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Aaron Feldman: Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin
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<p>[QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 994721, member: 57463"](I don't remember where this appeared first.)</p><p>Buy The Book by Michael E. Marotta</p><p><br /></p><p>"Buy the book before you buy the coin." This advice originally came from coin dealer Aaron R. Feldman (1894-1976). Feldman promoted numismatic literature as the gateway to collecting. Today, thousands of collectors follow his advice, building numismatic libraries one volume at a time.</p><p> </p><p>Most collectors of American coins start with <i>Guide Book to United States Coins </i>by R. S. Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett. Commonly called “The Red Book,” this annual provides basic information about mintage figures (including Proofs). It also gives short verbal descriptions for grading coins. <b>At the end of each section, you will find a bibliography. Those works are the ones that a collector should consider seriously when deciding which book to buy before acquiring the next coin. </b></p><p>Two other authoritative references for the general collector of American coins are <i>The U.S. Mint and Coinage </i>by Donald Taxay and <i>Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coinage</i>. </p><p><br /></p><p>Of course, numismatists do more than “collect coins.” We collect tokens, banknotes, stocks and bonds, medals, and more. Associations such as the Seated Liberty Collector Society, and the Token and Medal Society, publish periodicals that report research years, sometimes decades, before it makes the rounds of generalist publications. </p><p><br /></p><p>Auction catalogs can be another important source of information. Major marketers employ skilled researchers who delve into archives to provide authentication and attributions. Authoritative books often rest on the research published in auction catalogs. Probably the best-known example is The Fantastic 1804 Dollar by Kenneth Bressett and Eric Newman. Without that book and the research behind it, those famous coins would only be novodels, fantasies, and knock-offs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Numismatists do more than collect. Mere possession of a physical object is often meaningless without knowing the history behind it. Reading about the Jacksonian Era sheds light on Hard Times Tokens, for instance. Even the Sacagawea Dollar represents a long – and sometimes tangled – thread colored with anthropology and psychology, as well as American frontier legend. History can add value your inventories. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>It is a common quip that dealers sell stories: If you “buy” the story, the dealer “gives” you the coin.</b>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 994721, member: 57463"](I don't remember where this appeared first.) Buy The Book by Michael E. Marotta "Buy the book before you buy the coin." This advice originally came from coin dealer Aaron R. Feldman (1894-1976). Feldman promoted numismatic literature as the gateway to collecting. Today, thousands of collectors follow his advice, building numismatic libraries one volume at a time. Most collectors of American coins start with [I]Guide Book to United States Coins [/I]by R. S. Yeoman and Kenneth Bressett. Commonly called “The Red Book,” this annual provides basic information about mintage figures (including Proofs). It also gives short verbal descriptions for grading coins. [B]At the end of each section, you will find a bibliography. Those works are the ones that a collector should consider seriously when deciding which book to buy before acquiring the next coin. [/B] Two other authoritative references for the general collector of American coins are [I]The U.S. Mint and Coinage [/I]by Donald Taxay and [I]Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coinage[/I]. Of course, numismatists do more than “collect coins.” We collect tokens, banknotes, stocks and bonds, medals, and more. Associations such as the Seated Liberty Collector Society, and the Token and Medal Society, publish periodicals that report research years, sometimes decades, before it makes the rounds of generalist publications. Auction catalogs can be another important source of information. Major marketers employ skilled researchers who delve into archives to provide authentication and attributions. Authoritative books often rest on the research published in auction catalogs. Probably the best-known example is The Fantastic 1804 Dollar by Kenneth Bressett and Eric Newman. Without that book and the research behind it, those famous coins would only be novodels, fantasies, and knock-offs. Numismatists do more than collect. Mere possession of a physical object is often meaningless without knowing the history behind it. Reading about the Jacksonian Era sheds light on Hard Times Tokens, for instance. Even the Sacagawea Dollar represents a long – and sometimes tangled – thread colored with anthropology and psychology, as well as American frontier legend. History can add value your inventories. [B]It is a common quip that dealers sell stories: If you “buy” the story, the dealer “gives” you the coin.[/B][/QUOTE]
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