The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 29, July 22, 2007, Article 4

BOOK REVIEW: BUFFALO NICKELS: THE ABRADED DIE VARIETIES BY RON POPE

Ron Pope is an E-Sylum subscriber and co-author of "The Authoritative
Reference on Buffalo Nickels" reviewed above.   He was kind enough to
send me a copy of his own self-published book, "Buffalo Nickels: The
Abraded Die Varieties", now in its fifth printing (June 2007).  The
softcovered, spiral-bound 204-page book covers in great detail the
sub-specialty of Buffalo Nickel varieties "produced by abrading or
polishing of the die(s)."

Pope notes that "The elimination of clash marks is the commonly
accepted reason for the abrading of the dies, but otherwise good
dies that have suffered from rust certainly can't be ruled out.
This is the possible explanation for the 1937-D 3 legged variety
(this was first theorized nearly forty years ago in one volume of
'The Whitman Numismatic Journal')"

The book is printed on a flat-finished paper, and like the Wexler
book it could benefit from a higher quality glossy paper stock.
But nonetheless the photos seem quite good.  Many of the coins are
illustrated with enlarged photos augmented with black arrows pointing
out the key diagnostic areas.  Creating these photos must have been
a very painstaking and time-consuming task, and the book greatly
benefits from the effort.  I was also quite impressed with the nearly
full-page photos of two different die clashed obverses (p10-11).

Pope's book is very well organized and his attention to detail is
obvious.  The book includes a date-by-date strike analysis "based
on the author's observation of over 150,000 coins on the Internet
and from other personal observations."

As with the Wexler book, I would recommend Pope's book to any
specialist in Buffalo Nickel varieties.  Further, I would recommend
it as a model for other books in the genre.  Pope's detailed,
annotated photos and methodical record keeping are commendable.
My only suggestions for improvement are minor - other than an
improved paper stock, I would recommend experimenting with a
different typeface to soften the computer-printout look.

To order the Abraded Die book contact author Ron Pope at
coinquest_sixtyone@yahoo.com - he prints them on demand.
The price is $16.50 + $3 shipping.

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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