Billy G. Crawford
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While many started coin collecting at an early age, my involvement with numismatics began after retirement from the U.S. Navy with over 20 years of military service. I can vividly remember purchasing gasoline at a local convenience store and receiving in change a 1983 Lincoln cent. Upon visual inspection of the reverse, I noticed that the lettering had a blurred look. Examining closer with a magnifying glass at home, all the lettering and Memorial building appeared strongly doubled. My curiosity was peaked and eventually acquired a copy of "The Lincoln Cent Doubled Die" by John A. Wexler. To my surprise, I learned that the strange reverse doubling was listed as the 1983 1c major doubled die reverse. I immediately became hooked on the variety field of numismatics. The coin remains in my personal collection as a reminder that major die varieties can still be found in circulation.
In the spring of 1997, I expanded into coin micro-photography and writing articles for various numismatic publications and variety clubs. I am author of the award winning "must have reference for the year 2003", "A Detailed Analysis of Lincoln Cent Varieties - Volume I," and co-author of, "The Authoritative Reference on Eisenhower Dollars" with John A. Wexler and Kevin Flynn. I contributed photography work for, "The Best of the Washington Quarter Doubled Die Varieties" by John A. Wexler and Kevin Flynn along with contributions to, "A Quick Reference to the Top Lincoln Cent Die Varieties" by Gary Wagnon, Karen Peterson, Kevin Flynn, "The Authoritative Reference on Lincoln Cents" by John A. Wexler and Kevin Flynn, "The Complete Price Guide and Cross Reference to Lincoln Cent Mint Mark Varieties" by Brian Allen and John A. Wexler and the well-known "The Cherrypickers' Guide to Rare Die Varieties" by Bill Fivaz and J.T. Stanton. Currently I'm a contributor to Numismatic News weekly magazine writing many articles on the subject of die varieties and mint errors and I publish the free, online bi-monthly Die Variety News Magazine. I'm a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA).
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