Joseph Boling began collecting numismatic items in the 1950s, and is a specialist in Japanese numismatic emissions and world counterfeit paper money. He lived in Japan 1957-60 and 1983-85, first with his US Air Force father and later during his own 28-year Army career. He has also lived in Morocco, Germany, and Vietnam for a total of twelve years.

His Japanese coins were sold at auction in Hong Kong in 1989, and the most significant of the banknotes there in 2001. His Japanese bonds and shares, composing one of the world's finest private collections, were sold in 2006. His most recent book (as author) is World War II Remembered: history in your hands, a numismatic study, written with C. Frederick Schwan, 864pp, 1995. He has also edited several books, most recently Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of World War II, by Ray and Steve Feller.

Colonel Boling has also exhibited nationally and internationally since 1976, winning many first place and best-of-show awards in several different exhibit categories, usually with Japanese-related material. In 1995 he and Fred Schwan mounted a sixty case non-competitive exhibit of World War II numismatics at the ANA convention in Anaheim, where his concurrent competitive exhibit also won the Howland Wood award as the nation's best competitive exhibitor.

Colonel Boling has been the ANA's chief exhibit judge from 1991-93, 1995-2007, and 2011-date. He has been training ANA judges since 1986. He has taught at the ANA's summer seminar since 1999, teaching, co-teaching, or guest lecturing in over a dozen courses. In 2007 the ANA Goodfellows established the Joseph E. Boling award for excellence in judging, now awarded annually to a judge selected by the ANA chief judge and a representative of the Goodfellows.