The same article, by Q. David Bowers, goes on to point out that when asked about building a good numismatic library, his reply was "that a single shelf of good references on subjects of interest would probably suffice as a nucleus, and beyond that books could be added as desired. Quality is much more important than quantity."

He suggests that "it would be a fine thing for someone to make up a list of the most useful catalogues (from an information viewpoint) published since 1950 in such categories as: "U.S. Coins, Colonial and Early American Coins, Tokens and Medals, Paper Money. Such lists could be compiled for every numismatic specialty."

The NBS numismatic bibliography, being compiled by Larry Mitchell and available on our web site, includes selected catalogs as well as books, but the U.S. section is yet to be done. Anyone care to submit their own lists of "most useful" catalogs?