Recently reading the masterful work on Eric P. Newman's life as a numismatic scholar ("Truth Seeker: The Life of Eric P. Newman") and then having gone through my own numismatic library, I've begun to wonder what frontiers are left out there for numismatists to explore?? I own dozens of wonderful books that seem to tell it all. Databases such as the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Portal, Coin Facts and others provide volumes of information.

When I think of a particular area or series, I can quickly find a guide or text devoted to it that seems to comprehensively explain even the smallest details. Are there still topics to explore? Where are the mysteries? What is left to be discovered?

I have a couple of ideas but will withhold them initially to see what everyone else comes up with.

Just considering U. S. numismatics, there is room for at least another 100+ books. Some topics that are not well understood by collectors include:

1. Pioneer & territorial gold. Much has happened since Kagin's book came out, and much of the information that John Ford 'contributed' needs to be re-examined.

2. 'Midnight minting' issues, going back into the 19th century.

3. A book focusing on the design of coins, including making the transition from plaster/wax models to dies and adapting artists' design concepts to make them more practical.

4. Differences in everyday coin circulation in various parts of the country, especially in the 19th century. Archaeological excavations have uncovered many interesting items in this regard.

5. The early half of the 20th century saw the rise of a number of very influential dealers, like Mehl, Raymond, Elder, Kosoff, who played major roles in shaping collector tastes.

6. A comprehensive book, with high-quality images, that teaches collectors how to spot altered coins. The ANA text is not good enough, in my opinion.

7. A comprehensive book on coin chemistry and metallurgy, covering redox reactions, alloying, surface treatments, natural and artificial toning (including color images of what results from various treatments), etc.

8. The politics of coin making: selection of coinage metals, changing designs, where to locate mint facilities, etc.

9. The use of Spanish Colonial coinage outside of Spanish territories (i.e, U. S., Canada, U.K., Australia, etc.).

10. Counterfeits (including electrotypes) made to fool collectors.

11. Coins and ingots recovered from shipwrecks in U. S. waters: what they teach us.

12.Medals, tokens, and other types of exonumia: plenty of room for more books.

I think the area of medals and tokens offers the most for exploration and research. It is also an area that can be extremely satisfying, always offering up something new. Merchant tokens and store cards offer an almost unlimited research opportunity for the numismatic detective. Military post exchange tokens is another under-researched topic with plenty of room to tell history.

Even civil war tokens lend to new discoveries ever year in a field that has been documented in some way ever since they were minted. Mysteries abound, and you don't have the usual stiff competition from the date/mint mark collectors

I can think of several European areas of numismatics where the standard references are >100 years old, have not been comprehensively updated, and/or do not exist in the English language.

Reminds me of the idea to close the US Patent Office at the end of the 19th century thinking that there wasn't anything left to discover.