COIN
SLOT
DECEMBER
Coin Slot THE
Magazine
- #004
- 1974 - December
[International Arcade 1974
Museum]
Book Review, by Irv. Scott Wolf
INVESTMENTS IN HISTORY,
by Art Durbin.
34
pages,
paper back.
Available from the publisher, Art Durbin,
A & M Sales, 1801 College Ave. , Manhattan, Ks. 66502.
$3.25 postpaid.
In his book, Investments In History, ArtDurbin gives the
novice collector of things horological a taste of what it is all
about. Watch collecting is a multifaceted avocation, and as
anyone in the field will testify, to write an all encompassing
treatise on the subject would indeed be a Herculean task
that would require hundreds of volumes.
In his effort to
touch all bases, this reviewer feels that perhaps Mr. Dur
Although Mr. Dur
bin has bitten off more than he can chew.
bin does bring in many different points of information, he
doesn't spend enough time on any one subject to give a really
enlightening view.
This is fine to whet the appetite of the
beginner, but frustrating to the more advanced collector who
is seeking more detailed information.
One thing that Mr. Durbin does do, and I take great ex
ception to it, is predict how much a given item will appre
ciate within a given time. For example, he makes the fol
lowing statement: ".. .any repeator (sic) or striker bought
today will increase at a minimum of 20 percent to 40 per
cent per year depending on the maker."
Although this
writer has great confidence in the safety of investing in an
tique watches, I do not feel that anyone is able to predict
which items will appreciate a set amount within
a set
time.
Perhaps if Mr. Durbin had prefaced the sentence
with "I believe that. . .", this reviewer would find it more
acceptable.
Probably the best part of the book, as far as definitive
information is concerned, is the the section dealing with
the dating of American pocket watches.
This chapter will be
valuable to all watch lovers, from the rankest amateur to
the most advanced collector. Incorporated in IIH are charts
that will give the approximate age, by serial number, of
the watches made by nine different U.S. companies. If one
com
.
m
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u
rom a - list,
use then it alone is worth the
f such
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does not already own
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oad .arcade
price of the nl book.
w
w I say thatwhile Idonot agree with cer-
In summation
Do //ww may
: the book, it is a book that many collectors will
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h
appreciate, and find useful;
8
© The International Arcade Museum
http://www.arcade-museum.com/