August 6, 2015 – Half cents and large-size one-cent coins were the early pocket change of the United States in the late 18th and the first half of the 19th century. The distinguished expert Q. David Bowers has written a guide book on these copper coins that is now being released by Whitman Publishers. Both specialists and collectors will cherish this work.
Q. David Bowers, A Guide Book of Half Cents and Large Cents. Foreword by Harry E. Salyards. Whitman Publishing. Atlanta (GA), 2015. Softcover, 576 p., full color, 6 x 9 inches. ISBN: 079484316-8. Retail US$39.95.
These popular copper coins were made from 1793 (the year after the Philadelphia Mint was founded) into the late 1850s, shortly before the Civil War started. In the Guide Book of Half Cents and Large Cents they are given the famous Q. David Bowers treatment: insightful die-by-die study of 832 varieties, rich historical background, and detailed data analysis. The text is illustrated with more than 1,600 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. “Thanks to their variable toning, and differing levels of craftsmanship by the Philadelphia Mint’s engravers, there are hundreds of enjoyable varieties for collectors,” the author says.
Bowers provides a wealth of information including mintages, existing populations, grading standards, values in up to 11 grades, auction records, and keys to collecting. Historical background sets the coins in the broader context of American life from the 1790s through the 1850s, showing how war and other national events affected the coins’ designs and production.
The Guide Book of Half Cents and Large Cents includes a history of the first and second Philadelphia mints; biographies of important Mint figures of the 1790s through the 1850s; a history of half and large cent collecting, including biographies of many important 20th-century collectors; and strategies for building a significant collection.
Numismatic researcher Harry E. Salyards says, “I believe that this book will become the first work in the field of American numismatics since Sheldon’s Penny Whimsy to be dipped into, time and time again, not just for the technical details on some particular coin, but for sheer reading pleasure.”
For more information on the book and for placing an order visit the website of Whitman Publishing.
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