The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins: Secrets Of Success

This is an informative and interesting book. It gives a fair bit of the history behind coin collecting in the USA. It also leaves the reader with a better understanding of the depth and breadth of knowledge and experience one needs to attain eminence in the field of American numismatics. Probably not having another 40-50 years in me, it might be a little too late to start now ...!The author's audience is clearly American coin collectors and investors. Accordingly, the writing is pitched mostly to them and can safely assume a lot of contextual knowledge avaialable to that audience. Consequently, as an outsider, I had some trouble understanding some comments at all, and for others had to use a little imagination to interpret them. Still, I had expected this, though had perhaps underestimated the size of the cultural gap. Hey, I'm an Aussie, so what would I know about America? I'd always thought that American books, TV shows, films and songs had given me a good education on America - but no longer!I can state that, with the help of Q. David Bowers' book, I've now at least *begun* my education in American numismatics :-)And I'm deeply indebted to Bowers for an essential tool for managing one's collection: the concept of OCG: "Optimum Collecting Grade". This gives a practical approach for determining the best cutoff point when seeking a particular item - the point where spending any more money on an example in better grade would start to give less bang for the buck. Put another way, if you have a fixed budget for your investing or collecting, the OCG idea helps you get the best value collection for that budget.But read the book to see how it's done. If you get nothing else from it, it's well worth the investment, since it could effectively help you save squandering thousands of dollars.And if you live in the US, or collect US coins, it'll be even better value, as it has specific pointers on what to look for in various coins and series.Great value!

Excellent book for the budding coin collector. This book was sold by Holly and Lee @ The Oregon Room. The book arrived earlier than expected and was packaged very professionally so that the book arrived in impeccable condition. Still reading the book but may do a full review when completed.

Mr. Bowers Does it again... This is at least his Fourth iteration on this subject; "Collecting rare coins for profit-1975";"Common Sense Coin Investment: A Revealing Look at Profitable Coin Investment Opportunities-1982";and "A Buyer's Guide to the Rare Coin Market- 1992" and they have all been good and well worth reading, but this one is by far the best! From the basics and common sense, to deep insights gleened from over 60 years in the business, Mr. Bowers puts it all together and presents it in a well organized and very readable format that invites..., No encourages you to read from cover to cover (even if you don't collect colonial coppers or Broken bank notes). In all an outstanding and very readable reference!

This is a must have book for all coin collectors. It discusses the difference between investors and collectors and how one can become the best of both worlds, a COLLECTOR/investor. A wise collector can result in one becoming an investor as an after thought. The book is loaded with coin-related information that is too much to mention here but all valuable. The book has the history of the US instilled as part of the coin information. This is a book hard to put down. I have read many "coin-related" books but seldom find one interesting and informative enought (at least for me, to see my way thru from cover to cover. This book is a rare exception. BUY!

A useful book for someone who has been away from coin collecting for a while. No need to read every page, though some may in fact do so. The coverage is broad, though not always in depth. However, the book makes ample use of references, so the reader is steered to further reading in areas of particular interest. Well written, rather homey writing manner. Makes for easy reading, in spite of the length and breadth of the book. A useful book for future reference, and for guidance to more in depth reading.

Q. David Bowers has a writing style that draws you in. He has a very conversational writing style which holds your interest. This book is a must read for anyone gaining a genuine interest in coin collecting. I am just getting interested in numismatics any I believe reading this book cover to cover will prepare me well to do this hobby the right way. It is invaluable information.I love history, and tying the history of the times around the minting of coins will make this an extremely interesting journey.

This reference book offers general history on various rare coins. It also offers some tips on how to find the best deal and sell for maximum profit. Overall, I would say that this book is more leaning towards the historical aspect of rare coins. So if you are interested in finding out the history behind each coin, this is the book for you.

I'm really pleased with this book. It was easy to get into (good for me, a rookie numismatist) and written with a lot of personality. Mr. Bowers does a great job of teaching a potentially dry and detail oriented subject in a fun and lighthearted way. The book is filled with photos and is quite substantial in length, over six hundred pages. Definitely recommended.

Not interesting!