NEW BOOK: GUIDE BOOK BARBER SILVER COINS 2ND ED.

Whitman Publishing will release an enlarged, updated second edition of the Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins, by Q. David Bowers, in February 2019. The 400-page book, volume 20 in the popular Bowers Series of numismatic references, will be available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, and online (including at www.Whitman.com), for $29.95.

The second edition has been expanded by 16 pages. New features include a foreword by Barber Coin Collectors Society president John Frost; updated values (with price trends) for each coin; a gallery of remarkable error coins; newly revealed photographs and history from Charles Barber’s family archives; new historical images, including Barber coin love tokens; and an expanded index.

The subject of the book is the silver coinage—dimes, quarters, and half dollars—designed by U.S. Mint chief engraver Charles E. Barber and minted from 1892 to 1916. These were America’s workhorse coins of that era, remaining in circulation into the 1950s. At first criticized by the public, today Barber’s silver coins are among the most popular U.S. series, with many enthusiastic collectors and students. The Barber Coin Collectors Society is one of the hobby’s most active and fastest-growing specialty groups.

In the Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins Q. David Bowers shares insightful study by date and mintmark for every issue of the three denominations (277 major varieties), in-depth historical background, and detailed data analysis. His text is illustrated by more than 800 photographs, engravings, and other images. Bowers—the “Dean of American Numismatics” and the most prolific numismatic author of all time—tells collectors how to evaluate quality, determine value, understand the market, and make smart purchases to build significant collections. He takes the reader on a journey through what he calls “the most interesting and evolutionary period in American history,” from the Gilded Age through the Progressive Era.

Bowers provides a wealth of information including mintages, date-by-date estimates of the total number of pieces existing for both circulated and Proof issues, illustrated grading standards, values in up to 12 grades, and keys to collecting based on availability and sharpness of strike. Year-by-year historical background details the landscape of American life (and the state of the coin-collecting hobby) in the time of the coins’ design and production.

The second edition of Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins includes “A New Look at Charles Barber,” by John Frost, which publishes Barber family photographs and other archives recently revealed. This information corrects many popular misconceptions about Charles Barber, his personal life, and his relationships with George T. Morgan and President Theodore Roosevelt. Bowers also explores the mints, Mint directors, and Mint superintendents responsible for Barber coinage; the story of the fabled 1894-S Barber dime; and off-center Barber coins and other rare and valuable errors.

Kenneth Bressett, Editor Emeritus of the Guide Book of United States Coins, calls the book “a landmark account touching on every aspect of Charles Barber’s fascinating coins.”

A Guide Book of Barber Silver Coins, 2nd edition
By Q. David Bowers; foreword by John Frost
ISBN 0794846386 · 6 x 9 inches, softcover, 400 pages, full color · Retail $29.95 U.S.

For more information, or to order, see:
https://www.whitman.com/store/Inventory/Detail/A-Guide-Book-of-Barber-Silver-Coins-2nd-Edition+0794846386

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