NEW BOOK: CARSON CITY MORGAN DOLLARS, SECOND EDITION

Whitman Publishing announces the release of an expanded and updated second edition of Carson City Morgan Dollars, by Adam Crum, Selby Ungar, and Jeff Oxman. The book will be available November 29, 2011, from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, as well as online (including at Whitman.com). It is hardcover bound, 128 pages, in full color, and retails for $24.95.

Carson City Morgan Dollars begins with the accidental discovery of gold in California in 1848. The struggles of adventurers in the Gold Rush. . . the Nevada silver boom of the late 1800s. . . the creation of the Carson City Mint. . . these are some of the rich historical veins mined by award-winning authors Crum, Ungar, and Oxman. However, it’s not only the Old West history buff who strikes it rich with this book. Collectors and investors benefit from a detailed coin-by-coin study of every Morgan dollar ever struck at the famous CC Mint, including selected VAM (Van Allen�"Mallis) varieties.

The General Services Administration hoard�"millions of Treasury-bagged Carson City silver dollars brought out of storage in the 1970s and sold to collectors�"is a fascinating “main character” in this story. The authors describe the government’s sales of these coins, and their effect on the hobby. Then they share detailed advice on ways to collect Carson City Morgan dollars.

• Each coin-by-coin entry has a chart of values in Mint State grades, listing prooflike (PL) and deep-mirror prooflike (DMPL) values separately.
• Each “generic” (non-VAM variety) coin has a “By the Numbers” chart, which gives its original mintage, Leroy Van Allen’s published estimate of the quantity in the GSA hoard, rarity rankings for GSA and non-GSA examples, and other useful facts. “Overall Rarity” is the total number of coins estimated to exist for the issue, based on the number found in the GSA hoard, the number graded by PCGS and NGC, the authors’ personal observations of the market, insider information, and auction records.
• A “Condition Census” provides the most reasonable acquisition grade for most collectors. (“Though it isn’t always possible to acquire the highest-graded coins in GSA holders,” the authors note, “it’s still desirable, and fun, to attempt to do so.”)
• “Collector Insights” summarize useful background information on each coin.
• “Variety Notes” supply valuable information on the many die varieties known to exist for Carson City Morgan dollars in GSA holders.

The second edition includes a new foreword by hobby legend Q. David Bowers, the “Dean of American Numismatics,” who calls the book “a necessary volume in your silver-dollar library.”

The “Collector’s Checklist” has been expanded to two pages, with more space for collectors to record their purchases and write notes about their coins.

Another addition to the second edition is the inclusion of an index, allowing the reader to quickly search for terms�"from Adams Brick Works to Brigham Young�"relating to the Carson City Mint and its silver dollars.

Whitman is taking preorders at 1-800-546-2995 and the book debuts on November 29, 2011.

Wayne Homren, Editor

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