Trouble Finding "United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties (1794-1836) VOL. 3"...

I seem to be having a bit of trouble finding the Overton die variety book "United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836: Volume 3" by Donald L. Parsley. I've heard the information in the 3rd volume is a bid more accurate. I'm looking for an online source to make the purchase... And it seems the 4th edition is on every site I could think of!. I'd like to find it for under $60, so if anyone's got a "secret source", PLEASE SHARE!

Thanks,
Brian

PS- Looked for a photo of Vol. 3 to include in the thread to refresh y'all's memory but was unable to find an adequate one. :foot-mouth:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

My 4th Edition serves me greatly . Where did you hear the 3rd Edition is better ?

 

I saw some threads awhile back where members were discussing the book saying that they favored the 3rd, though, if you say the 4th is just fine, I might as well get that since it seems MUCH easier to obtain. I never really understood why exactly the 3rd is favored by many. I know that some modifications were made for the 4th volume that collectors didn't particularly like, but that's basically it. What are some noticable differences from the 3rd to 4th volume?

-Brian

 

Well, in my experience the main reason ancient collectors will want an earlier edition is plate quality. Subsequent editions frequently reprint plates and therefor are muddier and harder to use. That could be another factor. Usually when these books are put together they photograph the coins. After publication these coins are usually sold off and the plates destroyed. If they wish to make a second edition, they have to photograph the first plates, leading to lost detail.

I do not know if that is the case here, but something to consider in addition to Doug's post.

 

Secret source hopefully, revealed... 7th listing down... Hopefully this is up to date... I assume you are talking about the third edition and not volume 3?

See your PM

 

Dead on with that one Chris. Many remark that the third edition photos are far superior to the fourth edition....

 

Lol, even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while, huh? Thank you for the information that there are plate quality differences, that is important info to know.

To the OP, I would keep an eye on Ebay, but also try numismatic book auctions. I am thinking of www.numislit.com, www.lakebooks.com, Charles Davis on vcoins has auctions occationally, www.finenumismaticbooks.com. Those are the 4 I am most familiar with.

I just looked up on another site a discussion of 3rd vs 4th editions. They say there are numerous things wrong with the 4th, and only two R8's added, so everyone is advising to only buy the 3rd if you can help it. Seems like you will have some competition for these books.

Chris

 

4th Edition works just fine for me. If I need to see better illustrations for a coin then I go to heritage and pull up the date and overton number.

 

That is a fine workaround, except for one detail. You are assuming that the Overton number is correctly assigned. I know many people in ancient coins who do the same thing, yet again they are trusting the attrbutions are correct on the sites they are using.

I guess I am just a proponent of owning the source of any attributions, with the best plates possible, so I can confirm the correctness of an attribution. I would think this is especially crucial with the tiny little variations US collectors use as "varieties" to make US collecting seem more expansive than it really is. I am not meaning that as a slight, its just why these tiny differences were labelled as different varieties to begin with.

Chris

 

It is easy to check the attributions when doing this. For example if the first coin I pull up on heritage might have the wrong variety(I see this more on large cents) then it will not line up with the book. I will pull up the next one. So the two coins must match the book. And if it really becomes questionable I go to coinzip to look at the example bust half varieties. Usually I only have to go to something other than the book for some of the 20 to 40 varieties types. And I have yet to see a picture in a book match the pictures on heritage. Some of those high quality coins really make it easy to see. Of course just my opinion.

 

PS - Don't think you can use heritage, or just coinzip to attribute a coin. You still need the books. My books are always the first option.

 

Fair enough sir, I was just pointing out the downside to using internet attributions. I see way too many ancient collectors using Ebay or other sources of their attributions, the blind leading the blind as it were. Considering Heritage is pretty equaivalent to CNG for ancients you are right there would be less chance for these errors.

 

I agree - internet attributions can be risky. I think web resources(assuming you know the source) can assist in attributions, but should not be the source. I mean even sources I know are solid I use as reference material not source - like Tom Decks site or Russ Logans site. Books first internet second.

 

Well, thanks for all the help guys. Seems to be alot of mixed opinions. I suppose I'll wait to see if any 3rd Editions come up on the market within the next week or so, and if none do, I'll just go for the 4th.

Thanks Again,
Brian

 

Did you check your pm message?

 

Great question , I'm glad you asked it . Still I'll stick with my 4th edition . Would really like to see the quality differences . Still as a beginner in Bust halves I look at the pictures only for main diognostics that might help narrow down my choices and rely on the writing more than the pics .

 

I have the fourth edition and still find it hard to attribute them correctly. All I will say is good luck and hope your coins are AU or so to find all the details. Hint is to take really good images then blow them way up on the 21 inch monitor. Or just make a cheat sheet for the coin.

 

You also might try finding a copy of The Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Half Dollars by Glenn Peterson. It shows enlarged pictures of diagnostic key points for each variety.

 

Thanks I should get that one also .