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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 763406, member: 57463&quot;]The standard reference by Breen &amp; Gillio is worth what it will save you in mistakes.&nbsp; How would you know a reputable dealer in California Gold?&nbsp; I mean, any ANA Member Dealer will always stand behind their sales as a matter of the Dealer Code of Ethics.&nbsp; But not all dealers know and it can be a hassle taking something back after three or four years because you think it is not genuine.</p><p><br /></p><p>GDJMSP and Conder101 both hit on important points.&nbsp; The websites recommended by Hudson James were all fine, but actually, Reisbord pointed to another board as the better expert: Ken Glickman.&nbsp; I interviewed Ken Glickman a few weeks back for an &quot;Internet Connections&quot; column that will run in early 2010.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The Breen Gillio book is one of several and as the other site says, it was meant to replace two other old standards.&nbsp; But there were still other references.&nbsp; Some of those empassioned collectors and dealers were so enthralled that they actually bought original dies.&nbsp; Imagine that.&nbsp; Unlike the US Mint which destroys dies, the dies were still around, at least some of them.&nbsp; So, who has the dies now?</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, Walter Breen wanted to believe that these were really examples of laissez faire ad hoc capitalist people&#039;s hard gold money street commerce.&nbsp; He was a libertarian ... and sometimes, he let his politics get in the way of his numismatics. </p><p><br /></p><p>Read the book.&nbsp; Breen Gillio is the basis of knowledge for this.&nbsp; But it is not the be all and end all.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Private gold coins and patterns of the United States‎ by Donald H. Kagin (1981; 406 pages) is another important reference.&nbsp; Donald Kagin (as far as I know) still has the only Ph.D. in Numismatics in America and this is his specialty.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>If you are only curious because you saw them online and wanted to know more, then fine.&nbsp; Curiosity starts somewhere and no telling where it will lead.&nbsp; But to actually BUY one of these things without a lot of research is to ask for a world of hurt.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>If you ask me, I&#039;d much rather own the book.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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