In general, at what age do "Numismatist" journals become obsolete?

[James_OldeTowne]

I have quite a few dating back to the mid-1960s. At what point does the data and information within become too obsolete to keep them?

 

And, have you been able to sell your older back issues with success?

[DaveG]

I think it really depends on the specific articles in the magazine.

 

Some articles cover material that isn't widely researched and a forty year-old article might be the most recent that has been published on that topic.

 

Unfortunately, from what I've been able to tell, there are more old copies of "Numismatist" and "Numismatic Scrapbook" around than there are researchers who are interested in acquiring them.

[zrlevin]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I know the library here at school has a complete set. Maybe that indicates relevance.

[coinman_23885]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I know the library here at school has a complete set. Maybe that indicates relevance.

 

Which library? Clemons or Alderman?

[zrlevin]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I know the library here at school has a complete set. Maybe that indicates relevance.

 

Which library? Clemons or Alderman?

 

Alderman. They have a whole numismatics section.

[JStull]

I have quite a few dating back to the mid-1960s. At what point does the data and information within become too obsolete to keep them?

 

And, have you been able to sell your older back issues with success?

 

JMO, when a more recent researched item, originally reported on say 30 or 40 years ago, that contains more updated information, would make the older periodical obsolete.

[RWB]

They make good pointers, but few have enough source information to be considered useful.

[PerryHall]

I don't see how you can generalize on older publications. Much of the information is based on fact and is still relevant/accurate today while other information was wrong or obsolete before the ink ever dried.

[James_OldeTowne]

I don't see how you can generalize on older publications. Much of the information is based on fact and is still relevant/accurate today while other information was wrong or obsolete before the ink ever dried.

Honestly, I was hoping to get some pretty broad-cut responses so I wouldn't have to go through these things and research them myself. If someone had said "pretty much everything before 1980 is trash", I could have cleared up a lot of bookshelf space in a hurry ") .

 

It seems like I'd better do this right, and take the time to thumb through all of them, just in case.

[DWLange]

The value of old numismatic journals depends on what sort of information you are seeking. Most of the material on actual coins, tokens, notes, etc. will be superseded by later books and articles. If you are studying the history of the science/hobby, these old publications are priceless. I use them for identifying and dating items in my collection of coin boards, folders and albums and for determining the names, locations and time frames of their publishers. They are also useful for contemporary accounts of which coins were available in circulation or from banks and the Treasury.

[michael]

in general depending on new information

 

10-25 years

[Coindude]

The problem with the whole, when do I get rid of stuff, is that people are trying to rewrite history all the time. When they do that, since they want the information to be theirs, they forget what some of the forefathers have written down, or maybe they on purpose omit stuff.

 

I think that would be the only reason to hesitate in discarding old material.

[James_OldeTowne]

Last night, I pulled one out from 1968... and was pleasantly surprised at how good the articles are therein. This particular issue discussed Confederate notes, and was thoroughly written and infused with historical aspects of the Confederacy's difficulties in fighting counterfeits.

 

On second thought, maybe I'd better dedicate some time to reviewing these .

[Conder101]

The older Numismatists and Numismatic Scrapbooks contain a lot of good material that you won't find anywhere else.