One of most important coin collecting books about U.S. coins is called Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. Often referred to as "the Breen book," this seminal tome was published in 1988. Its 768 pages are crammed full of numismatic minutia about every known U.S. coin, from the early colonial period all the way to the date of publication.
The Breen book, which weighs more than five pounds, has comprehensive listings of die varieties for virtually all coin types. It is a storehouse of data about U.S. coins, including everything from mintage figures to coin size, weight, and metal specifications. The book has plenty of anecdotal information, too, which is mostly accurate but has sometimes been questioned. All in all, though, the Breen book is a must-have for any serious coin collector; it is an absolutely indispensable reference for any serious student of U.S. numismatics.
The only real problem with the Breen book is that is has long been out of print. Even if you could find a copy, it would cost you upwards of $250 to own it. But now, thanks to Tom Pilitowski of U.S. Rare Coin Investments, everyone can have access to this incredible book free of charge on the Web!
I try to keep abreast of the major happenings on the Web when it comes to coin collecting, but I have to admit that this one got by me. I would like to thank my colleague Jim Bucki, the About.com Guide to Operations Technology (and an avid coin collector who regularly holds Merit Badge workshops for Boy Scouts) for pointing this site out to me. The Breen book online is sure to be a very popular and important destination, as soon as the word gets out!
When you get to the Web site above, click on the tab near the top that says "Index of Contents" to begin exploring.
Update (Thursday, April 30, 2009): Ever since posting this BreenEncyclopedia.com Web site, I have received a flurry of emails, some of them from important Webmasters, asking why I had published the URL of this Breen book online site. There seems to be a common misapprehension among most of the numismatic community that the owner of the BreenEncyclopedia.com Web site, Tim Pilitowski, has posted this beloved reference without the permission of the copyright owners.
I looked into this matter, because of all the things I have covered over the years, this has turned out to be one of the biggest "can of worms" types of stories I have ever seen in numismatics. It's little wonder I didn't know the site was there; it turns out that more than one leading coin collecting discussion forum has prevented its members from posting the URL, due to the widespread belief that the Breen book had been "stolen." When people posted in other forums, they were either warned by the Moderators or the members jumped all over them for sharing the link. This reaction is understandable, given the high esteem in which this seminal book is held, despite having the occasional error or unconfirmed anecdote within its pages.
However, I have checked into the matter regarding ownership of the Breen copyright and Pilitowski's authority to publish the content to the Web. The book was originally published by Doubleday, who subsequently sold the rights to Escala Group, Inc., the parent company of Bowers and Merena. Steve Deeds, the president of Bowers and Merena, has confirmed to me that he has given Tim Pilitowski permission to make the book available to the coin collecting community via the Web. Walter Breen died in 1993, and the book has never been reprinted. By publishing the book to the Web, free to all, Pilitowski and Bowers and Merena hope to make this valuable and beloved reference freely available to all, not just the folks who can afford $250 for a copy - assuming they can find one!
I appreciate the serious questions which were raised about protecting the copyright owner's rights, and if anybody still has any questions, or feels they need further verification of the right to publish this book online, please contact me via email and I'll be happy to put you in touch with Mr. Pilitowski. Hopefully now we can all relax and enjoy this amazing reference book on U.S. coins. :)
Update #2 - (Tuesday, May 12, 2009): Unfortunately, Pilitowski was asked to take the Breen book site down, effective this past Sunday. Details are available in my post about the Breen Book Online Controversy. This isn't over yet, so stay tuned!
Comments
Thank you, Susan, for letting us know about this incredible book now being online. I had not heard of the Breen book before this, but I will be sure to reference it now.
Susan,
Pretty exciting news about Breen’s book online so I linked to the site and I’ll be darned if I can see how to open the book. Any clues for this rookie?
Thanks,
J
How can I get this book free of charge on the Web?
John and Eric ask two interesting questions. I, also would like answers to their queries. Thanks.
To access the book:
Use Susan’s link to the site, click on the “Index of Contents” tab near the top right on the page.
I’m sorry my post wasn’t clear enough about how to access the book. Thank you, Mark H., for providing assistance. I have updated the original post to clarify a little better how to access the book.
If you still need help, let me know. Otherwise, I’d love to hear what you think about this remarkable online offering!
Susan Headley
About.com Guide to Coins
Thanks Susan. That looks like it will make for some interesting reading. I think it’s fantastic that they put this online.
There is a question as to whether the Breen book was legally posted. The poster does not own the copyright and, to the best of my knowledge, does not have permission from the copyright holder to post the book online. The copyright holder has not commented, but I am sure the lawyers are talking!
Scott B., thank you for bringing up the issue of the Breen book copyright ownership. You left your comment even as I was researching this important matter. I have updated the post here to explain the circumstances more fully. As you see, there was lot of concern raised about this in the numismatic community. I think part of the problem might have stemmed from there being a broken link on Pilitowski’s Web site, until recently, that prevented him from receiving the questions people had asked. Concerned parties can reach him directly through the site, or email me and I’ll put you in touch.
Susan Headley
About.com Guide to Coins
I couldn’t think of any thing better to do, to help every one likeing this hobby. I my self looked around the web priceing books for Morgan dollars. Even used in raggity shape are selling upwards of 450 bucks. And there aren’t many available for sale. I only wished that something like it could be found online. Unless i ever got to a library, that “might” be the only place i could find something like it maybe in the reference section. But i really doubt it. If memory serves me right. I was looking for the book that covers Morgan silver dollar varietys. Or VAM book?
All i can think of is saying thank you to whom the person is that put this online for us.
Thank you!
coiny
P.S.
Thank you to Susan! For shareing this with us.
When a copyrighted work (or excerpts from it) has been made public, such as the Breen book, it is the usual procedure for the reprinter to provide some kind of notice such as “reprinted with permission of …” and to include the original copyright notice. This would have eliminated the uncertainty which has arisen over this and other similar internet versions of published books.
Also, just because a book goes out of print does not make the original copyright invalid, and certainly does not place the book automatically in the public domain.
Exactly right Bob. A copyright – runs somewhere in the neighborhood of seventy years last i checked. Hope this is all ok now. I like having the breen book online. That was a great idea, as well as a great service to us all.
coiny
Site’s gone.
Yeah, it’s gone – I wonder if it was unauthorized after all?
Yup! It’s gone!
That didn’t last long, how did i know good things uaually don’t.
coiny
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