Guides to US Large Cents

I've got three books that cover some of these coins:
-- U.S. Cents 1840-1857 by Grellman
-- The Cent Book 1816-1839 by Wright
-- United States Copper Cents 1816-1857 by Newcomb & Clapp

I'm okay with the Grellman book.

The Newcomb & Clapp book is a reprint of the original Newcomb book and is not easy to use.

The Wright book doesn't seem to have Newcomb numbers nor any other reference numbers that I can find.
Since I'm toying with die varieties/marriages reference numbers are important to me.
Is the Wright book the current definitive guide to that date range or is there something better?

And what is the reference for Draped Bust Cents and earlier?

 

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I don't collect these coins, but I think that the book by John Wright is first rate. It's easy to use, and his historical notes make a collection of these coins come alive for me. I got a few want lists for Newcomb, middle date large cents when I was a dealer. The Wright book worked great for me.

I don't own the Newcomb book. It has been a collectors' item at least since the 1970s. I took one look at it, and knew I go crazy trying to use it. There are large cent collectors who feel the same way.

Bill Noyers published a book on the early date varieties. I only have the books that feature photos of the finest known examples, and those books are very pricey.

There was a book published under Walter Breen's name that was an update of the classic book by William Sheldon. Please, let's not get into Breen's personal life. That has been discussed ad nauseum.

The book was started by Breen and finished by others after he went to prison and died. It is good, but it’s not easiest book use in my opinion. It’s also big and heavy, so you can’t take it to a show the way you could Roger Cohen’s half cent book, for example.

I would look over the Breen and Noyes books and make a personal decision.

 

The Whitman large cent red book is excellent. If you want bigger pics, go for the 1st edition mega red book

 

That is a very good book with lots of information, but it does not list the coins by Sheldon variety, which I think is what he wants.

 

Ah ha!!!
So at least I now know that they are Sheldon varieties.

 

My go to books for early large cents:

 

Great.
That gives me something to search for.
Based on past experiences, IF I can locate them they are probably expensive.
But I'll live with it.

Thank you,
Dave

 

I really like the Walter Breen’s and Noyes both. I find myself cross referencing them as I am currently.

 

I have about worn out my Breen; lots of information but organized a little differently... More info than I need at times but a cool read nonetheless.

 

But it does list them by S and NC varieties.

 

This is the only book I have for attributing early copper. 1793-1803 cents and half cents. It has some mint history along with the attributions. Probably, not the most up to date book.

 

Take your copy of Wright, open to any of the images showing the coin and describing the dies. See that big number between the obv and rev images, that is the Newcomb number for that variety.


Also note in the upper outside corner you have the last two digits of the date and then the Newcomb number. Make it easy to find a particular variety when you are flipping through the book.

In the early years when John was working on the book he did have his own numbering system but by the time it was published it was back to the Newcomb numbers and in the same sequence as Newcomb.

The books by Bill Noyes are good but pricy. He has done six books, three of which are pictured in Jack Young's post. He also did on on the middle dates United States Large Cents 1816 - 1839. And two more that cover the middle and late dates United States Large Cents 1816 - 1836, and United States Large Cents 1837 - 1857. You cna sometimes find the 1816 - 39 book by itself, The 1793-1814 book is only sold in conjunction with the middle date book and it will run around $250 for the pair. The 1793-94 and 1795-97 books are his condition census books. They list the top ten to 20 known pieces of each variety. If you are looking to IDENTIFY the varieties those two books are not what you are looking for.. I have not examined the 1816-36 and 1837-57 books but I would suppose they are along the lines of his early and middle date book. Once again this is a case of you have to buy both books. Especially since he broke the middle date series between the two books.

In the early dates both Sheldon and Breen are excellent. Sheldon is easier to carry but the larger images makes Breen easier to use. The historical background information n Breen is also great. If you get a copy of Sheldon I would recommend an earlier edition. The 1990 edition is the most available but it has the poorest images, especially the first printing. My personal favorite would be either the 1958 or 1965 edition. This s too bad as the 1990 editions have pictures of all the NC varieties discovered since 1958. Unfortunately they tend to be rendered as black circles. Another shortcoming of breen is that four of the varieties are not pictured, they erred and print images of other varieties on the description pages.

If you can get your hands on them I would also recommend getting copies of the Dan Holmes I and II sale catalogs. Unfortunately not variety descriptions but fabulous images and every early and middle date variety is included. An excellent tool used in conjunction with Sheldon, Breen, Wright, or Noyes.

 

@conder, thanks for explaining how to determine the Newcomb number in Wright's book.
So my latest cent which I ID'ed as 37-7 is fully a 1837 Newcomb 7 (N-7).
I must have skipped over that part in the book's introductory pages.

I now have the EAC grading guide coming to me.
Dealing with Chris McCawley was always a problem for me since like most EAC dealers his coins were raw.
And I was still in the PCGS/NGC slabbed coins group.
(Although he is not above dealing with the Dark Side; he has some slabbed coins )

And while I was at it I ordered the Noyes six volume set.
If I'm going to collect early copper, I want to do it right to the best of my ability.
And, yes, they are expensive.

 

Great references @kanga! Are you or have you considered being a member of EAC?

 

I am a member -- now.
Only been for a couple months.
My name showed up as a new member in April's Penny-Wise.

 

Welcome to EAC, kanga. You will not regret it. If you don't have Bill Eckberg's book on half cents, you might consider it. It's great. Ads for it in the back of your April Penny-Wise.

 

I've gotten very used to Manley's half cent book.
What does Eckberg's book offer that Manley's doesn't?

 

The Holmes catalogue’s have some of the best photos of some of the highest grades. Once I pick this up, I have to scan though the entire catalog.

 

I have not not seen the Manley die state book and am looking for a copy. I focus mostly on low grade early large cents but have an interest in half cents and purchased Bill's book as a start. He has a lot of informative narrative about the series and each year of production with excellent images- great reference for me learning more about the series. Also goes into the development and updates to the dies and profiles especially from 1825 through 1835.

 

Regarding Breen, is his book considered a reliable source? I used to own a copy of his Complete Encyclopedia of U.S and Colonial Coins. I sold it at some point, but never bought another copy since it had gotten a bit outdated and no longer seemed to be referenced in the numismatic circles I was associating with. It also has quite a few errors, as I recall.

I wonder, as well: is there any list on here or elsewhere of what the “standard references” are for various US, world, and ancient coins? I’ve been cobbling together a library based on what I’ve seen cited in attributions, but I feel like i don’t have a real sense of what the end goal is on this project.

Also, are there any requirements for joining EAC other than paying dues and being interested in early American copper? What would be the best reason to join EAC? I’ve recently started expanding my affiliations with numismatic organizations, and have even become a life member of two of them.