"I like old Canadian numismatic literature," said Roy, who also authors a regular column on the subject in The Canadian Numismatic Journal, the official journal of theRoyal Canadian Numismatic Association (RCNA).

"I don't care if it's weird, obscure or doesn't have much apparent value; I like anything - even kid's books - and I pretty well don't throw anything away, especially Canadiancoin catalogues."

The first catalogue he ever owned was The 1979 Charlton Coin Guide, which reached its 58th edition this year as Canada's oldest continuously published buying guide.

Today, he considers himself a "bibliomaniac," one of three different kinds of numismatic literature collectors.

"They like numismatic literature for its own sake. They get the same satisfaction out of a group of Charlton catalogues as other collectors would get out of a collection ofhalf dollars."

Another type of literature collector, Roy said, is "the researcher," who values the information offered in the books.

"Their library might have some old, worn-out reprints of classic numismatic literature, or they might have photocopies stapled together from the library. These are the peoplewho enjoy tracking a coin through a chain of auction catalogues to figure out its provenance."

In digging for information and publishing their findings, the researcher ensures the hobby's survival.

"They help build the hobby," Roy added.

The last type of literature collector is what he calls the "pure collector, who doesn't understand the benefit of the reference guide."

"They're always chasing that one coin they need for their collection, but they don't really show much of an interest in new reference books. They use reference books kind oflike a checklist. A classic example is somebody who would pay $200 for a coin but wouldn't pay $20 for a new reference catalogue."

To read the complete article, see:
Literature an affordable offshoot to numismatics(http://canadiancoinnews.com/literature-an-affordable-offshoot-to-numismatics/)