The primary objective is a reference volume which offers the exacting detail required to accurately and positively identify commonly found errors, varieties, and collectible coins in circulation.
Any reference volume about coins can easily grow to extreme proportions. The scope of this piece will be those issues that are most often asked about in social networks and personal email. The main focus will be on US coins issued since 1965. It will not include proof, gold, or commemmorative issues, but I'm sure to stray. It's hard to put a hold on a good idea.
I have invited a select handful of competent numismatists to contribute to the project. As the work develops, they'll be credited accordingly.
An electronic version of the book as it develops is available online to Patreon supporters of another project: The SAN Database of Die Varieties, an ongoing project that will take several more weeks to become functional. The previous iteration of the SAN Database is still available in an incomplete form. This work, being developed by myself, Shay Hoffmaster, and CJ Langbecker, was being held up by the limited interface offered by Wordpress. Expect much improved progress and announcements to be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
The Diagnostic Manual will explain a number of common errors and varieties with informative articles, diagrams, and photos of examples to give aspiring numismatists an invaluable learning tool. Never knowing when to leave well enough alone I expect one day to change the name to leave out the word "Circulating".
Excerpt from the Introduction Section:
Rather than an attribution catalog, this work is designed to explain those features which support, verify, or debunk a theory explaining the coin.The community of amateur collectors needs this reference as a vital source of useful information to correctly identify their coins. All too often they are besieged with bad information from questionable sources and leaping to conclusions without using logical reasoning based on empirical evidence in order to reach a sound conclusion. There is a procedure for diagnosing the issue on a coin that does not include Ignorance, Apathy, Stubbornness, or Hope.It’s the scientific method: Hypothesis-Observation-Conclusion.“I heard about it on facebook so it must be true” is not good enough. There are specific, measurable, qualifying markers on a coin that will help to support or to debunk the identification of an error or attribution of a variety. Rather than rely on others to tell you what the error or variety on your coin is, learn the methods, procedures, and criteria to make the call yourself, and develop the confidence that what you have determined is the correct conclusion
Special Thanks to my friend Paula Bluhm for the cover image.
