New Books Redefine the Hobby

I went to post these under Resources, but the old-fashioned cataloguing system did not allow a good place for them.

• A Guide Book of Mercury Dimes, Standing Liberty Quarters, and Walking Liberty Half Dollars: A Complete History and Price Guide, by Q. David Bowers. (Whitman, 2015. $29.95)
• A Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins: A Complete History and Price Guide, by Q. David Bowers. (Whitman, 2015. $29.95)

Our hobby changes. Bowers published a little monograph about how Mint marks came to be collected. Until the 1909-S VDB grabbed the attention of the newly extended collecting hobby, no one cared much about Mint marks. Realize, of course, that the ANA was founded in 1891. So, just short of 20 years later, a new generation of collectors found new pursuits. And The Numismatist magazine was launched before the ANA was founded: the magazine made the club possible.

In the post-World War II era, kids with paper routes handled tons of change, ever watchful for a 1955 Doubled Die Lincoln Cent among other rarities that few adults cared about. V-Nickels were common in change back then, but who cared about old nickels? As those kids grew up and eventually turned gray, their wisdom and maturity brought third-party grading, weekly price guides, and new interests from trolley tokens to chopmarked coins and beyond. For several years, former Krause president and former ANA president Clifford Mishler had a "stump speech" that he delivered at club meetings and conventions about the changes in the hobby. He encouraged us all to welcome it.

So it continues today. No longer do little boys push Mercury Dimes into Blue Whitman Folders, building a collection that slowly improves in grade as the dimes are pulled from circulation. Today, the mature collector pursues coins - and banknotes, etc., etc. - much differently.

These two books address that reality. Rarer than the coins themselves are the collectors who pursue Mercury Dimes, but not Standing Liberty Quarters and Walking Liberty Halves. Those coins define an era. They are collected by those who appreciate the history and dive into it, from World War I through the Roaring Twenties and Great Depression to World War II. George Will called it "the greatest generation."

It rested on an earlier America, of course. The coinage of Charles E. Barber was widely regarded in its time as aesthetically perfect. The classical images were not just designed well. They were executed perfectly by a Mint that had (finally!) mastered mass production. Moreover, finding these in high grade is always a challenge. "Shave and haircut, two bits!" Roger Rabbit could not resist it. What do you pay for a haircut today? $10 or $15? Do you even pay with cash? A Barber Quarter did yeoman's service for a generation of Americans who witnessed the first automobiles, the first airplanes, the advent of radio and motion pictures. Dive deep into the history of the times and discover the High School Movement that pushed Americans past an eighth grade education. The average wage for a common laborer was 10 cents an hour. A dime was important. A half dollar fed a family.

Like all Whitman books, these are lavishly illustrated, and supported by authoritative data about Mintages, and populations, as well as good estimates of expected retail pricing.

 

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currency and coinage has changed drastically along with history and numismedia (books & data)does change the hobby dramatically

 

Thanks, GD! The Miscellany section is a rich resource. This review might get buried there, or might serve as the header of a larger topic. I have a review of Doty's book on Obsoletes. In the past, these were collected by state. The books were by state. Doty's presention of themes - women, work, the rising middle class - may open the door to collecting "wildcats" by topic, rather than by state.