Would it be worth it to buy a copy of Daniel Valentine's reference?

NHSBaseball

I have been thinking of buying a copy of The United States Half Dimes by Valentine in order to continue my education. Amazon had copies of the 1983 reprint starting at about $55. Would it be worth it to buy the book, or has the Logan/McCloskey book rendered it obsolete? I'd like some advice from someone familiar with both books before I lay out the cash to buy it.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.

BillJones

The Valentine book was a great pioneering work on the subject, especially for the early half dimes from 1792 to 1805. It is now obsolete, and it is mainly of interest to numismatic literature collectors as a piece of history. If you are interested in learning about the early to middle date half dimes (1792 to 1837), the Logan – McCloskey book is the way to go.

If you would like to have the text of the Valentine book, it was reproduced as a part of a book that was published by Quarterman in 1975. The book is titled The United States Half Dimes, and the author given is Daniel W. Valentine. It contains the Valentine text, Walter Breen's Supplement to Valentine and an early work by Harold P. Newlin. I imagine that a numismatic book dealer, such as Charles Davis, would be able to find a copy of that work for you.

NHSBaseball

Thanks for the advice- I will check into it.

MrHalfDime

You have only been given a partial answer here, and it should have further clarification.

The half dime denomination extended from the 1792 half disme, the Flowing Hair design of 1794-1795, through the Draped Bust design of 1796-1805, through the Capped Bust design of 1829-1837, and also included the Liberty Seated design of 1837-1873. If you are only concerned with the Bust half dimes of 1792 - 1837, then Bill Jones' advice regarding the Logan/McCloskey reference is recommended. However, if you are also interested in the Liberty Seated half dimes, then Logan/McCloskey will be of little help.

The Valentine reference on half dimes was all-inclusive when it was published in 1931, and covers the entire span of the denomination, from 1792-1873. Until the Logan/McCloskey book was published in 1998, it was not only the best reference on half dimes, it was the only reference on the subject. However, in its original form, as #48 of the American Numismatic Society's "Numismatic Notes and Monographs" series, it contained only Dr. Valentine's work, and none of the supplements mentioned by Bill Jones. The Valentine reference was reprinted twice, in 1975 by Quarterman Publications of Lawrence, Mass., and again in 1984 by Sanford Durst Publications of New York, both of which include the early works by Harold P. Newlin and Will W. Neil, but only the 1975 Quarterman includes the later supplements by Walter Breen, Kam Ahwash, and David Davis. If you were to consider either of these reprints, I would recommend the Quarterman reprint for its superior quality and the additional supplements. However, you may also want to seek out a copy of the Durst 1984 reprint merely for the excellent overview of the series by early gold coin guru Doug Winter, who offers considerable insight into the series not offered by any others.

If your interest includes the Liberty Seated half dimes, you simply must have the Valentine reference, and you should also include the Al Blythe "Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes", and belong to the Liberty Seated Collectors Club and include the Collective Volumes of their Gobrecht Journal. Until there is a comprehensive updated and revised reference on the Liberty Seated half dimes, owning all of these publications is the only way that you can stay on top of the series.

It is my understanding the Stanton Books, of Savannah, GA has recently reprinted the Valentine reference on half dimes, but I have no idea what supplements it may include, and after spending a few hours at the recent FUN Show in Orlando trying to track down a copy, or any information on the new reprint, I eventually gave up.

NHSBaseball

Thanks for the comprehensive and informative answer, MrHalfDime. As much as I love the Seated Liberty design, I'm afraid that I should probably keep the focus of my collecting narrowed down to the Capped Bust series at this time with my budget and time constraints.

BillJones

Valentine's coverage of the liberty seated series was pretty sketchy by necessity. In those years Breen claimed that the number of dies used to reach as many 50. The differences between the varieties tended to be very minor. Valentine will give you some insights, but it there are for more varieties than what he covered. For those who are into minute detail, the study of the Liberty Seated is pretty much uncharted or perhaps unpublished territory.

I suppose the Durst book might be of use, but I scanned it in a coin store, I came to the conclusion that I didn't need it. The among the old book, the Quarterman edition is the one to buy.