Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins...

[Carterofmars]

I'm looking for thoughts and opinions on Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins.

 

How valuable is it? Is it a worthwhile investment?

 

 

Thanks in advance!!!

[MikeInFL]

It is a good reference book, but some of the facts are questionable.

 

I find that a specialists book on any of the series Breen covers are far more valuable....Mike

[TomB]

While the purchase of one of these is certainly a reasonable investment, I have found it of little specific value and mostly good for an introduction to various coin issues. However, Breen is well known for "filling in the blanks" of his knowledge with "facts" that have no supporting evidence. Therefore, be very leery of things published in this book.

[CarolinaCollector]

I used Breen's book as a starting point for learning about a specific coin series. The I bought the specialist books. As the others have said, some of the "facts" are questionable. However, you can learn something about every U.S. coin series from the book.

[DaveG]

Although it's now rather elderly (1988), Breen is the only single volume reference for all US coins. It's an excellent starting point - it lists each and every coin, gives some information of varieties (with pictures) and has good introductory text for each series (some of which is, of course, rather suspect now, as are some of his rarity estimates).

 

I relied on Breen a lot when I was a less-experienced collector (that is, before I had the individual books on my collecting specialties) and I still refer to it when I see a coin that's outside of my specialty.

 

I think that Breen is an excellent purchase if you've found the Red Book has only whetted your appetite without satisfying it, or if you want something that's broader in scope than the specialty books.

 

One thing, everyone complains about the binding - it tends to fall apart fairly quickly, so treat the book gently!

 

p.s., numismatic books are excellent gift suggestions for those family members who claim that "you're hard to buy presents for "

[Carterofmars]

Can you guys suggest some good specialty books for Barber Quarters, Seated Dimes, Peace Dollars, Seated and Barger quarters....

[TomB]

David Lawrence (David Feigenbaum) wrote the definitive books on the Barber coinage. These are well out of print but still pop up on ebay. The second edition book on quarters is available as a hardcover while the half dollar book is a single edition and is only softcover.

 

There is more material that covers the Seated series but the author names escape me at the moment.

[Carterofmars]

David Lawrence (David Feigenbaum) are you unsure which is the correct name?

[DaveG]

Seated Dimes: hard copy - "The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Dimes" by Brian Greer (1992)"; Internet - www.SeatedDimeVarieties.com by Gerry Fortin (especially if you're into varieties).

 

Seated Quarters: "The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Quarters" by Larry Briggs (also from the early '90s)

 

Barber Quarters: "The Complete Guide to Barber Quarters" by John Feigenbaum (also from the early '90s)

 

The above books were all published by David Lawrence (i.e., the company that David Feigenbaum owned -now his son, John, runs it) in the early 90s and have never been reprinted. The Barber books are all hard to find. I think that the Seated Dime and Quarter books are still being offered by the numismatic booksellers (the Seated Half book is out of stock and hard to find).

 

Peace Dollars: "Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the US" by Q. David Bowers. What every numismatic book should be: huge! This two-volume set was published in the mid-90s and immediately sold out. You now see them offered in the $450-$500 range. (Of course, you'd only need the second volume for Peace dollars.) If you don't want that much, then take a look at Bowers' "Silver Dollar Red Book" that he recently did for Whitman (get the second edition). Bowers' Encyclopedia doesn't include a grading guide or any discussion of VAMs, so if you're into that, you'll probably want to add "Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of Morgan & Peace Dollars" by Van Allen & Mallis. There are also a couple of books by Wayne Miller from the early '80s that people still talk about (I haven't read them.)

 

You might also want to consider joining the Liberty Seated Collector's Club and/or the Barber Coin Collector's Club, both of which publish specialty journals (at least the LSCC does, I presume the BCCC does).

 

For coin books, I highly recommend www.BrooklynGallery.com for discounted prices and fast shipping!

[TomB]

David Lawrence is the name the book is published under, but David Feigenbaum was his real name. You may see the book listed under either name. There won't be a revised edition under his name as he died in around 1999 of ALS.

[mhardin2413]

as for seated dimes, i agree. nothing beats the greer book. good pics, a good discussion of varieties, and of relative scarcity. obviously, the date on the book is a bit old, but when i was using it, i found it solid. best $27 dollars i've spent on books.

[michael]

breen phone book is half bullsh*t half great information

 

if you can separate the two then you got one of the best usa coin books bar none and never for the most part outdated

 

well at least in my lifetime and after that i do not care

 

breens proof coin book is also even better again you got to separate the wheat from the chaff

[ldhair]

In my opinion, it's a great book to have. I don't trust it alone to guide me in making a purchase. Lots of good information but also some that is just wrong. The age of the book and Breen just filling in the blanks with his opinion make me double check the facts before taking it as the real truth. It seems like a lot of coins Breen called rare are just not today. It can be tough to tell what was BS from the start and what is now, just due to time.

[Wihlborg]

I own the Breen encyclopedia, and have to agree with the others that while filled with some excellent information it can be difficult to separate what is true and what must have been conjecture. With that said however, I still feel that this book is a worthwhile investment for anyone who is serious about coins.

 

The reason being that it is the one book that someone can go to and get at the very least the basic info on any U.S. coin. Just be sure to cross reference any info you are not sure of before using it.

 

John

[Mozin]

Breen's Encyclopedia is a book I have owned for about ten years. I may have taken it from the shelf a dozen times. Not much use to me, especially for the price.

 

Stick to the specialist series books.

[James_OldeTowne]

It's one of my two most-used books. It's the rare numismatic book that can actually be read just for fun, and not be used strictly as a reference. Any true collector must have a copy in my opinion.

 

James

[RWB]

Breen's encyclopedia is a fine general resource when you want more information than the Guide Book provides. It is a potentially valuable link between general collecting and specialty interests. Unfortunately, it is somewhat out of date, and has many errors and fabrications that confuse collectors. It is a "step beyond the basics" until one can purchase more targeted books. Many museums reference their coins by "Breen numbers."

 

It would be nice if one of the big coin companies - the folks making huge sums in the auction trade - would put the time and resources behind a complete revision of Breen's work.