The Catalog of the J.D. Bowman Collection of Chopmarked Coins (The Chopmark Reference Series) Paperback – October 22, 2024

Most chopmark collections assembled in the past have been broken apart without fanfare, even those that represent decades of dedicated effort. In retrospect, this isn't much of a surprise - chopmarked coins have been an awkward niche in the world of numismatics for years, and prices have remained low until relatively recently. Recent years have seen a rise in interest in chopmarks, but important earlier collections typically can't be recorded after they have be broken apart; the J.D. Bowman Collection represents one of the few instances where enough information is available that the set can be 'pieced together' retroactively, using a combination of the collector's own notes and more recent auction appearances.The Bowman Collection was primarily assembled between 1984 and 1994, with a large proportion recorded in a series of handwritten inventories submitted to The Chopmark News; scans of these inventories form the basis for the catalog, including not only nationalities, dates, and denominations, but descriptions and drawings of specific chops. These detailed descriptions have allowed for specific coins to be attributed to the Bowman Collection as they have appeared on the secondary retail market and the auction circuit between 2016 and the present, even without any images from the original collection; more recent auction details and collector provenances are recorded where relevant. Additionally, more than 50 pieces traced back to Bowman have been photographed and are included in the catalog, including many key rarities.Please note that this catalog is not an introduction to the historical background of chopmarks, but should be considered reference material primarily intended for provenance research. However, the size of the collection and the presence of a number of rare pieces make the catalog a worthy addition to any chopmark collector's library. Read more