NEW BOOK: PLEASURE AND PROFIT

Whitman Publishing announces the release of Pleasure and Profit: 100 Lessons for Building and Selling a Collection of Rare Coins, by Robert W. Shippee. The 320-page book will debut November 11 for the 2014 holiday season. Before then it can be pre-ordered from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, and online (including at Whitman.com), for $9.95 retail. The book can also be borrowed for free as a benefit of membership in the American Numismatic Association, through the Dwight N. Manley Numismatic Library.

In Pleasure and Profit, longtime collector and retired international banker Robert Shippee reveals how he got serious about building a type collection of rare coins, carefully assembled the Waccabuc Collection of half cents through $20 gold double eagles, and later sold them at public auction. Shippee tells the story “warts and all”—sharing not only his highly profitable purchases, but also the duds and costly mistakes. He analyzes each purchase of 100-plus copper, nickel, silver, and gold coins, capping each analysis with a valuable lesson learned. His story ends with a $1.5 million sale at public auction.

Shippee supplements his real-world advice on acquisition strategies, storage choices, and disposition options with commentary on grading services, auction houses, famous dealers, numismatic personalities, market forces, and—with candor that’s rare these days—his laid-bare financial results. His insight is humorous, wise, and unflinching . . . uniquely valuable for today’s collector and investor.

A chapter on “Finances—The Final Scorecard” compares rare coins to stocks, with an analysis of different indexes. Shippee breaks down the biggest losers and the biggest winners in his basket of coins, and looks at the results by denomination, by century, by metallic composition, by grade, and by holding period.

“Bob Shippee shares his advice with a relaxed storyteller’s wit,” says Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “His text is about coins, but it’s also about golf, whisky, friendships, and other good things in life that are attached to his experience as a collector. His storytelling makes the lessons fun and interesting.”

Q. David Bowers, who wrote the book’s foreword, says, “Pleasure and Profit is one of the most useful books in American numismatics. It will change your buying strategies.”

Pleasure and Profit: 100 Lessons for Building and Selling a Collection of Rare Coins
By Robert W. Shippee; foreword by Q. David Bowers I
SBN 0794842437
Softcover, 6 x 9 inches, 320 pages, Full color
Retail $9.95 U.S.
https://www.whitman.com/store/Inventory/Detail/Pleasure--Profit--100-Lessons-for-Building-and-Selling-a-Collection-of-Rare-Coins+0794842437

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