Major Variety & Oddity Guide of US Coins - Spadone#?
StrikeOutXXX
Posts: 3,350 ✭✭✭✭✭
My Lake Books mail order sale shipment arrived today, and one of the books I won was Frank G. Spadone's Major Variety and Oddity Guide of United States Coins (Mine is the 1967 version).
It looks like he published this book through the 60's & 70's. I'm somewhat amazed that this type of collecting didn't catch on like VAMs today. This book lists like 30 or so varieties for 1960 nickels alone for example. It looks like he has his own number system S####a - Spadone #'s.
I would imagine a lot of this info has since been incorporated into cherrypicker numbers, and CONECA numbers and other such reference material. How come I've never heard of a coin referred to by a Spadone #? Was he simply ahead of his time? Were they and I'm just too young to remember them? Be interesting to hear any info on this book series/author.
Thanks
It looks like he published this book through the 60's & 70's. I'm somewhat amazed that this type of collecting didn't catch on like VAMs today. This book lists like 30 or so varieties for 1960 nickels alone for example. It looks like he has his own number system S####a - Spadone #'s.
I would imagine a lot of this info has since been incorporated into cherrypicker numbers, and CONECA numbers and other such reference material. How come I've never heard of a coin referred to by a Spadone #? Was he simply ahead of his time? Were they and I'm just too young to remember them? Be interesting to hear any info on this book series/author.
Thanks
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"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
0
Comments
He was ahead of his time but remember that a lot of people were
interested in collecting FIDO's at that time. He was responding to
a demand for more information.
The first editions included a lot of errors that collectors today have
very little interest in and omitted many of the most important vari-
eties and errors. It still was a good first attempt.
<< <i>I have several paper back booklets by Frank Spadone dating back to 1962. Interesting is the research that went into producing these, as far as the minor errows. I have one dated 1962 as I wrote above and one 1965-1966, I also have the one that you are referring to a larger more complete version. I belive Mr. Spadone died within the last 3 to 5 years. In the 1962 edition he has the 1955 DDO, listed as1955 Double Date Unc. $275.00. >>
It is neat - a lot are varieties recognized today - doubling, clashes and overdates and such. What amazes me is someone took the time to catalog things like filled numbers, blobs, merged letters, clogged letters, etc. These are the things you see on the boards all the time like "Is this an error" that we all find roll searching, and to think someone, at some time cataloged all these things.
In the '67 version, he calls the 55 DDO the "1955 Double Die Shift" unc is $400. The "Poor Man's" DD is called "last 5 shift" and is $3.00 in Unc.
There are only 27 1964 Roosevelt dime varieties listed - sounds like a collecting challenge about everywhere you look. With today's interest in varieties and micro-varieties, you have to wonder how a modern book like this would do.
"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
<< <i>Spadone's book has led more collectors astray than any other. It is riddled with fakes, miscategorized errors and varieties, damaged and altered coins, and incomprehensible terms. It's worse than useless. >>
I did wonder how he could assign numbers to things that wouldn't/shouldn't repeat itself like strike-throughs, grease filled dies, stuff that sounded like damage etc. The "Solid" varieties/repeatable coins like die chips, die cracks, different seriffs, etc seem to be pretty useful being identified though. I haven't taken his entries and fully compared to Cherrypicker, coppercoins.com, or the CONECA database yet to see what has survived the test of time, but surely there has to be some redeeming qualities to this book?
The book looked like a bunch of people looked through truckloads of coins and documented every little thing they found... I still find it admirable. Looking back 40 years later, I'm sure it's riddled with errors, but at the time, was it considered a numismatic tabloid, or something like today's cherrypicker's guide?
If nothing else, I learned there was once such a thing as a "Goiter" Lincoln cent
"You Suck Award" - February, 2015
Discoverer of 1919 Mercury Dime DDO - FS-101
a.k.a "The BUFFINATOR"
Later, I wrote Collectors Clearinghouse.
worthless, and provides lots of mis-information.
The many, if not most, of the photos have been
touched up, many fake double strikes are pictured,
and, even more important to know - the majority
of the 'die varieties' he listed are HIS coins that he
was selling thru coin magazines, ads, etc.
In other words, he was promoting his own material
in the book, and I would assume that some of the
fake double strikes, for example, were also his.
As Tom says, when I was young (very young!) it
was about the only thing around on Mint Errors.
In the following years, I did discover other books
on Errors, such as "It's Only Money - A comedy Of Errors",
by Jess Bausher and Charles Dolan (1966) - a better
book, but still litered with photos and descriptions of
fake coins - along with some really nice ones !
(it's a scarce book, I've found, but well worth the price
if you can find it - anywhere from $10-$20 or so)
for PCGS. A 49+-Year PNG Member...A full numismatist since 1972, retired in 2022
very little interest in and omitted many of the most important vari-
eties and errors. It still was a good first attempt. >>
And to think I thought you were going to say "The first edition included a lot of errors in facts ... "
It was the only thing we had for a while though.