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r. James Wiles began collecting coins as a young
boy in rural Arizona. And he never quit.
When other boys pushed aside their Whitman
folders for baseball or girls, James just dug in
closer with his toy microscope and a lot of will
power. Forty years later, he’s
arguably the foremost authority on 20th century
die
varieties in the United States.
Are you thinking about jumping feet first
into the coin hobby? Unsure of what’s involved or where
your adventure may lead? Not to worry.
Like Dr. Wiles, you can become a respected
expert in the field of minting errors and die
varieties. Or just enjoy this aspect of
coin collecting for your own sheer delight.
Following a brief stint the United States Air
Force, and the diligent pursuit of a Ph.D. in
New Testament Textual Studies from Southwestern
Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth,
Texas, Dr. Wiles directed his professional
energies into sharing his knowledge of coins.
Over the past 10 years he has authored numerous
books on many denominations of U.S. minting
varieties, including Eisenhower Dollars, Kennedy
Halves, Washington Quarters, Jefferson Nickels,
and Lincoln Cents.
In addition to his written works, Dr. Wiles
has also given back to the hobby through service
in the premier club for collectors of error and
variety coins - CONECA, the Combined
Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of
AMERICA. He has served as President for
two terms, and has held other board positions as
well. He writes frequently for Errorscope,
CONECA’s award-winning numismatic publication.
And he continues to serve on the board of
directors, providing a sense of focus and
direction to the club and ever working to advance
the hobby and share the knowledge of error and
variety coins.
In this pursuit, Dr. Wiles has authored a
correspondence course on minting error and
variety coins for the American Numismatic
Association (ANA) and teaches the ANA’s annual
Summer Seminar on minting error and variety
coins, a one-week course offered to coin
enthusiasts of all ages on the beautiful campus
of Colorado State College in Colorado Springs,
CO.
Dr. Wiles is a teacher at heart. He
loves to learn and he loves to share his
knowledge of coins. Here are just some of
the ways in which you can tap his knowledge of
error and variety coins:
- Start using the CONECA Attribution Guides to
build your knowledge of the coin hobby.
- Visit
www.varietyvista.com frequently to stay
abreast of new listings and research studies
in all areas of die varieties.
- Attend the ANA Summer Seminar on minting
errors and die variety coins. To learn
more, go to www.money.org
- Join CONECA, and read the Errorscope
magazine where you’ll see Dr. Wiles’ articles on RPMs and
doubled dies and other valuable information
provided by experts in the coin field.
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