How to Grade U.S. Coins. James L. Halperin . . .

Over ten years ago, I felt a burning need to help clarify a controversial topic. So I wrote How to Grade U.S. Coins, which I think helped demystify the process of grading uncirculated and proof coins. It received some acclaim within the numismatic field, although today, as a more seasoned writer, I cringe at the quality of my prose.

Andrew Tobias, in an otherwise flattering column about The Truth Machine, a futurism novel I wrote in 1995, said: "Here he was, a guy who had never written anything in his life other than one slim tome on rare-coin grading. I have a copy. It's probably Biblical in its significance if you're a coin dealer, but shows no signs of literary grace whatsoever." (Then he went on to describe, rather charitably I admit, how I managed to fashion a reasonably successful second career as a novelist.)

Times have changed, but the need to educate oneself in the field of coin grading remains.

James Halperin,
Co-founder of Heritage Rare Coin Galleries, and author of How to Grade U.S. Coins, The Truth Machine, and The First Immortal