Coins DIG

Coins magazine features regular book reviews, so readers should be well aware of current numismatic volumes. But I readers might be interested in some of the “new” works from the paper side of our hobby as they prepare “wish lists.”

The biggest news in the syngraphics book field of late is the announcement that the publisher of this periodical is re-releasing Jim Haxby’s monumental 1988 four-volume opus United States Obsolete Bank Notes, 1782-1866 in CD format. Long out of print (my wife bought my set for me as a Christmas present in 1988), sets have been retailing for $800 more-or-less when available. Prominent currency dealers had “open” buy ads for sets.

Although state obsolete bank note books exist for a number of states either privately or under the auspices of the Society of Paper Money Collectors Wismer Project, Dr. Haxby’s accomplishment in cataloging the breadth of obsolete bank notes in an informed and illustrated way was unprecedented. It was another in KP founder Chet Krause’s series of massive compendia in all cataloging fields, a hallmark then and since for this Wisconsin-based enterprise.

I’ll leave it to KP pitchmen to provide the particulars on this set and close the sale, but from one who has used these volumes in my personal collecting and professional career for more than two decades, ANY collector worth his/her salt MUST have the printed or now electronic versions of these monumental tomes. The publisher is even offering state-by-state downloads, a definite plus.

The rebirth of standard works also has also recently seen the release of the fifth edition of Eric Newman’s perennial standby Early Paper Money of America, coincidently also by the publisher of this magazine. Eric has been THE towering authority on U.S. Continental and state Colonial notes for a generation, and the new release delivers updated pricing, and increased use of color photography that has become more common in recent years.

Frankly, it’s hard for me to understand collectors of any federal series not studying the predecessor currencies detailed by Newman and Haxby to ground their own pursuits. Both books feature series of complexity, beauty, and historicity that are a joy to read about.

Other “old” books recently remade new also dot the hobby landscape. Many collectors of Confederate currency rejoiced several years ago when an earnest coin collector-turned-paper money aficionado, Pierre Fricke, turned his antennae toward the Confederate series. His telephone book-sized CSA catalog was well received, as is his spin-off volume Collecting Confederate Paper Money-Field Edition, published by Spink-Smythe. Cut down with color photos, this book would be welcome on many shelves.

Another standby made fresh is Steve Whitfield’s Kansas Paper Money, An Illustrated History, 1854 to 1935. Whitfield penned the authoritative guide to Jayhawk obsolete paper money as part of the SPMC series in 1980. His new book, published by McFarland, is much larger, much improved and is now the definitive study of this historically pivotal state. I’m proud to say that Steve engaged me as the book’s editor, and hopefully my experience helped make the book as good as Steve hoped it would be.

Obsolete paper money dealer extraordinaire Hugh Shull had enriched our knowledge with his excellent A Guide Book of Southern States Currency, published by Whitman. Hugh has recast the musty Criswell study in this field, assisted by my friend Wendell Wolka, in an informational, and colorful reference work.

Whitman also recently published my Abraham Lincoln, the Image of His Greatness, a numismatic tribute to the Lincoln Birth bicentennial. The book, which includes an awful lot of very rare currency, bonds, stocks and other paper items, has been wonderfully received by hobbyists, scholars, and general public alike.

And while we’re on the subject of making “old” things new once again, readers should be on the look out for the upcoming revised, enlarged 2nd edition of my 1995 Civil War Encased Stamps, the Issuers and Their Times, and an electronic book of my 2005 Show Me the Money! The Standard Catalog of Motion Picture, Television, Stage and Advertising Prop Money by McFarland. Additional info will appear soon.

Source: numismaster.com