I am considering purchasing the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins 1601-Date but I am undecided, if I should purchase the DVD's format of the series since they are cheaper or buy printed books. Has anyone used the DVD format of the books? If so, could you share your thoughts, on the pros and cons, compared to the printed books? Thank you
Have you considered used versions of the printed volumes? That's what I did. Given I do not collect all world coins; and current values are not so important to me in this space it was a cheaper alternative for a valuable resource.
Its really up to you Farstaff, how you like to access information. I do not mind the disks, but I guess I am onld fashioned and still like books. Sometimes I just grab one, open up to a country and read and learn. Harder to do that on the disks. I agree with jimmy bones about older versions. I got one for the older stuff I don't use often just for the attribution and an idea of relative worth.
Given the choice, get the book I've got both the DVD and the books for some of the Krause catalogs. I prefer the books because you can more easily compare the size of the coin to the image in the book. The DVD image size is dependent upon the format & physical size of your computer screen. Carrying the books is not pleasant. For portability, I prefer the DVD(s). DUH. I wonder if any CTers carry the DVDs on their smart phones. Every Krause book I have was purchased second hand. Right now, I have a 2 year old second-hand 1600s book coming to me I think.
The catalogs can (and usually are) uploaded to the computer in pdf format. I have used both. I fan the book to be better for quickly scanning, but the digital version has its uses too. For example, its searchable. So rather than scanning page to page for "Mahmud III" you can just search it.
Thank you all for your replies. Based on the comments I believe I will seek new and used copies of the printed versions. Since the pricing guides is not really what I intend to use the books for, I would assume I could buy older editions?
Farstaff, I just get copies on Ebay. learn what the different versions are, how the cover looks, (since many sellers do not know the edition), and be a little patient. i usually try to get the previous version, (newest "old" version) for cheap.
I was able to pick up the Standard Catalog of World Coins - 1801-1900 - 5th Edition for $25.00 including shipping on ebay and I purchased a copy of Collecting World Coins - 1901- Present - 10th edition by Chester L Krause and Clifford Mishler, for 15.00 at a local used book store. Here the story for my sudden interest in world coins. Last month my father who is 87 years old, gave me a canvas bag that was my grandfather. The bag contain thousands of worlds coins, some dating back to the 1800. The story given to me by my father, was that my grandfather was in charge of the parking meter division of a large city just after the war and that is how my grandfather obtain the coins. I am excited to begin digging though this bag and perhaps start me on a path of collecting world coins. Seem to be lots of store and transportation tokens within the bag also. Again thank everyone for your suggestions.
Have fun. Wow, it sounds like you have days of fun ahead of you. Consider first sorting the coins by country to get a handle on what countries you have & you will quickly see which coins are duplicates. Consider using a plastic baggie for each country & use a marker to write the country name on each bag. Just keep the bags in alphabetical order as you create them. Once all is sorted this way, you can cherry pick the coins you want & put them in 2x2s or whatever you plan to use. Please post some of your discoveries.
Agreed, have fun. You will find countries you didn't know existed, have difficulty with languages, all kinds of good times. When I have a kid I plan on giving them about 50 pounds of world coins just for the fun you will have, and the education that comes with it. Good luck!
...The bag contains thousands of worlds coins, some dating back to 1800... Thousands? Wow. The odds are good that there will be at least a few rare ones. Take your time and enjoy the experience and education. Please post photos if possible!
