Speaking of Bust halves - which book do you prefer?

[DaveG]

I've noticed that Overton seems to have gone (mostly) out of stock (neither Brooklyn Gallery nor Stanton has any in stock).

 

How do you feel it compares to the "new" Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Halves by Peterson?

[TomB]

I haven't read the Peterson book yet, but I use Overton all the time. If you have a real interest in Bust halves you will also want to purchase Bust Half Fever by Souders, but this only covers CBHs. Pricing and relative rarity information can be obtained through Downey's updated compendium of price lists and the historical abstract of Bust half prices, perhaps by Fricke or Korollof?

[DaveG]

"Bust Half Fever" is the one I really want - when I can find a copy!

[Merc]

I used to have 6 copies of Overton's last edition. It was a bit hard to find so I bought several and sold the extras. I have never seen the Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Halves by Peterson.

[Calypso]

Overton 3rd edition.

 

try www.bookfinder.com

 

Liz

[TomB]

Dave, if you want Bust Half Fever then you should go to Stack's as they usually have a copy in stock. The cost has risen to about $115 since its initial sales price of $35. I ordered my copy through Stack's and when it arrived I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was one of 100 that was signed by Edgar Souders and had a glued in page opposite the frontispiece with his signature and with the number (#18 of 100) of the signing. It also came in a plastic outer sleeve that had a cameo image of a CBH with the number 18 on it.

[Hoot]

Fixed linky to Stacks

 

Hoot

[Mozin]

EARLY HALF DOLLAR DIE VARIETIES by Al Overton, 3rd edition is what you want, not the earlier editions. It has been sold out for some time now but you might still find a copy. Do a web search. If no luck come on back to this thread and I probably can steer you the right way.

 

Peterson's book THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO ATTRIBUTING BUST HALF DOLLARS is also very nice but most serious Bust Half collectors use Overton.

 

BUST HALF FEVER by Souders is very interesting reading but it cannot be used for variety determination like the above two books. Last I saw they were selling for triple original cost.

[James_OldeTowne]

I've been sticking strictly with the Overton book. I've seen and even tried to use Peterson's book, but for a not-totally-serious collector like me, Overton, with updated rarity ratings, works out well for me.

 

James

[Dermott]

I've used both the Peterson and the Overton books.

 

Peterson

Pros: I like the charts he created personally with the line-drawn coins and the T over I graphs... If it does not identify the coin quickly, it will at least narrow down your choices based on the T/I positioning. Good magnified images for specific die markers. It focuses on attribution and doesn't waste space with extra information (i.e. no stories on rare die varieties or auction histories, or possession histories)

 

Cons: Does not show or identify late state (A, B, or C state coins), does not show some die markers shown in Overton. Also only covers the Bust Half series and not the Flowing Hair or Draped Bust series as Overton does.

 

Overton

Pros: The standard reference. Very complete though I have made a few notes on Post-Its to help out (generally only on minor markers and few and far between). Covers earlier halves as well as Busts. Good images, not top quality, but good enough for identification work. Shows all known die states.

 

Cons: Lack of the Quick-Find T/I chart but this is minor. Some die markers are not shown or mentioned in the text. No microscope images of key die features as in Peterson.

 

 

At NGC, we attribute via the Overton book as it is the more complete of the two works. I have quite often used the Peterson book to locate the main variety or narrow down the range of possibilities, then moved to the Overton to finalize the attribution.

[Nysoto]

There is a very useful site for bust half collectors: bust half info

The site gives information not found in Overton such as emission order, updated rarity ratings, and Overton errata, which provides more complete additions to die states and corrects some errors found in the Overton book (look under "references").

 

Both books are great, I use Overton because it includes the 1794-1807 Pre-Turbs.

 

Bill

[Mozin]

Bill,

 

This is a great site.