1981 Book On Variety and Oddity US Coins - My First Source

The very first source of information I ever had when I started collecting variety and error coins back in the early 90's was this book titled - Major Variety and Oddity Guide to United States Coins 8th Edition - Written by Frank G. Spadone and printed in 1981.
I remember finding coins that looked strange but never completely understood what they were. There was no internet as we know yet, so no CoinTalk forum . As I was looking through the Hobby section of a used book store looking for anything related to coins I found this guide. I like the way the term "Oddity" was used back in the 80's and 90's. A term that is hardly or never used today.
Here are some front and back cover samples as well as some pages on RPM directions and Off-Centers as an example of what it taught. Have you ever heard of an Off-Center 1943 Copper? The picture was in this book! Enjoy

 

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Now, that is neat, paddy! Have you attempted to research the author to learn more about him?

As for the 1943 O/C 1c, I'd guess that it is a one-of-a-kind, but it would still have to be authenticated as a real 1943 copper. Wouldn't you think?

Chris

 

Yes I found this...

Frank G. Spadone - Author & Numismatist
Frank Spadone is the noted author and numismatist who literally wrote the book on oddities, “Major Variety and Oddity Guide of United States Coins.”
In 1973, Wilkins was asked by noted coin columnist, Maurice Gould, to speak about oddity coins at the Long Beach Coin & Stamp Show. Ed Reiter, editor of Coinage Magazine, had earlier suggested to Wilkins that he read Mr. Spadone’s book on oddities.
It was Spadone’s book that Wilkins used as the basis and authority for his talk.
When Wilkins finished his Long Beach speech, much to his surprise, he received a standing ovation. To this day, Wilkins gives Frank Spadone credit for the standing ovation and for making the collecting of oddities so popular.

 

For you and Chris...this was also my first book but I had an earlier edition. Poor Mr. Spadone was laughed out of the numismatic community by newer up and comers for his listings of minor errors. I won't mention their names but today they are some of the most well known and supposedly most respected today, shame on them. If any newbies should be able to acquire any of his editions, I believe they would be an excellent tool to start with. After Mr. Spadone passed away, his family was left with boxes and boxes of his books to try and sell for a fraction of what he paid for them up front. He completely financed his entire project with his own money. I still have my copy and would not part with it for all the oil in Saudi Arabia. He was way ahead of the error pack for his time and has all the respect in the world from me. Here is my copy plus look at the price on the second photo of the 1943 copper cent! This is a 1967 edition.

 

Wow really nice! I have never seen another one of his books. Thanks for sharing! Yes I read a few other things about his books that weren't really nice. But I learned a lot!

 

By the way that 1943D over 1942D double struck.. I saw one just like it for sale a few years ago. I was tempted to buy it but was not sure of it's authenticity. It sold for almost $300.00

 

Apparently he was as excited about any and all errors and he felt the need to include them in his book. This was great as it gave everyone a chance to know the difference between major and minor errors. This is exactly what newbies need to know when first starting out as they will almost always find a minor that many others would just toss aside. Collecting minors can be as much fun as majors, I collect both. And you are welcome.

 

Nice - I too have the 1967 version - I posted when I won it years ago here, you can read what a lot of the experts had to say him about below, so I won't rehash them

http://forums.collectors.com/messag...eadid=600976&highlight_key=y&keyword1=spadone

 

There must be something about being named Frank and having an affinity for oddities. This reminded me of a good article by Frank LaMondie in "Mint Error News" which discusses "error oddity coins", i.e., those coins that aren't classified as major errors.

http://www.minterrornews.com/news-9-29-03-error_oddity_coins.html

 

Thanks, I read through all of the posts on the page. As a professional, Mr. Weinberg should have had a little more class than to bash Spadone's book. And as stated by others, at the time there was little else to go with. And it did get a lot of us started in the error collecting field. As time went on and we learned the minting process, we also learned that his book was a starter, not the end all book. It was still a lot of fun to find a filled letter or numeral which was a minor, but you know, it was still an error. Today everyone thinks bigger is better but back in the day we were pleased as punch to find one of these. I still save them all.

 

Great.. I quoted what you said on that other website "The book looked like a bunch of people looked through truckloads of coins and documented every little thing they found... I still find it admirable. Looking back 40 years later, I'm sure it's riddled with errors, but at the time, was it considered a numismatic tabloid, or something like today's cherrypicker's guide?".. That's the same thing I thought

 

Nice article! Especially his opinion of Frank Spadone.

 

I have mixed emotions about the book. Did it get people interested? Yes, and that's a good thing. However, an "A" for effort doesn't quite cut it with me when the research was at best sloppy, and at worst intentionally deceptive as a way for the author to promote sales of these coins(many of which were faKe or not what he claimed they were) in all the coin magazines that were in vogue during his time.

Having said that, there are too many out there who actively try to discourage people from collecting legitimate "error oddities". The idea of anyone trying to tell another collector what they should and should not collect is bizarre. I've seen many a dramatic die break that had much more visual appeal than the run-of-the-mill tilted serif RPM, and yet there are well-known variety experts who will scoff at the mention of saving or (heaven forbid) paying a premium for a die crack. I think people should be encouraged to collect what they like.

 

Spadones book was at the time it was first written a pioneering effort. There was little or nothing else like it out there. However it did include a lot of minor errors, ad many coins that were actually just damaged. And then there were all those 1943 copper cent errors listed. With the exception of the "regular" 1943 copper cents, all of the other listings are coins struck by fake dies.

The reason Frank's book fell into derision was because he kept those minor, damaged, and fake errors in the book in the later editions instead of removing them when they were identified. (The minor errors WERE errors, but they were MINOR in a book on MAJOR errors.)

 

Thanks for all the replies. All posts and everything you have shared with me has been great. I thought I was the only person in the world that owned and knew about this Guide Book. We are truly blessed to now have the internet and all the great Error, Variety, Ancients, World and Normal US mintage coin websites!

 

Spadone's book is dreadful. Full of alterations and counterfeits. The terminology is idiosyncratic and obsolete. Many a novice collector has been led astray by this wretched excuse for an error reference. Much better are Herbert's and Margolis' books. Regrettably, they are both out of print. I tried to get the major numismatic publishers interested in a new comprehensive reference, but they weren't interested. They didn't fee there was enough of a market to warrant the investment.

You would do better to consult www.error-ref.com. While still incomplete, it has loads of information and illustrations.

 

Thank you Mike Diamond! I have the error-ref website under my favorites and have been referring to it for some time now. Great information! The senior editor is also named Mike Diamond like you!

 

It would also be helpful to get a digital subscription to Coin World (about $20). With that you get access to the Coin World archives back to November, 2007. You can undertake a search using any keyword and pull up information on every conceivable error.

 

Yes I have been wanting to do that. I really enjoy your Collectors' Clearinghouse articles.

 

BUT! When you are 10 or 12 years old, lived in a very rural community with no coin clubs, shows or dealers nearby and had very little income except a paper route that yielded about $2-$3 dollars a week, one could not afford anything better. This was the starter that led to better things. I will admit he made many mistakes but when you are a kid it was all very exciting. There were no computers back then and local libraries did not carry any collectibles books. Yes, he was a self promoter but isn't that the American way. He also died broke. When I got older and was able to afford better reference material I did so and filed his book away for the ages. And all it cost me was $2.50 to get the error bug. I'm still glad I bought this book as it brings back many fond memories of my early days of collecting. Rest in peace Mr. Spadone.