BOOK REVIEW: CONFIDENT CARSON CITY COLLECTOR

The Confident Carson City Coin Collector is the most significant numismatic magnum opus published on the topic of American coinage since the 1987 publication of Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S and Colonial Coins. It is a detail-rich, engrossing, epic work that presents history, commentary, and market data at such a high level that it will not only prove to be the definitive reference on the topic of collecting Carson City coins but also provides a successful formula that should be employed by other writers seeking to flesh out the story of American coinage at the other branch mints.

The Confident Carson City Coin Collector draws upon a trove of primary documents to tell the story of a mint so directly tied to the Old West that the GSA advertised the sale of its hoard of CC-Mint Morgan dollars as the coins that Jesse James didn't steal. It also provides collectors with a road map of how to collect the series confidently. In constructing the books, author Rusty Goe explains that he was trying to accomplish five things: 1) to present each year of the Carson City Mint's coinmaking era chronologically; 2) to incorporate as many primary sources as possible; 3) to attempt to answer questions concerning the Carson City Mint and its coins that are of the most interest; 4) to focus on what makes the Carson City Mint and its coins so engrossing, and 5) to open doors for further study of the Carson City Mint and its coins.

It's not as if others couldn't have tried to execute this formula, but it becomes quickly apparent upon reading that nobody outside of Goe speaks of the Carson City Mint and its coinage as fluently and has such a great eye for the market insights that collectors need before actually purchasing the coins themselves.

This is especially important since the Carson City Mint is one of the most commercially traded mints in the American coin market. In the book's introduction, Goe describes a collector who walked into his coin shop with choice uncirculated Carson City Morgan dollars struck from 1882 to 1884, all in certified holders, that he purchased after seeing an ad in a magazine. Asking whether he got a good deal on the coins, Goe informed the collector that he had not and advised the collector to return them as the company's return window had not yet expired. Goe, sensing that the collector had a real interest in learning about and collecting Carson City coins, began to work with him and before long the collector's interest blossomed.

This anecdote can be writ large across a multitude of series specialties and speaks to the special relationship collectors should foster with the right dealers.

To read the complete article, see:
First Read: The Confident Carson City Coin Collector, Volumes 1-3 (https://coinweek.com/coins/supplies/first-read-the-confident-carson-city-coin-collector-volumes-1-3/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: CONFIDENT CARSON CITY COIN COLLECTOR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n05a04.html)
BOOK REVIEW: CONFIDENT CARSON CITY COLLECTOR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n11a06.html)
BOOK REVIEW: CONFIDENT CARSON CITY COLLECTOR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n16a07.html)

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