Numismatics

It’s that time of year. You go to the mailbox or the latest email pops up from one of the many coin organizations you are affiliated with. Your annual dues are do. For many of us it’s a bit of a bother because we forget to plan when these bills are due. Some of us have been paying members for years and years without hardly another thought, but for a growing number of us it begs the question: why am I still a member?

We are not asking existential questions about the future of the hobby – though we may begin to ask those questions if demographics don’t change. We are asking simple cut and dry questions about what our local, regional, national, and international organization does for us. They owe us something in return for our payment We pay the dues and are often more than willing to continue to pay higher dues for the hobby we love and the support we see as necessary for its survival. What are we really getting for our membership?

For decades one of the hallmarks of membership in a numismatic organization has been a print journal or magazine. For a variety of reasons this perk of being a member has substantially diminished. For one, printing and shipping costs have increased exponentially to force publications to print less frequently and some to suspend journals altogether. This is especially true in Canada where it is largely prohibitive to get physical journals and magazines from organizations outside of the country.

Another, it’s not uncommon to see month after month of issues in which an editor makes a desperate call for submission. Many times they are desperate to reprint past articles, seek permissions for publishing pieces that are already online, or simply layout the pages with filler content: code of ethics, membership application forms, and the like. I am not blaming editors here.

Another powerful incentive to being a paying customer to a coin organization has been the ability to attend exclusive meetings, dinners, and annual conventions. These have always been wonderful ways to get to see friends from across Canada and the world who we would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet up with during the year.

Unfortunately attendance at these events is declining rapidly, thereby diminishing the capital required to rent the rooms, dining halls, and hotels. It can be debated as to what constitutes the greatest impact on this phenomena though some short answers include: the rise of the internet auction, the expense of travel, and changing demographics that prefer online interaction and socialization.

Aside from those two highlights what does your coin organization offer you? Many of the larger organizations offer extensive libraries of numismatic texts that can be borrowed nearly for free at the cost of shipping, an absolute steal in most cases. Worth the annual cost of membership? For new members, it likely is. For advanced and lifelong members it doesn’t make as much sense.

I spoke with one member of an organization who said: “All I get is this plastic card that says I’m a member.” He yanked it out of his wallet and threw it on the coffee table next to me.

There are two big reasons that a member of a coin organization has a right and a duty to demand more from their organization. First, they are paying customers. They always have been and always will be. They are loyal to their hobby and have soaked up my price hikes over the years with little complaint. Second, they are absolutely passionate about the topic of numismatics.

So, what does your numismatic organization really do for you? If you are getting tired with the journal, newsletter or magazine you are receiving, it might not be doing enough for you. And if you are not attending annual conventions it might not be doing enough for you. If you are not happy with either, your coin organization is doing nothing for you.

Consider what you want out of your money. What should it contribute to? Expenses are always tight these days. As mentioned those two hallmarks of a coin organization are the bread and butter of capital expenses each and every year. If sentiment continues to drift toward dissatisfaction at those two benefits of membership one hardly has a need to be a member. They can buy coins on eBay, email their buddies, and show off their collection in set registries online.

If you want to be a member of a coin organization and you want to see it succeed give some thought to what they could be doing for their members and what you as a member could contribute to make that happen. Your voice counts, as a customer and an equal peer in these social organizations. Your skills and passion might lead to some wonderful writing for the numismatic editor. What do you want to see?

Most collectors are well aware of the problem of forgeries coming from China. Most coin collectors are not fooled by the vast majority of these pieces. They are often wrong in detail, size, color, smell, feel, weight, and artistic rendition. They are often easily discounted and rarely an issue except for the beginning collector. That said, the stakes have risen and the counterfeiting technology has become increasingly more accurate. But what if a forgery could be produced that minimized most of those requirements listed above? What if it could be produced without the fear of

But what if a forgery could be produced that minimized most of those requirements listed above? What if it could be produced without the fear of counterfeiting a federal currency because it actually had no intention of circulation or ability to do so? Welcome to the world of counterfeit blank planchet errors in which the manufacturer has now become so precise that even the best collector would not be able to distinguish the fraud.

Blank planchet errors are some of my favorite errors to encourage new collectors to look out for. They are actually quite hard to find in circulation because they are so easily spotted and saved right away. Yet the frequency with which the error occurs is enough that demand does not outmatch supply and collectors can get smaller denominations like one cent examples for just a couple of bucks.

The error is perhaps the easiest to describe. When a sheet of metal is punched to individual metallic discs to be minted into coins these are known as planchets. The planchets are then often weighed and measured for consistency before moving on to receive stamping of the obverse and reverse from a die. In this case, the story ends with the planchet never making it to the die or moving in such a way (mechanical or by human error) that the die misses striking it.

