The times they are achanging

satootoko

My daughter just added The Silver Dollars of Africa, by John S. Davenport, a 1959 Whitman publication, to my numismatic library.

Except for a few marked "Very Rare", at $25 this (KM#3) was the most expensive coin pictured:

lordmarcovan

Oh, yeah, the times have been a' changin' for a LONG time since that came out. All I gotta do is look at my "Fells Book Of United States Coins" from 1955, to see that. (Morgan and Peace dollars at face, anyone? Or perhaps a search for Shield nickels in circulation as the book advises?)

Even in my own lifetime, it is amusing to see the prices in the 1965 Redbook, the year I was born. Or even in the 1976, the year I started collecting.

Or, craziest of all, there's the 1963 Blue Book.



PS- "Sultan Said Ali"? Is that like the band, "Right Said Fred"?

Stork

Right Said Fred? The one-hit-wonders responsible for "I'm too sexy for my shirt" (the shirt among other things...). How did your brain make that connection I wonder...

Nice about the book, I love looking at old price guides (and wishing I had a time machine).


Cathy

olmanjon

remember in the early 60's when you could buy gold coins for a little over face?--I do

lordmarcovan

<< <i>How did your brain make that connection I wonder >>

There's just no tellin'. Scary, huh.

WillieBoyd2

Foreign Coin buying price list from 1948:



Linky

Even cheaper back then!

lordmarcovan

Yeah, but according to your link, that says for coins in FINE condition (whatever that meant, in 1948), and furthermore, it's a dealer buying price list, so it's wholesale, I guess.

Nevertheless, that's some crazy-cheap stuff. And a fascinating glimpse into the pre-Krause world of Darkside priceguides.