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What percentage of active coin collectors read hobby books....
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286 posts in this topic

On 8/11/2022 at 4:58 PM, VKurtB said:

Both the Mint AND Jeweler’s Row on Samson Street in Philly, where Switt’s place was, are LITERALLY less than a five minute stroll from the courthouse. 

Well, I see "undue influence" at work here. Am I to understand that Little Nicky Scarfo's underlings had nothing to with coordinating the special complimentary luncheons there or thereabout?

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On 8/11/2022 at 9:23 AM, zadok said:

...no, the question posed was what % read those new hobby books nothing bout do they learn anything new...the answer is very few, %wise definitely not out of the single digits n most likely very low single digits...if the opposite were true the book publishers would be beating down doors...there is no money to be made selling a hundred or less copies of a book, hence private or subsidized publishing...the "red book" the old krause catalogs n QDB's books sold in the thousands because they were needed and/or interesting to both the specialist n the universal collector...i dont have actual records of sales but i would venture that DWL's books on money boards outsells most other specialized coin series books...if true there is a lesson there if not true then i am wrong....

 

".... no, the question posed was..." What?  Cannot the OP be given the necessary discretion to direct his own thread? [This is why Woody Allen, as a film director was so annoyed with those who decided, unilaterally and without consulting him, that some of his presentations would look "so much better" in color, instead of b&w.]

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On 8/13/2022 at 1:49 PM, RWB said:

The OPs question is clear and direct. Responses might not be.

Well, if you want my best guess...assuming active coin collector....going back 3 years or so.....and either purchasing and reading a book OR re-reading and/or consulting select chapters in a book already read (like I do with your book or Bowers & Akers books)....I'm gonna say 25%.

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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On 8/13/2022 at 1:08 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

".... no, the question posed was..." What?  Cannot the OP be given the necessary discretion to direct his own thread? [This is why Woody Allen, as a film director was so annoyed with those who decided, unilaterally and without consulting him, that some of his presentations would look "so much better" in color, instead of b&w.]

...i didnt know that woody allen even collected coins, guess he likes them toned?....

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On 8/13/2022 at 2:21 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Well, if you want my best guess...assuming active coin collector....going back 3 years or so.....and either purchasing and reading a book OR re-reading and/or consulting select chapters in a book already read (like I do with your book or Bowers & Akers books)....I'm gonna say 25%.

...i guess if were r going go on record then im going move goldfinge'rs decimal point n say 2.5%....

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On 8/13/2022 at 2:26 PM, zadok said:

...i guess if were r going go on record then im going move goldfinge'rs decimal point n say 2.5%....

I agree, at least once it moves past something like the Red Book.

Maybe it's different with e-books somewhat (which should be a lot cheaper) but most are either going to be too specialized, too expensive, or not relevant to the collector for what they collect.

The types of coins I collect, the coins do not exist in sufficient supply to accommodate a noticeably larger collector base who will want to buy any reference on the topic.  It makes no sense to expect collectors to want to buy books that have nothing to do with their interest.  Most collectors are coin buyers, not aspiring scholars or numismatists.  Most collector budgets are for coins, not to pay for expenditures unrelated to directly buying coins.

The last book I bought was Yonaka's covering Mexican colonial portrait coinage and the lion and castle quarter real.  I own two of the latter but no portraits.  It's hard cover and cost $125 or $150.  It doesn't have much to do with my collecting, but I bought it anyway.  About the only directly useful info to me is the survey data for comparison with the same surveys for the pillar coinage in Yonaka's other books.

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On 8/14/2022 at 5:09 PM, World Colonial said:

.... It's hard cover and cost $125 or $150....

I worked at the Strand Book Store, billed as the world's largest used book store boasting 8 miles of shelving, since increased to 18 million miles, and was amazed at how book prices have soared ever upward since 1975. But the figures you've provided, stunned me. 

Not unexpectedly, I share your views. To me, living on a fixed-income, choices are made for me. For example, I can buy Roger's book--but would have to withhold my next month's rent, or sell a 🐓. And I live in Federally subsidized low-income housing. :roflmao:  😉 

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On 8/14/2022 at 5:09 PM, World Colonial said:

I agree, at least once it moves past something like the Red Book.

I include the Red Book or any other book primers for beginners.

As an example, I probably consult Roger's SAINTS book every few weeks.  If I was more active buying, I'd probably check it more often.

40 years ago, you only had books or magazines.  Today, with the internet and message forums like this, you have lots more choices.  I still think books have value. (thumbsu

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On 8/14/2022 at 6:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I include the Red Book or any other book primers for beginners.

As an example, I probably consult Roger's SAINTS book every few weeks.  If I was more active buying, I'd probably check it more often.