Generally speaking, the more difficult blank planchet errors to find are the larger denominations. They command a price three to four times that of the lowest denomination and in some cases many more.

Unfortunately, sellers on Alibaba, an aggregate wholesale site for producers of trade goods and private label merchandise have found a way to skirt the law and produce identical examples of what we have been collecting. After all, the trick has hardly ever been creating identical circulation coins. The real challenge has always been evading law enforcement. By producing simply a planchet which is not by itself imitating a circulating coin the producer can skirt the law. Quite simply these planchets could be used for myriad craft implementation, customized coins, and apparently find construction or hardware use, according to the manufacturer.

I have hand inspected several examples from several different sellers. None will be mentioned by name here. Just know that there are dozens of manufacturers of these items on Alibaba and hundreds more who produce commemorative or specialized coins who would be willing to make an order of these if requested.

From what I have gathered they are all accurate on size and weight specifications for American circulating coinage from the one cent to the twenty-five cent. A couple of sellers are off slightly on color which may be a reflection of improper metal content. The others were spot on. Keep in mind, the metal content percentages of a coin are not difficult to ascertain. In fact, they are published in the Redbook each year.

I doubt even a third-party grading company would be able to diagnose such a forgery and for that reason, I am going to stay away from blank planchet errors for a while until I learn more. Their production poses almost zero threat to the various mints whose coins they target, but instead to the hobby as a whole.

When I was in high school everyone in my life told me just: “go to college and study your passion.” My high school counselor did not offer any specific advice. He just said, “do what you love!” I loved coins and I loved history but neither were just going to hand me a job like everyone made it out to be.

The world economy went into recession during my third year at a public university. I remember when the news came on and Bear Sterns collapsed. I was on my way to one of those fluff humanities classes, pursuing my history degree. It was the kind of class that taught nothing that actually translated into job skills or applicable resume building.

I graduated in 2012 in a changed world. Everyone had degrees and because I choose a history degree and foolishly believed what everyone said about just doing what I loved, I entered a hopeless job market. I took several jobs working in food service, with my passion for numismatics always on the back of my mind.

Numismatics Usually Isn’t a Career for Most it’s a Hobby

What kind of job could I have as a numismatist I thought? Times have changed and funding for jobs related to coins and money had to have been sparse. I dug a little deeper and found that many of the jobs were volunteer based.

I worked really hard and started doing research. The goal was to write my first article for publication in a numismatic journal. The thrill was unreal. I loved digging into archives and using my history skills, that I had previously taken for granted. Unfortunately there was no pay in sight. I could certainly continue for the love of it, but what would I do to make a living?

Unfortunately most numismatists are not career numismatists. In fact, most of my fellow peers are quite learned professionals, some being doctors, engineers, public service workers, professors, and school teachers. On the opposite a few were even on the brink of poverty, yet still maintained an ability to collect coins. I thought nobody outside of the leading authors and professional dealers made a living off of numismatics. So I decided to dig deeper.

I did not want to be a rare coin dealer, although that certainly was and still is a possibility. I had been a part-time dealer in the past with much success, though feared holding a large and expensive inventory and the costs associated with insuring it. It seemed like that was the only way though to make a working with coins.

Work is Supposed to be Work – No Short Cuts

Why couldn’t my passion be my career? The leading bloggers of my age group were teaching their readers: less is more and to take time off to discover yourself. I didn’t have money to discover myself! Student loans ate up just about all of the money I had each month. Were they living in some kind of fantasy world? Perhaps my generation takes for granted that we don’t have to mine coal, run a farm, or scale steel beams to make a living. Perhaps we have just too much time to think about this and not enough physical labor to make us thankful for what we have.

Still, with the tools and resources we have, I was determined to make at least some of my career dependent on my passion and expertise of coins. It would take time. If you don’t have a spouse that can support you while you are trying to follow your dream I highly recommend you take a different path. It can be a struggle.

I started my path by going back in time and looking at the career books for history majors, the kind I should have had in high school but failed to act on. There were a variety of jobs listed, many of which I felt highly qualified for. You the reader know painfully well, jobs aren’t earned anymore by finding a job you like and putting in a resume. Now more than ever, with so few openings (especially in a field like history), it takes networking, hard work, and a whole lot of luck!

Email a Numismatist – This is a Hobby of Friends

From there, I attacked networking. I worked extra hard over a three year period (and still do) to send out emails to prominent numismatists and pick their brain. There’s a little secret I’d like to share with you: If there’s one thing the professional numismatists want, it’s a future generation of coin collectors. The generation before them advocated the same. Most people are happy to positively impact the hobby, however possible. In fact, send me an email and I’ll see what I can do for you.

During that time I was able to come to exchange daily and weekly emails with some of the hobby’s most important and storied authors, dealers, and collectors all in coins I was interested in. It’s amazing how much sharing a common hobby can bring two people together. Many of these exchanges have turned into lifetime friendships.

