Are Q. David Bowers' books worth the money and the reads? I see he's publishing a lot of books for Whitman (and just in general I guess) and I was wondering if they were worth buying and reading. We discuss books up here quite a bit and if you were to go into a current hobby shop or book store like Books A Million, etc you would find the shelves filled with several of Bowers' books on numismatics. They are quite honestly the prevailing books available in a current, updated fashion that actually make it to store shelves. So I guess my question is are these the 'books' we need to be reading if we are seeking in depth information and looking to get a little deeper in the world of numismatics, or should they not be taken seriously. I don't have an opinion on Bowers and just want to know that he is providing solid and sound information and its worth my time and money to read some of his works. Two of his books in particular caught my eye: A Guidebook of United States Type Coins and The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins. Does anyone recommend either of these?
His scholarship is excellent; I have his book on coin grading with pictures; various industry experts are quoted highly recommending the book. Compare his book on double eagles with the Fuljiens/Winter series on those books; his work is more readable and scholarly showing real work put into the book with interesting background.
I recommend the Expert's guide all the time on CT. It's on Amazon for $14.81. Although they seem to be having some issues getting the lead out of their butt filling orders. The book is an over view. He doesn't really go too much in depth with any one thing. But it's one of best IMO for ideas of what might interest someone. It's a good basic book and IMO should be bought even before the Red Book. Some of Bowers' books are more fun books rather then Guide books. Any of his Companion books ie Down Town Companion, Lakeside Companion etc, are wonderful books if you can find them. I liked every Bowers book that I've read starting with High Profits from Rare coin Investmrnts that I first read 1974. I'm a huge Bowers fan so I guess I'm a bit bias.
This may not answer your exact question, but still might help without costing a cent. http://www.pcgs.com/books/silver-dollars/ IMO, each book should be looked at as the individual it is. Some of his Whitman books are rather basic and blah, while others, such as the above, is a significant work that I've much enjoyed. The point is, no matter your interests, find the best reference/references available.
I guess I need to reframe my question in this light. Is Bowers a credible resource overall? Is his information fairly accurate and advice generally sound? It's a bit difficult to define your own resources sometimes and you might choose the wrong book and then be utilizing false or faulty information. My gut is telling me that his info is solid and any information not previously known is worth every penny of the book, however I'm just trying to verify that what I read from Bowers isn't intentionally wrong advice or that his books are just for the sake of writing books. We all know we shouldn't take Detectos advice on many subjects, but what if he wrote a coin book full of faulty information and as a new collector his was the first book I used for my reference. I would then be using terrible information for my foundation and I'm just asking the community about a well known numismatist and author of whom I know very little to reassure myself I'm taking steps in the right direction. Oh and to anyone cruising by the thread. Feel free to name drop some books that you could find at a local Books or Barnes that is worth the money.
I never found a Bowers book I read to be anything less than solid. C'mon now, this ain't his first trip around the block. He wrote his first books back in 60's. He was dealing coins when he was 15.
Oh I'm not belittling him at all. From what I've been reading he's like the poster boy coin collector/dealer/writer/etc. Pretty much what I envision young bright eyed collectors to dream of. Anyway I was just posting to the board to see what others thought of him and to reaffirm that it isn't just a bunch of hype or anything like that. I can always rely on CT for an opinion about a given subject. Thanks for participating guys
I love Bower's books. I can't think of anyone else involved in our hobby who has more overall knowledge than he does. Solid and reliable without question. Bruce
QBD is no Detecto, sir. Seriously though, the books of this that I've read have all been okay, and at least off the top of my head I cannot think of any where I've had issues with the overall info, and with good reason. My earlier point had more to do with where you are at with your hobby. As an example with one of his Whitman books, let use the one on Morgans. It's a fine book, but rather basic and geared more towards the newer to intermediate collector, so for one already experienced in this area, there are others that would likely be better buys. This is similar Rick Snow's Whitman/redbook on FE/IHCs: fine work, but if you're looking for more than the basics, this really is not the place to find it. I do not see you going wrong with any of Mr. Bowers' books, but depending on which you choose, how much they will help will depend on your own knowledge and experience. It has been one of those days, so I do hope this makes sense.
The Expert's Guide is one of my long time favorites. It gave me a lot knowledge starting out, and I think that even experienced collectors could learn a thing or two from it. The ultimate guide for noobs.
I love his books, I think he is one of most knowledgeable person, he have been in the coin business for years, i think he is one of owners of big auction firm stacksbowers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q._David_Bowers
That's the one I started to read at the book store and it looked like a good book. I think I'm gonna grab it
