James M. Matthews is one of our senior cataloguers of U.S. Federal and Colonial coins. He began cataloguing in the 1980s and has worked as a consultant for a variety of numismatic firms, now exclusive to Stack’s. Significant specialized collections he catalogued include the Roger Cohen Half Cents, the H. Rolland Willasch Bust Half Dollars and Bust Dollars, the Richard Pugh Bust Half Dollars, the Paul Munson Bust Half Dollars, the Benson Collection, the Richmond Collection, the Jules Reiver Die Variety Collection, the Northern Bay Collection, and most recently the George Byers, Jr. Collection of Half Dollars, among countless others. A board member of the John Reich Collector’s Society since 1987, he has written numerous articles for its quarterly publication. He is also a member of the ANA, ANS, LSCC and EAC. Jim was a contributor to Jules Reiver’s The United States Early Silver Dollars and to The Complete Encyclopedia of Silver Dollars of the United States by Q. David Bowers. He is presently contributing and updating Reiver’s various Variety Identification Manuals. Recently he wrote portions of the Smithsonian Institution’s book on the Gold Coinage of America. He has also worked with the Federal Trade Commission.