what do you prefer ?? Red book or North American coin and prices

just wonder everyone always says get a red book, but if you take a look at the redbook i think there are some short comings it only goes to prf 65 ms 65 or such , not saying its a bad book but in the past it was very limited, now the north american coin an prices cover everything the red book does and has a lot of Mexican and Canadian .. well tell me what you like

 

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The Red Book is good because of all the information it contains EXCEPT the prices (which should be ignored).

 

I agree 100%. Good & extensive info , not so accurate pricing.

 

Red Book is crammed with good information.
The prices are useful as a guide to the relative values of coins, but not for real world values (99% of the time).
The Red Book Professional Edition (up to the 3rd Ed. now) have even more information and lists semi-recent auction results.
Price information is better in the Grey Sheet or at the Heritage auction site, among others.

 

n.a. coin and price has all the same info as the red book

 

They both have their strengths. The Red Book's strengths are well-documented and covered in this thread. Yes, the prices are inaccurate, but they work well as a general guideline.

North American Coins & Prices doesn't have the same kinds of background info that the Red Book has, and it doesn't have grading guides for every series. But it does have large sections of prices on both Canadian and Mexican coinage, something that the Red Book doesn't touch. Again, the prices are inaccurate, but again, they serve well as a general guide.

 

All price guides have their discrepancies, mainly due to PM value fluctuation and the time lapse between editing and reading. I personally see Coinage and Coin World as pretty accurate for retail pricing. The Redbook is great for information, and that's about all.

 

I am personally a fan of Coin World. I use gray sheet when I can get one and NGC/PCGS guides

 

Red book

 

The Red Book has great information about coins but price isn't really its strong point. With the prices being set months before publication, the prices are outdated on the day it is available to the public. Coin Values and Numismedia are far more accurate because they are updated weekly, I believe. I think the Red Book and on-line price guides are complementary and should be used together.

 

If the company that publishes the Red Book decides to remove all their pricing from the guide, collectors would still have a reliable and informative source. For a print media, they are still a successful company for the hobby. They still sell tons of their books without offering a digitized version. One day they may change their business model.

 

I do Red Book and Cherry picker's guide's for information. I do look at coin world for articles and info as they undate more often that once a year like red book. Cdn packs for pricing. I get 4 per year that's every fiscal quarter. It's cheaper than a year long membership plus you get all the parts of the grey sheet, plus green sheet (currency) and blue sheet for (site unseen certified). VERY helpful for ebay and other internet bid/sale sites as I only pay blue sheet prices for anything I bid on unless I really really trust the seller.

 

I use Coin Facts. I feel it best represents the coins I collect.

 

I think knowing what type of collector you are will help establish your reference preference. A casual collector would probably choose the red book above all else.

 

I generally use a combination of everythign I can find. The red book is a good refrence along with coin world for modern issues. I use the grey sheet when I can but also check auction records. Sometimes you just have to go by instinct...

 

I like nuismatic news, but also use ebay. Sometimes when it comes to toned coins, I don't even use a priceguide.


Oh yeah, I like the error/Double Die pictures in Redbook, but do not like how they only focus on the higher grades.

 

I concur. A balanced and diligent approach using multiple sources, combined with seasoned experience, always wins at the end of the day. :thumb:

I believe that relying on one only source is not advisable -- in fact, I believe it is shortsighted and irresponsible.

 

I like to use the greysheet and also consider Numismedia and the PCGS price guide, and use Teletrade, Heritage and Stacks-Bowers for recent prices.

 

This just raised a question in my mind. Have you ever been outbid on ebay, and completely amazed at what the guy paid? And then I can't help but think he may have had a Redbook sitting in his lap!!!

 

I think that is totally dependent on the series. There are coins in some series that are way above Red Book or PCGS or anything else for that matter.