Now it isn’t that easy. Only on a couple of occasions did those email exchanges lead directly to job opportunities. In fact, one was so lucrative that the offer was to fly me out to a major American city to start work on a $50,000 a year career. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go anywhere because of family commitments. I needed to get more creative and find something that allowed me to work from home or where I was already living.

So what jobs are available for budding numismatists?

One career that almost cemented my future in numismatics was as a professional coin grader. Unfortunately due to family issues I couldn’t make the necessary move. I have heard from others that such a career is rife with falling asleep at the same PR69 and PR70 American Silver Eagles all day and can easily become monotonous. That’s fine. If you are a hard worker and passionate you can use your grading skills and put in the time and hard work necessary to move up in the company.

I also had an interview to work as a remote cataloger at one of the largest auction houses in the country. One of those email friends referred me to the right people in the company and gave me a direct line to a career I had always dreamed of. I was completely halted when I failed the comprehensive grading exam. Unfortunately my lack of experience in gold coins caught up with me. Something to consider for the budget collectors; the big fish play with the big money coins. Still, the right email communication can pay off.

To be honest, there is little beyond that which I have mentioned available that is a direct job in numismatics. There are however some entrepreneurial paths, which after dejected and humbled, I began journeying towards…

Part two will follow in the coming weeks.

Amazon’s Kindle Publishing has opened the floodgates for passionate writers to publish their stories and knowledge to the world like never before. Gone are the barriers to entry such as agents, editing teams, marketing advisors, and gauging the general marketability of the author. What I have noticed though – at least in numismatics – is that it is allowing a lot of charlatans and internet marketers to make a quick buck publishing about our hobby. The lasting impact though is a market flooded with crap, as well as disillusioned and vulnerable customers.

My passion for this topic is immense. I have been writing several books for years now, waiting to publish in order to perfect my research, in addition to correcting style and errors. I am not trying to be a perfectionist, but close to it. My work will be associated with my name and I am vested in ensuring it makes a great impression. Hopefully, this summer I will finally have one of them published on Amazon Kindle.

Before I hit publish though I did some research on the market for numismatic books on Amazon. The usual suspects are there. Most of the great titles we know and love from the authors who are experts in their respective series. Along with those experts are hundreds of inaccurate “books” floating around geared toward appealing to a reader’s desire to make a quick buck in coins.

It actually compelled me to leave my first damning review of a Kindle book today. It was not prideful. It was an undeniable urge. Upon seeing a recommended book and never hearing of the author I had to research them and see how and why they were receiving so many positive reviews and in some cases outselling Whitman titles in the same area of numismatics.

My research resulted in nothing. Their other “books” drew skepticism as they were hardly related to coins, instead favoring various ways to make a quick buck online or discussing various ways to take advantage of arbitrage. Still interested in why the positive reviews where there I decided to try the introduction to the book which is a complimentary service via Amazon Kindle.

What I found upset my stomach. At first I had a strong opinion that the “book” was completely outsourced from Asia. The sentences were fluffy and made overarching statements like “since the beginning of time” and “the history of coins is important.” Repetition filled their page count. Where was the meat of this product that I could learn, grow, and be entertained by?

I would never find the meat, just a bunch of fat. The introduction was full of misunderstandings and inaccuracies that average numismatist would have thrown their arms up about. What I found most disturbing was the blatant disregard for numismatists’ copyright. I saw numerous images in the introduction owned by other numismatists, friends of mine, who did not consent to use of their work. I can only imagine how many are filled in all of his thin offerings.

So I left a negative review and I am that much more compelled to write a better book than I had planned. Obviously I want to protect my own brand and make a living for myself, but I also want to have a positive legacy on this hobby. Collector’s everywhere deserve it!

I ask you to please leave honest reviews for these self published books in whatever category you find them. There is nothing wrong with an independent author. However there is everything wrong with someone producing lazy content that is inaccurate, with no credentials, in order to make a quick buck at the expense of others. Keep the review civil and constructive. It has a much better chance of sticking around and making a positive impact on everyone.

If you find a great self published numismatic book please draw my attention to it. I would be happy to review and promote it here and with my friends and clients. And if you find a self published numismatic book that is honest, trying to make a positive impact, that just needs a little help let me know. I would be happy to help a fellow numismatic author out.

What makes a great numismatic library? How many books do you need to learn about coins and be a great numismatist? My numismatic library contains hundreds of titles. Some collectors have thousands of books, magazines, auction catalogs, and price lists in their libraries. Most casual coin collectors just have a handful of basic books.

Whether you are casual coin collector or seeking to be an expert, this is your guide to building a proper numismatic library. The goal is to tailor it for your needs as well as your expected needs as your collection grows.

