When all is said and done and Bowers puts away histypewriter, he will have set the bar so high that few in the present generation of numismaticwriters will dare take up the guidon and strive to supplant him.

So it is within this context that we pick up the latest entry in Bowers' long-running andpopular franchise Coins & Collectors.

Entitled Coins & Collectors: Golden Anniversary Edition, this newest reworking bearsall of the trappings of Whitman's contemporary design sensibility. A handsome hardcover, Coins& Collectors is a lavishly illustrated, full-color edition that brings Bowers' prose tolife.

It is a celebration of Numismatics in breadth and occasionally in depth. Bowers breezily spansmore than 200 years of history, discussing numismatic objects and their backstories whilesimultaneously proffering his oftentimes first-hand memories of collectors and characters fromtimes past.

And therein lies a great part of the charm of our hobby. In the aggregate, coins are objectsthrough which great stories are told.

Coins & Collectors covers many areas that go beyond the scope of major auctionheadliners or the most popular collectibles. Among its pages are discourses on Feuchtwanger tokens,ANA medals, minstrel show counterstamps, and 19th century medals celebrating monumentalachievements in American engineering.

You'll also find intriguing nuggets of information and the had-to-be-there backstories behindthe pursuit of the 1933 double eagle, the designs of the New Hampshire State and America theBeautiful quarters, and the drama surrounding the SS Central America treasure salvage efforts.

But perhaps more important are Bowers' reflections on some of the great 19th and 20th centurycollectors, many of whom he knew and conducted business with. The roster is lengthy, but we'd beremiss not to mention the likes of Norweb, Eliasberg, and the great Thomas Elder-all subjects thatBowers has covered in-depth elsewhere. In the present volume, they serve not only as a spur tofurther discussion, but also as a reminder for present-day numismatists: it will soon be yourresponsibility to care for and maintain these stories of coins and collectors.

For now it's clear: the Old Professor isn't done yet. The keys still clatter with verve andvigor, and we're all richer for it.

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FirstRead: Coins & Collectors: Golden Anniversary Edition(www.coinweek.com/featured-news/first-read-coins-collectors-golden-anniversary-edition/)