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"Fill Me If You Can!" -- Lange's new book is a winner

I just received a copy of Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s and 1940s: A Complete History, Catalog and Value Guide, by David W. Lange, self-published through his Pennyboard Press.

Not surprisingly, it's an amazing work of scholarship!

Lange has gathered up a thousand strings and woven them into an engaging history of these previously unsung products --- sturdy cornerstones in the foundation of modern coin collecting. He tells the stories of the companies, publishers, personalities, dealers, marketing mavens, journalists, and everyday collectors who fueled a multi-million-dollar business during the Great Depression, taking numismatics out of the exclusive domain of the wealthy and leisured (who could afford an expensive piece of non-essential furniture like a coin cabinet), and bringing it to the living rooms and kitchen tables of workaday America.

The book is written with Lange's signature style, a combination of the best instincts of the journalist, the historian, and the technician. He makes heavy-duty research look easy --- a rare talent --- and tells a good story while sharing huge amounts of information. The subject matter in the hands of a less gifted writer and researcher would have come off dry and dusty. Lange brings it to life, backed up by primary documents, first-person interviews and anecdotes, and a wealth of vintage and modern photographs, illustrations, and newspaper clippings. There's much to learn here, and Lange is a good teacher.

Mary Jo Meade's clean and stylish design is a strong partner in the book's high quality. Meade, the research assistant and graphic designer for Lange's History of the United States Mint and Its Coinage, has delivered another beautiful composition. Her choice of fonts and ornaments lures the reader back in time without being cliched or kitschy, and the page layouts are balanced and inviting.

A foreword by David Sundman and a preface by Lange comprise the front matter, along with a page of acknowledgments that indicates the depth of his research. The introduction explores the historical background and legacy of coin boards. A chapter discusses why coin boards deserve our attention as collectibles, as well as grading, storage, and other aspects of collecting. The book features profiles and sidebars on vendor stamps, the Manthei Collection, J.K. Post, R.S. Yeoman, L.W. Schnelling, the Great Depression, the Ritterbrands, the Trenton Saving Fund Society, and other important topics.

The board-by-board section --- the "Catalog and Value Guide" of the book's subtitle --- offers a detailed study of each type and variety of board published in the decades covered, plus mavericks and select moderns. Each is cataloged by Lange Number. Pricing is indicated for four grade levels, and is rounded out by a handy check list for the collector.

The book's back matter includes a bibliography, image credits, and a select index.

Overall we have a fun, finely detailed, attractively packaged, and interesting book that serves both the casual reader and the enthusiastic collector. It will appeal to anyone interested in the people and products of a classic boom era in American numismatics. Congratulations to David Lange on a wonderful addition to the hobby's literature!

Comments

  • dorkkarldorkkarl Posts: 12,692 ✭✭✭
    thanks for the critique! i was planning to order the book myself, and now feel compelled to do so w/out delay. the guy's a danged good writer

    K S
  • LongacreLongacre Posts: 16,717 ✭✭✭
    Thanks for the info!!
    Always took candy from strangers
    Didn't wanna get me no trade
    Never want to be like papa
    Working for the boss every night and day
    --"Happy", by the Rolling Stones (1972)
  • cladkingcladking Posts: 28,307 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sounds very interesting. I've long believed these boards, folders, etc deserve a lot more
    attention than they get. They really created modern coin collecting and turned a small hob-
    by into a mass market. Incredibly most of the progress was made during the great depres-
    sion when few individuals could afford to set aside coins for any reason, much less just to
    look at or study.

    The boards have to be collectible in their own right when you consider their importance, ubi-
    quity, and low survival rates.
    Tempus fugit.
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    This is a fascinating book and one that readers will go back to many times, just for the pleasure of David Lange’s prose and the interesting, somewhat off-beat stories. Coin boards are one of the sidelights of numismatics that takes the hobby from simple acquisition of coins to a much richer and more enjoyable journey through time.

    Popularization of coin boards occurred during the worst economic period of the last century, and David’s work helps use begin to understand them as part of a bigger picture.

    I hope many of the board members will skip that next eBay overgraded “bargain” and invest the money in David’s book. You’ll be much the richer for it.
  • RWBRWB Posts: 8,082
    I forgot to mention that the book is available direct from David Lange at his website: www.coincollectingboards.com. The site also has a lot of other interesting information on it and is well worth a visit.
  • <<<David Lange at his website: www.coincollectingboards.com. The site also has a lot of other interesting information on it and is well worth a visit. >>>

    An excellent website, thanks for the link.

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