Update Of Breen Needed?

Walter Breen has been dead for almost 20 years and he left enough "dirty laundry" during his lifetime that I doubt if someone would want to continue anything in his name. Numismatics has almost become too specialized to be completely covered by one book. Series-specific books seem to be the new norm and are generally much more accurate and informative than Breen's Encyclopedia.

It is not that he is/was not well respected by numismatists, his problems lay outside of the world of coins. He was an avowed pedasterist, founding member of NAMBLA, and a convicted child molester(died of cancer while in prison)- that pretty much outweighs his numismatic reputation...

Despite the caveat that anything upon publication becomes soon outdated, I don't think that is an excuse to never publish a new encyclopedia. There are plenty of serious numismatists out there that just don't have the funds, or the series specific interest to buy the not only many, but often very expensive individual series books (what does a set of good Large CEnt and Half Cent references cost? 1000+?)

I wonder if anyone has ever read Breen's book on Greek Love (I haven't). It's unfortunate that the sexual politics of NAMBLA overshadow it's other goals. It's for, as WIKI says, "empowerment of youth in all areas, not just the sexual." I believe in this part, as I think there is an extreme glorified later childhood these days that just didn't exist 100 years ago. That 13 year old boy Breen was charged with molesting would have been likely past puberty and an adult in the eyes of the law in 1855. When we deny children rights to vote, to make decisions for themselves, especially in later years when they are 15, 16, 17, we make the transition to adulthood very difficult. But this is getting very off topic. I didn't really mean to bring up any issue with Breen, other than like any researcher, he was not perfect. Take the Mott Token for instance!