Found this book and was wondering if it's a good source for this kind of information. Or is there something better?
I checked it out and it seems it was printed in 2013 which isn't bad for age . It covers 701 pages of Die Varieties ( fully illustrated ) . Unless someone else has a better one, I'd say you have a great Reference to go by .
That's the "Bible" for bust half dollar collectors. A few other books you might be interested in on the topic... Bust Half Fever 1807 - 1836 2nd Edition - by Edgar Souders The Ultimate Guide To Attributing Bust Half Dollars - by Glenn R. Peterson, M.D. Contemporary Counterfeit Capped Bust Half Dollars 2nd Edition - by Keith R. Davignon
I have never been an Overton book fan, and I've owned several editions of it. The trouble is it used to be the best available, but now that has changed.
That IS the one by Overton, basically. If memory serves, Don Parsley was Al Overton’s son-in-law and was thus, presumably, trained by the master. Parsley was listed as Editor of the third edition and Overton the (posthumous) Author. When the fourth edition was published, Parsley was listed as author and, I believe, Overton only credited internally. For some reason, it apparently never seemed to gain quite the same circulation. FWIW, a well-known and highly-regarded Bustie dealer/specialist, since retired, told me he thought the 4th edition was such a poorly-presented come-down from the 3rd that “I just threw it in the trash”. He claimed that Parsley, who he (credibly) said he knew well, even “admitted” that it was not up to the earlier book. As I say, FWIW. I haven’t seen the new 5th edition but, since Don Parsley has been Al Overton’s acolyte and bearer-of-the-flame for so many decades, and still counting, I’d say he’s still my Bust Half guru! I’ve also got Dr. Peterson’s book and occasionally find it quite useful but my go-to resource is still a well-thumbed copy of Overton 3. I’ll bet Steve Tompkins’s ongoing series is also a real winner, but is projected to run several volumes — and I’m kinda running out of shelf space over my desk. But I do use his (single) volume on Bust Quarters, and it’s a real delight. Bustie enthusiasts: how much am I missing (and what?) through my addiction to Overton 3? Dave S.
The fifth edition is the one I have, I use it a lot. Just be aware that there are typos, etc. in it. I was looking at a half the book called an R5 variety, it should be R2.
There are numerous mistakes in ALL the editions. Some of them got corrected in later editions, but many did not--along with new mistakes. A listing of most of the errors can be found at 3rd edition https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata.php 4th edition https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata4.php 5th edition https://www.busthalfprices.com/errata5.php While there subscribe to Dave's Bust Half Dollar Auction and Sales Results--a listing of bust half prices realized going back to the 1990s.
I already had the 3rd edition and I just ordered the 5th off eBay but I didn't know about the errata publication. I just printed them out for the 3rd and the 5th. Thanks.
