Coin Book Review: The Expert’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins by Q David Bowers
The Expert’s Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins is a huge book. Contains more than 600 pages full of information on collecting coins. Although the title is somewhat misleading in my opinion. I wouldn’t call it an investment book at all, but rather a comprehensive description of almost any type of numismatic material made in the United States.
The book certainly covers investing in rare coins as an investment. The book contains a whopping 34 chapters and the first 15 are devoted to investing or determining the value of rare coins. Within those chapters, there are discussions of common coin investing basics such as quality / rating, rarity, and demand. As with any commodity or collectible, if there is no demand, there is no price appreciation. The best example of that is the 1909 S VDB Lincoln Cent. There are more of these coins available than many other rare coins from 20 to 30 years ago, but the 1909 S VDB is priced much higher due to the large number of people who want that coin.
The following chapters (chapters 16 through 30) are dedicated to each different type of collection. For example, there is a chapter on copper coins, a chapter on nickels, a chapter on silver coins, and a chapter on gold coins, etc. These chapters provide a very brief description of each type of currency. If you want more details on, say, Buffalo Nickel, then you’ll want to spend the money on a specific book on Buffalo Nickels and luckily there are a few on the market. The same goes for many other series like Lincoln Cents, Shield Nickels, Mercury Dimes, etc.
There are also chapters dedicated to lesser-known collectibles. There is a chapter on proof coins, a chapter on colonial coins, a chapter on standard coins, a chapter on commemoratives, a chapter on tokens and more. Each of these chapters provides an overview of each particular item. There is even a chapter dedicated to collecting Confederate paper money.
While these chapters are quite diverse, they offer a wealth of information that many collectors may not be aware of. It is written in a way that is very easy to follow and pleasant to read.
Chapter 31 is dedicated to developing your own personal numismatic library. If you are a collector of series, it is not strange to spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on numismatic material. The old adage to buy the book first is true.
Chapter 32 delves into the world of coin cleaning and protecting your coins. Of course, the best advice when cleaning coins is NOT TO DO IT. With that notion, the book discussed the various ways in which coins are cleaned. It also provides an overview of how to store and protect your coins.
Personally, I did not receive this book for advice on how to invest in rare coins, but because I am more of a collector than an investor. Certainly, we all want our collections to increase in value, but I read this book only because of the volume of general numismatic material. It is packed with information that is priceless to the beginning collector. It could certainly guide a beginning collector down the path of determining what might have an interest in collecting in order to become a true collector rather than an accumulator.
I highly recommend this book.