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I'll echo GDJMSP regarding cost and difficulty in finding books. He has listed the Gilboy book and that book took me several years to find. However, once I found it I purchased it immediately and I have seen the book listed online for upwards of $1,000 per copy.

I will also add some books to the discussion since it appears that you are serious about learning. Please do not take that last statement as a slam, but I have been on boards in the past where folks appear and essentially ask that they be told everything they need to know and then, while being helped, they disappear. That has made me jaded with respect to certain questions. Books that I adore are listed below-

The Art and Craft of Coinmaking by Denis Cooper (This is all history and the book is very hard to find and will cost $200 or more.)

The Columnarios of Central and South America by Frank Gilboy (Some history with variety identification, but as mentioned before these are extremely tough to find and the book may cost $1,000 when found.)

Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836 by Al Overton (This is also known simply as the Overton book and goes into wonderful detail on die marriage identification for early half dollars. The latest edition has the name changed to Parsley.)

A Registry of Die Varieties of Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839 by Dick Graham with Thomas Bush (Shameless plug as I am one of the authors, but this book is wonderful and follows the paradigm of the Overton book while at the same time adding oodles of history.)

Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection published by PCGS (The first edition is far superior to subsequent editions. The book takes you through the details of how PCGS views a coin.)

Bust Half Fever by Edgar Souders (The second edition is greatly expanded and the book is a terrific read on the history of the series and the time as well as giving insight into various issues.)

Contemporary Counterfeit Capped Bust Half Dollars by Keith Davignon (Who knew that a book could be written about contemporary counterfeits and that the book would be awesome?)

Numismatic Art in America-Aesthetics of the United States Coinage by Cornelius Vermeule (My favorite numismatic book of all time. Nothing about rarity, value, mintage, die varieties or anything else; just an artistic critique. The first edition from 1970 is long out of print, but I would highly recommend this edition rather than the second edition.)

Lastly, a trio of books by Roger Burdette that go by the Renaissance of American Coinage title are fantastic.

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I am especially interested in the art and craft of coin making as history is part of the interest in old coins. The culumnarios book would be great if it wasn't so expensive. But I needed a good counterfeit book more than anything. And so the hunt begins. I will take all these books into account and look at reviews and information about them.

Are there any particular great sources for books? I heard of some wizard coins website.

Also are the cuhaj books any good? They seem to be pretty thorough within their tIme periods designation.

 

Amazon or ebay would be the place I would look for these books as well as dealer such as Charles Davis-

http://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/charles_davis/44/Default.aspx?store_display_type=ancient

 

Just went on a book ordering spree. Got numismatic art in America, the counterfeit book, and four of the cuhaj books dating from 1601-2000. Boy I just got into an expensive hobby. Lol. But one good thing came out of it. I'm starting to sell on eBay.

 

If you thought the books are expensive, you should see the coins! But in all honesty, the book acquisitions you have just made are probably the best investment you could have made for your collecting future.

 

All good recommendations. What I would add to the conversation would be to discuss numismatic book auctions. Kolbe and Fanning, Fred Lake, Charles Davis, David Sklow, and a couple of others is how I built the majority of my library. If you are patient, this is usually a cheaper way to build a library than Abebooks and the like.

Also, one of the best ways to learn what a needed book may be is to browse the bibliography of major dealers. If a coin is attributed by a certain book, then that is THE book you need to collect that series. Yes, we can help you out here, but this is also a great help. Also, there are books ABOUT books. Claine Steffaneli is really overboard for most ancient collectors, but the Kroh book is useful if out of date for ancient references. I wish he would update it.

 

Almost missed that link gdj. Thanks. I'll be looking into that once I finish paying my current bills. Between coins and books I've worked up a relatively big coin debt. I should be ok for a bit with all the books I purchased but will need a good roman book next. The book auctions may be an option for those more expensive books.

 

I just bought ​Grading Coins by Photographs by Q. David Bowers. I find it very helpful, but the focus is US coin. You can,however, play with it in a bookstore and see if it's to your liking.

 

So I asked for the complete Lincoln guide for Christmas, after reading a post on this forum about finding a 1992-D close am I looked to the book for some information about that Lincoln. Nothing. It says no varieties exist???? I thought this was the COMPLETE Lincoln guide.

 

So what's going to be the best book for me? I also have the Guide Book for Lincoln cents.

 

Well, there is so little I know I think I have an idea.

Its so bad with ancients sometimes I just get depressed thinking I will never ever come close to being knowledgable even about a single series. Nearly every coin has a story, a history, some random facts associated with the issue. Then seeing tens of thousands of types of ancient coins in every show starts to show a person how unknowledgable they really are.

 

Just shows it'll never get old and boring!

Thanks I think my next book will be the cherrypickers guide. Between my wife and myself we have $200 a month in change to go through(tips) and I'd hate to think I'm cashing in a $20,000 penny for a penny!

 

This link may be of some interest.

 

Any good shipwreck coin books?

 

I guess it was too much to hope there was one all encompassing book . I'll hold off until I can specify my interest. Thanks anyway