Whitman releases new ‘Guide Book of the United States Mint’

Whitman Publishing has released a new edition of Q. David Bowers’ A Guide Book of the United States Mint.

The 23rd volume in the award-winning Bowers Series explores the heart of U.S. coin collecting: the iconic U.S. Mint, which will celebrate its 225th anniversary next year.

The U.S. Mint is an official source of the material collected, studied and catalogued by numismatists around the world. It’s the sole manufacturer of U.S. legal-tender coinage as well as the country’s national medals, and its products are used by millions of people daily. As a federal repository, its facilities also safeguard more than $300 billion in national assets. It employs nearly 2,000 people, including its own police force.

Bowers’s new book unearths a treasure trove of numismatic knowledge, including the history of the Philadelphia Mint and every mint branch, plus colonial, state, private, and territorial mints; information on historical and modern minting procedures; a study and price guide of historic medals and collectibles commemorating the Mint; data on every director of the Mint and superintendents for every branch; and illustrated behind-the-scenes looks at the modern Mint and its facilities. The text is illustrated by nearly 1,300 photographs, engravings, diagrams, blueprints and other images.

CHAPTERS & APPENDICES

Chapters of A Guide Book of the United States Mint include: early American money and commerce; early mints in British North America (e.g., colonial Massachusetts and Connecticut) and the post-Revolutionary War states; the first federal coinage; the Philadelphia Mint; the New Orleans Mint; the Charlotte Mint; the Dahlonega Mint; the San Francisco Mint; the Carson City Mint; the Denver Mint; the West Point Mint; the Manila Mint in the Philippines; and private and territorial mints such as those of Templeton Reid, the Bechtler family, and many issuers of California and Colorado gold pieces.

Chapter 13 covers “Mints That Never Were”—the Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company, the Dalles Mint in Oregon, LeRoy Henning’s nickel-counterfeiting operation in New Jersey, and others.

Four appendices include, among other things, a study of medals and other collectibles related to the U.S. Mint-Assay Commission medals, Mint director medals, Philadelphia Mint superintendent medals, service medals, Mint ledgers and paperwork, postcards, books, and more.

“Dave Bowers takes you on a ‘you are there’ experience with over three dozen mints,” writes Kenneth Bressett in the book’s foreword. “I know you will enjoy this delightful narrative!”

The 448-page softcover book is available from booksellers, coin dealers and online at Whitman.com for $24.95.

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