In 2014, Whitman Publishing announced the release of Coins and Collectors: Golden Anniversary Edition, marking the 50th year since the best-selling original was published. The 416-page hardcover book is illustrated in full color and retails for $29.95. It will debut at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo, March 30, 2014, and then will be available from hobby shops and bookstores nationwide, as well as online (including at Whitman.com).
“This volume comes from a very distinguished family,” writes historian Joel J. Orosz in the foreword. “Its father was More Adventures With Rare Coins (2002); its grandfather was Adventures With Rare Coins (1979); and its great-granddaddy was the original Coins and Collectors, from way back in 1964. Many of today’s collectors owe their enthusiasm for coins to cracking open one of these volumes, and getting hooked on their fascinating stories.”
In more than 50 illustrated chapters, Bowers—the “Dean of American Numismatics”—tells of famous coins, obscure and mysterious tokens and medals, beautiful paper money, and legendary hoards and collections. A “Collector’s Appendix” gives the market values of the items discussed. Bowers shares the stories behind popular favorites and modern-day classics. He introduces the reader to personalities including famous coin designers, unscrupulous Treasury officials, brilliant scholars, Confederate raiders, burlesque dancers, globe-trotting magicians, and dueling numismatists. Coins and Collectors includes interviews, stories, and images never before seen in print.
“Nearly all of the Golden Anniversary Edition’s stories are new,” Bowers notes, “spiced with a few reprises of favorites from articles and books I’ve written.”
“Coins and Collectors brings to life many different coins, tokens, medals, and bank notes,” says Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker, “from the readily available and easily affordable to expensive rarities. Their stories are told with Bowers’s unique personal touch, and he shares insider information not available anywhere else. Like many of his best-sellers, Coins and Collectors is an addictive read! We feel it will capture the imaginations of a whole new generation of collectors.”