40 years ago, you only had books or magazines.  Today, with the internet and message forums like this, you have lots more choices.  I still think books have value. (thumbsu

I stand corrected. Joke's on me. I suddenly realized the practiced sleight-of-hand you pulled off here. You're good. Real good! And you had the audacity to question my relinquishment of the throne to you?

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On 8/14/2022 at 5:33 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

I worked at the Strand Book Store, billed as the world's largest used book store boasting 8 miles of shelving, since increased to 18 million miles, and was amazed at how book prices have soared ever upward since 1975. But the figures you've provided, stunned me. 

This is an inference, but I presume one purpose of the OP is for future subject matter.

I buy fewer books generally (almost none now) but I never had an interest or intent to build a numismatic library on coins I'll never collect. At today's prices, building one of any size (assuming enough actually exist) I'd actually want to read would probably cost four or a low five figures.

I also can't find the ones I want most and I'd likely never pay the price it would take to buy it.  Earlier, I mentioned Gilboy's cost something like $400 now (used) and it's probably not much less (if any at all) for the one covering the Getz patterns.

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On 8/14/2022 at 6:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I include the Red Book or any other book primers for beginners.

Agree

On 8/14/2022 at 6:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

As an example, I probably consult Roger's SAINTS book every few weeks.  If I was more active buying, I'd probably check it more often.

I'll refer to mine as well if a coin I want to buy is for sale and I need a reminder on its survey data and relative scarcity rank.  Otherwise, I'll look at it periodically (no set interval) as a refresher.

On 8/14/2022 at 6:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

40 years ago, you only had books or magazines.  Today, with the internet and message forums like this, you have lots more choices.  

Agree here too.  For most collectors, sources like the TPG data and Coin Facts provide basic information and coin forums are in many instances better and real time information on less collected areas.

On 8/14/2022 at 6:16 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I still think books have value. (thumbsu

Yes, but value is relative. 

I'd get some value out of a lot of books in the sense I'd learn something I didn't know before.  I'm still not interested in spending a cent to buy something unrelated to my core interest over actually buying a single coin in my core interest.  That's not going to happen.  It's also one thing to spend a few dollars or a nominal price (like the $10+ I spent on Bower's books in the 80's) versus hundreds.

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[From the looks of it, maybe the Great Zadok was right.  He said I'd missed out on some very important things by not buying and reading books and exploring coin shows. Hmm.]  🤔 

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On 8/14/2022 at 7:11 PM, World Colonial said:

I buy fewer books generally (almost none now)

Unless there are new books coming out on Saints and/or Double Eagles, it's UNLIKELY I'll be buying new books on that series.

I would gladly buy a 2nd Edition of Bower's DE book if they ever do it....I have some Morgans and will probably buy more in the future so getting the 7th Edition (8th ?) might be worthwhile since I only have the 4th Edition.  I don't expect tons more information (except udpated prices) but would hope for a new chapter or two and updated paragraphs throughout. 

If I knew that, I'd run out and get the latest edition. (thumbsu

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On 8/15/2022 at 9:03 AM, Oldhoopster said:

I was given similar advice when I started collecting as kid 50+ years ago.  Read everything you can, ask questions, and look at as many coins as possible (at shows, local dealers, books, auction catalogs).  For some unknown reason, I actually listened to that advice and it has helped me over the last few decades in this hobby.

It's never too late to jump on the bandwagon

The information on many threads here and on other sites is invaluable.  The back-and-forth....as long as you can separate the opinions from facts, it's invaluable....look at all the information a Saint Double Eagle fan get from the RWB Saints Thread, interacting with Roger, hearing other experts chime in, etc.

Outside of a conference on Saints 40 years ago, I don't know how you would get all that information unless you had accumulated it over many years.

Same thing with other niche coins that I don't follow.  The internet brings together dozens or hundreds of experts all in one place that was impossible before the 2000's.

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My favorite books are those on Hard Times tokens, Greek and Roman attribution guides, and British coins. 

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On 8/15/2022 at 1:51 PM, VKurtB said:

My favorite books are those on Hard Times tokens, Greek and Roman attribution guides, and British coins. 

...all very historically based, which happens to be what coin collecting is all about anyway...if a child just studied coins n stamps they would be more solidly grounded in history than anything taught in our school systems these days....

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On 8/15/2022 at 1:39 PM, zadok said:

...all very historically based, which happens to be what coin collecting is all about anyway...if a child just studied coins n stamps they would be more solidly grounded in history than anything taught in our school systems these days....

But, but, but then they wouldn’t have the most critical part - the part about diversity and inclusion. Those Greeks, Romans, and medieval Brits, there were ALL ABOUT “inclusion”. /rolls eyes back up inside his head. 

