NEW BOOK: REEDED EDGE HALF DOLLAR DIE VARIETIES

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V21 2018 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 21, Number 11, March 18, 2018, Article 2

Jim Koenings of Riverside, CA submitted this information about his new book on Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839 - R-4 to R-8 Die Varieties. Thanks. -Editor

Even with 425 copies of Dick Graham's fantastic book "A Registry of Die Varieties of Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839" produced, there are still too few collectors that know about Reeded Edge Halves. I am attempting to inform additional collectors with my new book entitled "Reeded Edge Half Dollars 1836-1839 - R-4 to R-8 Die Varieties.

The book covers the history of previous authors on the subject and includes extra large photos of the 17 rarest die varieties (not including 1838-O, a proof only issue). There are 38 photos, usually 6" in diameter, along with arrows pointing to the most obvious attributes. The book has protective Mylar covers along with a spiral binding that allows you to open the book and lay it flat to see both pages of a particular die variety. The book has 43 numbered pages and covers my purpose along with Rarity designations. The last section covers the more common die varieties.

It is now available for $29 which includes shipping and handling. If you would like a copy, please send a check or money order to:

If you would like your copy sooner, you can send payment through Paypal to my email address of bustcoin1@verizon.net .

They say good things come in small packages. I think that holds in the case of this book. While thin it covers its subject area in great depth. The photo images are quite large on the page and well annotated, making it easy to attribute these varieties.

As a bibliophile I appreciate the opening chapter on the History of Reeded Edge Half Dollar Books. WhIle I'm a completist and would prefer a book that covers ALL known varieties, I think it makes sense to focus on just the rarest ones (R4 to R9). At least you know if your coin is not here it's probably a common variety. To be sure, Jim provides images of most of the remaining varieties on his web site.

My only complaint is an issue that I would take with any publication using photos of slabbed coins - the white tabs holding the coin in place are evident in the photos and obscure parts of the coin. Unslabbed coins are rare in today's market, but I would much prefer photos taken before the subject is entombed in plastic.

Lastly, I learned about Jim's other interest - Holed U.S. Coins. It's a delightfully obscure topic but I'm glad someone has decided to specialize in it. For more information see http://holeduscoins.com/ . -Editor