some are great in both content and quality. They are a highlight of the book. This seems to be an appropriate place to mention the superb quality of book production. It is color throughout and truly excellent. My one complaint is that the book is in a large format 10 x 12 inches. Many people will consider this a feature. Authors (including me) like these large formats, but they are harder to read. They look great on the coffee table, but are difficult to handle curled up in a chair or in an airline torture seat.
   I did not know that the watermelon description of this note could be traced back to an 1891 newspaper story. Perhaps I had read this before, but if I had, I had forgotten it. The entire quotation from the paper is included. From the footnotes at the back of the book I learned this interesting tidbit. The quotation is "From an 1891 clipping, no day date, in a scrapbook compiled in 1891 and 1892 (now owned by Q. David Bowers)." I found many of the notes worth reading.
   Each entry includes a box with "historic Market Values" and "Commentary on Value." This is the work of the valuations editor. This book is not a catalog of values (I like that), but the inclusion of this information is interesting in its own right and is nice balances with the text and graphics. When I was working on my project, I had not thought of anything like this.
   Number two in the survey is the $500 national bank note. It is a good and obvious choice. It was also number two on my list.
   The third note in the survey is Massachusetts Bay Colony 5-shilling notes of December 10, 1690. It is the first government-issue American paper money (according to Eric Newman). Among other interesting (amazing) things that I learned in this entry is that in the 17th century the annual calendar ran from March 25 to March 24. I also learned that the unique example of this note resides in the Essex Institute, Salem, Massachusetts. That is certainly an appropriate city. I wonder if the note is on public display.
   The balance of the top ten are very interesting indeed. Instead of being great rarities they are dominated by relatively common notes and certainly are affordable in circulated grades to most collectors. The one exception is number eight, the "Spread Eagle Note" (Series of 1862 and 1863 $100 Legal Tender note).
   The others are respectively in positions four though ten (except eight): Lazy Deuce ($2 National Bank Note), $5 Educational note (Series of 1896 Silver Certificate), and Bison Note" (Series of 1891 $10 Legal Tender note), $1 "Educational Note (Series of 1896 Silver Certificate," $20 "Technicolor note" (Series of 1905 Gold Certificate, and the "Indian Chief" (Series of 1899 $5 Silver Certificate).
   The other ninety notes include a wide array of interesting and historical notes. The entry on every single one is worth studying, but to me the most interesting (especially for discussion here) are those that might not be obvious choices.
   United States fractional notes get two entries on the list. Interestingly, number 14, the fractional currency shield, is not a note at all, but a virtual collection of notes. Having said, that I think that it is a good choice.
   Four Confederate notes make the list with several of them having nicknames (the Indian Princess and Montgomery notes (two denominations making the list)).
   That vast, amorphous, and ill defined area known as obsolete notes are also included. Numbers 23 and 24 are Santa Clause notes and polar bear notes even though they are more categories than actual notes. Again, I think that they were good choices.
   I was pleased and even a little surprised to see both World War II issues (Hawaii and North Africa) make the top 100. They won their places because of their extraordinary historical reasons for issue.
   These various categories of notes included in the book are the apparent reason for the awkward book title. I offer this criticism with respect because I struggled with this problem in my unversion of this book. If you say United States notes you probably should not include Confederate notes. Colonial and Continental notes would not really fit. "Obsolete" notes would be in doubt too. Even American notes (as chosen) presents some problems. Does American include Canada? Mexico? I do not like the term currency notes, but I understand the problem. Bank notes does not fit because most of the notes selected were not issued by banks under any definition. Many people (unfortunately) would simply say currency but that is a very bad choice because currency is coins and paper money. In most constructions paper money does not work (100 Greatest American Paper Money). Even notes has some problems. Certainly, national bank notes are notes. but are silver and gold certificates notes? In the final analysis, having said that I do not like what we was used, but I do not have a better title.
   I love the book, but I disagree with some of the choices. That is one of the wonderful aspects of books of lists. They are certain to generate discussion if not controversy. I was surprised that no error or star notes made the list. I can understand that they can be excluded as being sort of varieties of other issues, but, still, I think that a token from either or both of these categories could have been included.
   You will probably not be surprised that I think that a military payment certificate should have been on the list. Having said that, I should be prepared to tell you which one. I gave that considerable thought in my work. I considered the unknown replacements and the unique replacements. Of course there is the Series 541 $5 with its attractive design and world record price history. I thought about the unique specimen booklets for Series 541 and 591. I really liked them because they have nicknames ("Comptroller Booklets"). Finally, I decided that the best choice would be the unique specimen and progressive proof set of Series 661. It does not have a widely recognized nickname, but it is still a good choice. I had a brief exchange with Tom Denly on this very subject after drafting this review. He said that he thought that if an MPC were to be included, it should be something like a Series 692 $10 or $20 because they would be very recognizable and would also be collectible. I like his thinking!
   There are other good features good features of the book that I have not mentioned. The formatter is all quite good. You can imagine my surprise at finding my name mentioned. Earning that honor as an old timer (my term) is a double edged honor. The selected bibliography and recap of the top 100 in an appendix are also useful.
   I expect that this will be a very successful book, just as the Garrett-Guth version on coins was. Can it generate more spinoffs like the 100 Greatest World Notes, or even the 100 Greatest National Bank Notes? I doubt it, but I would love to have both of those in my own library.
   If it is not obvious, I highly recommend 100 Greatest American Currency Notes by Q. David Bowers and David Sundman. It was published by Whitman Publishing and should be available wherever numismatic books are sold and even in many book stores at around $30.