People who are not collectors do not understand the drive behind the hobby. Numismatics happens to be a large marketplace. Fountain pens, watches, rocks and gems, there are many such little cultures. We all appreciate the charm, artistry, and history: the mystique. Without another buyer, though, nothing is worth anything. The books I own, I acquired for my own use, for the knowledge inside. That knowledge I repackage and resell. The book itself is secondary. In the other Book thread, I mentioned owning these: United States Pattern, Experimental and Trial Pieces, sixth ed., J. Hewitt Judd United States Pattern Trial and Experimental Pieces by Adams and Woodin (1913), reprinted 1959. As later editiions and reprints they are not worth very much. However, until Pollock came along, they were the standard sources. From them, I knew about patterns, but more subtly, I understood the huge loophole in Executive Order 6102. Monograph on the Silver Dollar by J. L. Riddell (1845), reprint by Sociedad Numismatica de Mexico, 1969 (number 137 of 550). The content is available on Google Books. This reprint is interesting in its own right. I consider the book a prize because I knew who Dr. Riddell was. His time at the New Orleans Mint was perhaps less important to himself than the adventure of traveling through Texas, gathering specimens of rocks, plants, and animals. He was a scientisit in the tradition of Rittenhouse. If I need to quote the facts in the book, there is Google. But to own the book is to appreciate the man, whether or not there is another buyer.
I forgot who said this but you should buy the book before you get into a new set of coins. Knowledge is everything. I said the last part. Dean 295
There's something about owning books that is special. I don't know, maybe I'm weird for feeling that way. I know there are others who feel the same way I do, but to my knowledge I have never actually met one. To me books are almost spiritual. And it's not just the knowledge that they contain, it's just something about being able to hold that book in your hands and then absorb what is in it. And it's more than knowledge, it's feelings and attitudes, emotions - all of things that make us who and what we are. I guess it's all of the books about coins that I have read over the years that make me feel the way I do about coins. I know I certainly wouldn't had it not been for the books.
Agreed of course. It is like any education, you cannot appreciate it unless you have it, and if you have it you cannot imagine not having it. Every coin I have that I have researched and read about is probably 10 times more valuable to me than most others. Yes, you can make a lot of money by knowing the knowledge in these books, but that is just money. The intellectual, spiritual, and historical knowledge is what makes coin collecting the amazing hobby it is, and good books open up that world. We stand on the shoulders of giants, take for granted what they have discovered, and to read how and when they made their discoveries and the logic behind it just makes this information more amazing that we have today. I always tell people the monetary gain they can achieve by buying good books, but in the back of my mind I am just using that and hope they are exposed to all of these other facets as well. Its hard to convince someone of these things, so I simply use profit as a lure. There always is profit, just not always extra money, but always profit for your soul.
Michal, thanks for mentioning Riddell's book. I knew of the book but I was not aware it had been reprinted or that it was available on Google! I'll have to go add it to my ebooks. Yes real books are better but at least the ebook route gives me access to the information.
What a great thread and some wonderful comments being expressed. I wholly concur with these sentiments. I learned of the following (below) title about a year ago and in my search for a printed copy, discovered it in facsimile on Google Books. I hardly refer to it online but love leafing through the old gilt pages of the copy I was able to acquire. It's so much more enriching to peek at the old statistics and figures set in tiny type flanked by the engraved illustrations and it's very special to be able to own and learn from such books. Illustrated History of the United States Mint with a complete description of American Coinage by George Greenlief Evans 1886
