NEW BOOKS : ENCYCLOPEDIA OF OBSOLETE PAPER MONEY, VOLS 3 & 4

Whitman Publishing announces the upcoming release of volumes 3 and 4 of the Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, by Q. David Bowers. Each volume is an 8.5 x 11–inch hardbound book printed in full color on high-quality paper. Combined, they make up 928 pages covering the early bank currency of the entire state of Massachusetts. The books will debut December 1, 2014, available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide and online (including at www.Whitman.com), for $69.95 each. The books can also be borrowed for free as a benefit of membership in the American Numismatic Association, through the Dwight N. Manley Numismatic Library.

The Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money is a multiple-volume study of currency issued from 1782 to 1866, before the modern era of National Banks and the Federal Reserve. Over the course of these decades more than 3,000 state-chartered banks issued their own paper money.

In Volume 3, Bowers gives the history of every Massachusetts town and city from Abington to Greenfield, as well as of every bank in those towns that issued this uniquely American currency. Each note is studied, and hundreds are pictured in full color, with information on grading, rarity, values, significant auction results, advice for collectors, and more. Volume 4 offers the same coverage of the towns, cities, and banks from Hallowell to Yarmouth.

“No price and rarity guide has been published on Massachusetts for many years,” Bowers says. “Collectors own thousands of notes that are awaiting proper identification; some of them have the potential to be worth thousands of dollars.”

Active collectors, researchers, dealers, historians, and other experts have volunteered their time and knowledge to help create this new encyclopedia series. The state editor for Massachusetts is C. John Ferreri, and the foreword is by Anne E. Bentley, curator of art and artifacts for the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Earlier volumes of the Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money included an overview of the field, and coverage of the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire. Future volumes will cover the rest of New England, the South Atlantic states, the Mid-Atlantic states, the American Midwest, the District of Columbia, and territories.

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