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Another in a long line of "An Official Whitman Guidebook" references is the recently released, "Carson City Morgan Dollars – Featuring The Coins Of The GSA Hoard." It is authored by Adam Crum, Selby Ungar & Jeff Oxman, three well known numismatists that specialize in Silver Dollars. This hard bound reference contains 124 pages and is well illustrated with color plates.

The specialized reference covers the subject of Carson City Dollars completely and in a very easy and simple way to read. The introduction, which covers 33 pages, gives a brief history of the Carson City Mint and the part the General Services Administration played with its sale of its CC dollar hoard. The Redfield hoard is also discussed.

We especially liked the information regarding the official audit of the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. where they discovered three million U. S. Silver Dollars which were all struck at the Carson City Mint. This hoard with its many rare dated CC Dollars would eventually help collectors build collections; that prior to the sale of these hoards were almost impossible to complete. The three authors also gave an interesting and informative account in regards to the California gold rush.

The book starts with a Collector’s Checklist which lists CC dollars along with their VAM numbers. Each coin has collector highlights and notes on that piece. This provides many insights about each date. Close-up pictures of the diagnostics for the varieties are shown. Estimated values are given in Mint State grades with proof-like (PL) and deep-mirror proof-like (DMPL) listed separately. Both GSA holders and non-GSA holders are valued separately.

With a "Condition Census" the book provides the most reasonable acquisition grade for the average collector. The authors have carefully analyzed each date and variety for collectors to study. This book is an important addition to the information on Carson City Morgan Dollars and belongs in every Morgan dollar collector’s library.

This fine reference will be released by Whitman in December, 2010, and it will retail for $24.95. They can be contacted at: Whitman Publishing, LLC, 3103 Clairmont Road, Suite B, Atlanta, GA 30329, Phone (800) 546 - 2995 or Email: info@whitmanbooks.com