By David Q. Bowers
The second edition of the Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins, by Q. David Bowers, debuted this month (March 2021). The 448-page book is available from bookstores and hobby shops and online (including at Whitman.com) for $29.95. Here, Bowers discusses the book and his research in American gold coins.
My research for the Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins began in the 1950s—although I did not know it at the time. As a young teenager I studied and read all I could about rare coins. By 1954 I had a good working library and was keeping notes of interesting things I learned.
Fast-forward to adulthood, a highly successful rare-coin business, and other activities and pleasures. One of my greatest satisfactions continues to be research followed by writing on subjects from esoteric to popular.
My book on $10 gold eagles includes the basic foundation of information you expect to find in a volume in Whitman Publishing’s Bowers Series. Beyond that you can take many side excursions to explore mints and minting of days gone by, to acquaint yourself with great collectors and collections of the past, and to tap into many anecdotes, trivia, and stories that, I hope, will add to the charm of any $10 gold coin in your collection.
You will learn why a political movement that started in the West in the 1870s is directly responsible for countless hundreds of thousands of About Uncirculated and Mint State eagles being available to collectors today—one of the most remarkable unintended consequences in numismatics. You will also learn a lot about the market and the factors that influence change in coin values.
By the time you read the last page I believe you will be as familiar with gold eagles as is someone who has spent years in rare coins. Enjoy the journey, and your collection!
Q. David Bowers has been in the rare-coin business since 1953, including in recent years as a founder of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. He is a past president of the American Numismatic Association, a trustee emeritus of the New Hampshire Historical Society, and a fellow of the American Antiquarian Society. He has been a key numismatic consultant to the Smithsonian Institution since the 1960s, and has advised the United States Mint and Treasury Department. The author of more than 60 books including many standard references, he serves as numismatic director of Whitman Publishing, and is senior editor of Mega Red, the expanded edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins.