NEW BOOK: SAMPLE SLABS, 2ND EDITION

Thank you for mentioning my book Sample Slabs when it premiered last year. Showing the kind of readers you have, I received more inquiries on this niche topic from the notice in the The E-Sylum than I did from a mention in COINage and a review in The Numismatist. Roughly defined, a sample slab is a certified coin holder given away by a grading service as an example of its work. Although originally free gifts to collectors and dealers, sample slabs have an active secondary market, with scarce types earning $100 or more.

I hoped that, when I wrote the book, people would send me details on items in their sample slab collections not included in the catalog. This happened and, when the modest first printing of 100 copies sold out in four months, a second edition was more worthwhile than a second printing. That second edition is now at the printer with a scheduled debut August 9 at the Anaheim ANA show.

Although the second edition is much larger (445 pages to 620 pages, 580 listings to 760 listings, and 600+ photos to over 900 photos) the price went up only $2 to $26. A presale offer for $21 plus shipping (or less for the PDF) is at SampleSlabBook.com. As a side note, the first edition now sells on eBay for $50 - $60, or more than double its issue price.

Researching a largely unexplored field like sample slabs has been rewarding, with new discoveries appearing regularly. Thanks to readers of the Sample Slab Update newsletter and my ongoing market research, the catalog grew by 180 listings in one year, meaning new types were discovered at the rate of about one every two days. One of the challenges of the project was knowing when to stop. Considering the amount of work involved, I don’t plan to make a third edition anytime soon. I continue to research, however, and welcome information and photos.

For more information, or to order, see:
www.SampleSlabBook.com (https://sites.google.com/site/sampleslabbook/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: SAMPLE SLABS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n25a05.html)

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