New Whitman Book Explores the 100 Greatest U.S.Coins of All Time

Whitman Publishing announces the release of the fourth edition of the award-winning 100Greatest U.S. Coins. The hardcover coffee-table book will be available October 25, 2014. Beforethen it can be pre-ordered online (including at WhitmanBooks.com) and from booksellers and hobbyshops nationwide for $29.95. It can also be borrowed for free from the Dwight N. Manley NumismaticLibrary as a benefit of membership in the American Numismatic Association (www.money.org).

In this beautifully illustrated book, numismatist Jeff Garrett, with fellow researcher Ron Guth,takes the reader on a guided tour of the American coins that have captured the imagination ofgenerations of collectors. In the introduction Garrett asks the question "What makes a coin great?"His analysis explores factors such as rarity, value, quality, popularity, beauty, and history.

The introduction of the fourth edition has been expanded with more full-color illustrations andtext describing the history of United States coinage, ways to collect U.S. coins, gradingstandards, determining values, and other facets of the hobby.

In the foreword, Mark Salzberg, chairman ofNumismatic Guaranty Corporation, notes that even though the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins are valuable,they're undervalued in the broader context of rare collectibles. "The 250 highest prices paid forU.S. coins at auction total just less than $250 million in value," he writes. "In context, that isa bit less than the sales price of the most valuable painting ever sold, Paul Cezanne's The CardPlayers." Kenneth Bressett, longtime senior editor of the Guide Book of United StatesCoins, writes, "Not all of the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins are unique specimens confined to onecollection. A lucky numismatist could potentially find a 1955 Doubled Die Obverse Lincoln cent intheir pocket."

The 100 Greatest U.S. Coins were voted on and ranked by members of the Professional NumismatistsGuild. In the fourth edition, the celebrated 1804 silver dollar rose to the No. 1 spot (up from No.5, and displacing the 1913 Liberty Head nickel at the top of the rankings). The unique 1851 LibertySeated dollar struck over a New Orleans dollar dropped entirely from the list, and the 1974aluminum Lincoln cent made its debut, at No. 88.

100 Greatest U.S. Coins, fourth edition, also includes illustrated biographies of the"Great Collectors of the Past," from Harry Bass to William Woodin; a price history of the 100Greatest, from 1960 to date; a chart of the top 200 U.S. coin prices realized at auction from 1990to 2014; a breakdown of the 100 Greatest by denomination and coin type; a glossary; a bibliographyfor further research; and a detailed index. The book is coffee-table-size, 144 pages, in fullcolor, with photographs and stories for every coin. It also includes historical photographs, marketvalues, field populations, certified-coin census reports, quantities minted, specifications, andcoin design notes.

100 Greatest U.S. Coins, fourth edition
By Jeff Garrett, with Ron Guth; foreword by Mark Salzberg
ISBN 0794842755; hardcover, coffee-table (10 x 12 inches); 144 pages; full color; retail $29.95U.S.

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