‘Collecting Numismatic Literature’ with Alan Roy: April 4

The latest happenings in the world of numismatic literature will be highlighted by Hamilton, Ont.’s Alan Roy, CCN Trends’ numismatic literature editor, at the Spring National Postage Stamp and Coin Show on April 4.

A coin collector for about 40 years, Roy began collecting numismatic literature about two decades ago. His presentation will explore what is a new area of collecting for many numismatists—bibliophilia, or book collecting.

“Most coin collectors have a few references that they consult regularly, but few have ever considered accumulating a set of the catalogues themselves,” he said.

“We’ll start by covering the history of numismatic literature, from the earliest publications by Alfred Sandham, F. X. Paquet, Joseph LeRoux, R. W. McLachlan, and The Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Montreal, to the latest self-published oeuvres. And of course, the auction catalogues and periodicals published through the years will also be discussed.”

Next, Roy will explain the different ways to collect numismatic literature plus some of the technical aspects and terminology associated with book collecting.

“Numismatic book collecting can be just the thing for collectors looking for an affordable new challenge. And it can provide insight into the history and psychology of our hobby.”

CHARLTON CHECKLIST

In 2018, Roy published the first edition of his Checklist of Charlton Numismatic Literature, a 20-page checklist of Charlton publications that’s available online for free at drive.google.com/open?id=1oUZu-qTlk22MD4eRl0Vv6QXAkk8bvHyP.

“I like old Canadian numismatic literature,” said Roy, who also authors a regular column on the subject in The Canadian Numismatic Journal, the official journal of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association. “I don’t care if it’s weird, obscure or doesn’t have much apparent value; I like anything – even kid’s books – and I pretty well don’t throw anything away, especially Canadian coin catalogues.”

Roy considers himself a “bibliomaniac,” one of three different kinds of numismatic literature collectors (the others being “researchers” and “pure collectors”). In addition to highlighting these kinds of literature collectors, his talk will also explore the multitude of reasons to collect numismatic literature.

“They provide insight into the hobby and show how it has grown and changed over time, and sometimes they’ll even affect those trends – they’ll affect the way people collect,” he added.

Roy’s presentation will be held from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the Hazel McCallion B room.