Which book to buy for early half dollar variety attribution?

[HCumberdale]

I think its about time I buy a book that will help me in looking for bust half dollar varieties. Any advice on which to buy? I was trying to decide between:

 

United States Early Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794-1836, 3rd Edition by Donald L. Parsley

or

Bust Halves Attribution Guide, by Glenn Peterson

 

I'd rather not buy both.

Incidentally, if anyone has a copy that is gathering dust...

[Mozin]

Most of us old hands go by the Overton third edition, but I hear that many newbies find Glenn Peterson's book to their liking. I have them both, and 98% of the time I use Overton. I have been collecting coins for 63 years.

[James_OldeTowne]

If you are limited to exactly one of the above books, get the Overton book. Glenn Peterson is a great numismatist and his book is excellent, but the Overton is the Bible.

 

Incidentally, for bust quarters, Browning's is the equivalent of Overton, but in that case, you would unquestionably choose the new Peterson bust quarters book. It is light years ahead of Browning's.

[BillJones]

If you are limited to exactly one of the above books, get the Overton book. Glenn Peterson is a great numismatist and his book is excellent, but the Overton is the Bible.

 

Incidentally, for bust quarters, Browning's is the equivalent of Overton, but in that case, you would unquestionably choose the new Peterson bust quarters book. It is light years ahead of Browning's.

 

Overton has been updated four or five times; Browning was never updated. If you get multiple cracks on the subject, usually the subsequent editions are better.

 

Not to put you down, James, but that explains the difference.

[messydesk]

I have both the Overton 3rd ed. and the Peterson book. Overton has full coin shots of both sides for each die pair, while the Peterson book has close-ups of the main pick-up points. Overton also discusses a broader range of relative positions of things on both sides of the coin, while Peterson pretty much limits it to the alignment of the T in STATES vs the I in PLURIBUS. What the Peterson book has that Overton doesn't is a bit of a composite view of all varieties at once in the form of line drawings of anomalies on a template of the coin. I've used them both, but Overton gives me more confidence.

 

With regard to recent editions being better, my understanding is that this is not the case for Overton. I posed the question as to whether the 3rd or 4th edition was the one to get and most opinions were that the 3rd was better.

[DWLange]

I still use the Third Edition Overton, because it has 20 years worth of my notes written all over it. These include pick-up points such as those found in the Peterson book. The combination of the stock book plus my own notes makes attribution of halves very easy for me, unless the dies are worn to the point of severe distortion. This eliminates all or most of the distinguishing features. Then attribution becomes a time-consuming task.

[TomB]

I use the third edition of Overton and recommend that to others. It was not until the fourth edition, which I own but do not use, where Parsley was listed as the author.

[James_OldeTowne]

I use the third edition of Overton and recommend that to others. It was not until the fourth edition, which I own but do not use, where Parsley was listed as the author.

Excellent and important point. I also use the third edition, although I own the fourth edition as well.

[HCumberdale]

Thanks for all the posts and information.

 

I think for now I will pursue the Overton 3rd edition, and perhaps as time goes on I will pick up the Peterson book as well.

 

All of your shared knowledge is much appreciated!!

[coinman1794]

I agree that the 3rd edition is my favorite for attribution. Some of the rarity numbers have changed, however.

[Keigwin]

Overton, I agree. Some things you'll want to know aren't there, and you'll pick them up over time. E.g., 1809 III and XXX edge varieties.

 

So I make pencil notes in the book like Mr. Lange and also corrections when I come across errors.

 

I have been told the 3rd edition is better than the 4th (which I have) but I have never heard specifically why it is better. Supposedly there are fewer mistakes.

Lance.

[TomB]

Overton, I agree. Some things you'll want to know aren't there, and you'll pick them up over time. E.g., 1809 III and XXX edge varieties.

 

So I make pencil notes in the book like Mr. Lange and also corrections when I come across errors.

 

I have been told the 3rd edition is better than the 4th (which I have) but I have never heard specifically why it is better. Supposedly there are fewer mistakes.

Lance.

 

I prefer the third edition for a few reasons. The first is trivial, yet visceral, in that I have owned the third edition for nearly twenty years and it has held up well in all that time, therefore, I feel little need to put it out to pasture. Also, the fourth edition is printed on paper that feels cheaper than the third edition and I do not like the feeling. Additionally, the binding or spine on the fourth edition seems to be stiffer or more brittle than the third edition such that if I used it more I might crack the spine, which is again something I do not like. Lastly, and this is merely personal opinion, but I do not believe that Overton's name should have been removed and replaced by Parsley's and, because of that, I prefer to use the Overton copy.

 

Rarity updates can be found on the BHNC website.

[jtryka]

I still use my 3rd edition Overton, bought used from Fred Lake books almost a decade ago!