We all started somewhere, with that one book. For many of us it was the Redbook or one of the many thick and heavy books produced by Krause Publications to teach us about coins and banknotes of the world. These books were enough to whet our palate, but sure enough there came a day in which we began to specialize on a topic, or even branch into a topic not covered in the typical books such as: tokens, medals, or exonumia. Some of us were just so fascinated by numismatics that we began amassing everything on the topic. Bibliomania meets numismatics.

Is one book really enough? If you are just a casual collector then one book might be enough. However, if you are going to be investing a lot of time and money in coins, developing a particular fascination with a country, series, or theme you would be best to add much more to your library.

One reason that one book is not enough is that it is written to a particular reader from a particular source(s). The desired reading audience may not match your reading style; too broad or too in depth versus too casual or too academic. So too the authors voice may not fit your particular style.

Another important reason relates to the information available to that author at that time. Two authors writing on the exact same topic at the exact same time will have different references as a result of their access to the information they’re writing about.

One example I can think of from my own experience in writing a catalog on food stamp change tokens is the ability to have access to major collections. Most collectors have been appreciative and contributing to the project. Still, a fair number would prefer not to contribute their research or share photos of examples in their collections. Some of the collectors I have secured permission from may not allow permission to a different author and vice versa.

Numismatic books are constantly updated with new information that was previously unavailable to the previous generation. Thus books in their second and third editions are often dramatically different than that first edition. Does that make the first edition obsolete?

Historic numismatic books (and those who have been significantly updated) are important because they frame the history of the hobby and where we’ve come, with a glimpse at where we are going. Serious numismatists use them to make discoveries on long hidden or misunderstood topics like the fascinating topic of die engravers. Many investors use them to track the value of a particular coin and seek to chart where it might be heading. Personally, I use certain early editions to track the understanding of rarity for a given variety.

What are the essentials? Essential books are going to be those that cover a lot of bases and go over the fundamentals related to grade. You may not enjoy grading coins or prefer to ignore items outside of your preferred grade, but grade almost always dictates price. The ability to grade coins properly will ensure we pay the appropriate price, don’t get ripped off, and allow us to occasionally make some great bargain buys. Here’s Jeff Garrett’s Top 10 Books to Get Started.

Photograde ( in its 19th Edition) and Making the Grade are clearly great examples to get started with that are missing from that list. The ‘heat maps’ on Making the Grade were one of the most helpful for me in getting started. I still own my first edition copy. The reality is, the majority of coins you will be grading today are from photographs alone since they are likely bought and sold online.

The next book you need that is just as essential is a value guide. There are arguments about what price guide is most accurate and it really does depend on what you collect. If you casually collect U.S. Type Coins in extra fine, the Redbook will be a great addition to your library each year it is issued. However, if you are a collector of MS-65 professionally graded Morgan Silver Dollars you will need subscriptions to the latest trends in The Grey Sheet, Numismatic News, and Coin World. That is in addition to the Redbook.

Generally speaking, the more money you have involved in the game, the more frequently you will need to consult the latest pricing trends.

The next book you will need relates to molding you into a connoisseur. What is your specialty? What is your preferred coin? If we use the previous example of Morgan Silver Dollars you could buy more than a dozen different books on Morgan Silver Dollars right now on Amazon. Find out why collectors are obsessed with Morgan Silver Dollars.

After exhausting that list, you will find dozens more. These books go into detail about the series you collect, highlighting history, mintage figures, die varieties, specialty grading guides, and entertaining stories from collectors. I eagerly await Lake Books mail bid sales for these types of gems. Those second-hand editions are amazing for the handwritten notes often found in the text. Supporting a fellow numismatist and getting fair prices is always a win-win.

And forget stopping at just reference books. There are going to be many valuable auction catalogs that contain important pricing and rarity information on those Morgan Silver Dollars you collect. Plus, you will thoroughly enjoy all of the breathtaking photos of the rainbow toning and deep mirror cameo examples. Triton catalogs are one of my favorites with their wonderfully rare ancient coins and the associated collecting history (provenance).

And if you are like most numismatists you will thoroughly enjoy reading about coins and coin collectors, even if you do not collect the particular series or coin being discussed in the book. Confession: I do not currently collect gold coins, yet I am incredibly fascinated with Private Gold Coins. Thus I own half a dozen books on a topic I don’t even collect.

If you have also been bit by the bibliomania bug (better check out the E-Sylum newsletter archive) then there are other factors to take into account like the binding of the book, the quality of the cover and a desire for folio size and gilt lettering. Some of my favorite numismatic books are those that smell of pipe tobacco, bought second-hand from other collectors. Though I understand the economics of printing softcover there is something to be said for the feel of a hardcover gripped between your fingers.