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On 8/15/2022 at 2:39 PM, zadok said:

...all very historically based, which happens to be what coin collecting is all about anyway...if a child just studied coins n stamps they would be more solidly grounded in history than anything taught in our school systems these days....

Interesting observation.

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On 8/15/2022 at 3:16 PM, VKurtB said:

But, but, but then they wouldn’t have the most critical part - the part about diversity and inclusion. Those Greeks, Romans, and medieval Brits, there were ALL ABOUT “inclusion”. /rolls eyes back up inside his head. 

[Unc. Imm]  :roflmao:

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YES !!! :D:D:D:) (thumbsu

Managed to get a used copy of Bowers Liberty Double Eagles book for under $20....brand-new, I saw it a few years ago for $300. :o I haven't seen many new or used for sale.

Since I don't collect Liberty DEs I really didn't want to pay full retail for the book but to get it for under 1/10th the new price it's worth it to read and have in my personal coin book library. 

Probably a very limited press run given the niche subject matter and the cost of the book new.

Liberty DE Book Cover Bowers.jpg

Edited by GoldFinger1969
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On 12/20/2022 at 3:17 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

YES !!! :D:D:D:) (thumbsu

Managed to get a used copy of Bowers Liberty Double Eagles book for under $20....brand-new, I saw it a few years ago for $300. :o I haven't seen many new or used for sale.

Since I don't collect Liberty DEs I really didn't want to pay full retail for the book but to get it for under 1/10th the new price it's worth it to read and have in my personal coin book library. 

Probably a very limited press run given the niche subject matter and the cost of the book new.

Liberty DE Book Cover Bowers.jpg

Awesome pick up GF!  Congrats buddy! :golfclap:

Books are one of the things I've learned to be patient for, I can usually find a used copy of a book I want for cheap if I wait. Managed to pick up a signed copy of the De Luxe Presentation Volume of "Isle of Man Coins and tokens" a few months ago. The picture makes the book look worse than it is, there is, was, a plastic jacket over the cover which is what those ripples are, they looked like a stain/staining but book is actually squeaky clean for the most part. I removed the jacket and the cover was in fabulous condition, no staining. One of my favorite numismatic gets this calendar year.

Don't have a pic with the jacket removed, :(, but trust me it's sweet! 

image.thumb.jpeg.0d86b4b11ce271976368bb9192ee3054.jpeg

image.thumb.jpeg.6da01a66eabb57384eeafc1d6a3713b5.jpeg

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On 12/20/2022 at 10:59 PM, Fenntucky Mike said:

Awesome pick up GF!  Congrats buddy! :golfclap:

Books are one of the things I've learned to be patient for, I can usually find a used copy of a book I want for cheap if I wait. Managed to pick up a signed copy of the De Luxe Presentation Volume of "Isle of Man Coins and tokens" a few months ago. The picture makes the book look worse than it is, there is, was, a plastic jacket over the cover which is what those ripples are, they looked like a stain/staining but book is actually squeaky clean for the most part. I removed the jacket and the cover was in fabulous condition, no staining. One of my favorite numismatic gets this calendar year.

Don't have a pic with the jacket removed, :(, but trust me it's sweet! 

image.thumb.jpeg.0d86b4b11ce271976368bb9192ee3054.jpeg

image.thumb.jpeg.6da01a66eabb57384eeafc1d6a3713b5.jpeg

I’m jealous! Nice pick up.  
I wonder what the deluxe version has in it that the below doesn’t. Also sad news on the Clucas collection. It contains many counterfeits and all have been cleaned by the museum for display.

 

 

 

Edited by Zebo
Added photos.
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On 12/20/2022 at 3:17 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

used copy of Bowers Liberty Double Eagles book

Do you realize that the used book allows you to evaluate only circulated, "used," coins.....?  ;)

 

Nice find!

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On 12/21/2022 at 1:43 PM, RWB said:

Nice find!

Thanks Roger....I could be wrong, but this looks more like a coffee table book with glossy pics rather than one with extensive research.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Whatever, the price was right.

If it IS a coffee table book, maybe I'll reach out to Kramer.....xD

 

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On 12/21/2022 at 11:58 AM, Zebo said:

I’m jealous! Nice pick up.  
I wonder what the deluxe version has in it that the below doesn’t. Also sad news on the Clucas collection. It contains many counterfeits and all have been cleaned by the museum for display.

 

C78C82E7-622A-4514-993A-E7721D0EBDC4.jpeg

1B80889A-050E-4821-AC7C-71472D1DC4A2.jpeg

I have the '78 or '79 standard version and the De Luxe did seem to have more in it but I'll have to sit down and open both up for comparison. I'll take a closer look this weekend and let you know.

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