A little late to the party, but sounds like you had a educational experience. If in your place, I would of at least looked at the coins as well. Too bad there was nothing special. Agree with @BooksB4Coins , nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I sure studied up on Indian head cents in a hurry.. haha I've just been a Lincoln error collector but when I saw the ad I studied quick. Knowledge is power.
Complete by some peoples standards. In his coin book there was no spot for the 1856. Since they are so rare most coin books don't have a slot for them. So I guess you could say if all the spots were full the book is "complete".