The long-awaited book by Dan Owens on "California Coiners and Assayers", also published by Bowers and Merena ("A Collector's Universe Company") in conjunction with Stack's, began shipping last week. The importance of the 448-page book is noted in the Introduction by Q. David Bowers:

"Every so often in numismatics a work is published that breaks new ground. After much unceasing, unstinting effort involving travel, correspondence, and other communications, and delving into long-forgotten directories and archives, Dan Owens has created a master work which will be used in the future as a source and standard reference. Now, for the first time in numismatic and western history, in one encyclopedic dictionary is told the story of coiners, assayers, and others who created gold in the form of coins and ingots, for use in commerce during one of the most pivotal eras of American history."