Cherrypickers Guide: Why are they selling for so much?

That’s an issue I have with the California grading co. Occasionally they’ll put numbers in their price guide for coins with no public sales and a total pop of 1. Makes no sense to base it off nothing.

 

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If you can really cherrypick from it, it's worth more than its weight in gold.

 

I made more selling my used set on eBay several years ago than I ever did cherrypicking.

 

What do you mean by "modern" coins ?

 

Those with President’s and the like on them.

 

You gotta be kidding right? I was medically 1/2 dead when I first got my CPG. First Cherry pick paid $60 raw. Sold $3,549. Thought that was fun. Second coin paid $28, sold $3,500. Repeated that until I destroyed the pop report. When I got done with that, I turned the page. I’ve probably done several hundred by now.

 

Didn't one of the authors recently pass away? There may be issues with who has the rights to the name / previous / derivative works, and they may not be printing any more:

https://coinweek.com/people-in-the-news/in-memoriam/important-numismatists-j-t-stanton-has-passed/

 

Didn't know that.
The main two authors were Fivaz & Stanton.
5th volume ll had Potter contribute, and the 6th Volume l had Ellis as a third.

 

Not all people are good cherry pickers...it is a skill training eyes,brain,memory,and most of all passion for the hunt..
Don't misunderstand the CPG was a great book for the picker, error,variety collector.
However its does have errors in print, its out of date, and there's hundreds of web sites on collecting as well most all series. As far as knocking it not being worthwhile venture? Well it isn't a skill mastered by all.... nor is being a top notch musician. Yet there is money there to be made....in the last ten days Ive picked 3 coins ...1 dime pd $32 value at $375. A us 3 cent silver value retail at $275. Last auction for this variety closed on Heritage in 2020 @ $760.00 more than double its retail value, and lastly a US lg cent Paid $36 value $275.
True these are retail values however for my layout of <$175 and easy double my money on two coins,and a third coin depending on if it goes to auction a proven sale 3 years ago of $775.00 could be above this figure or below true. But when you pick a R 6,7 -8 coin you're in high cotton!

 

I see Cherry Picking as a skill learned by most in Kindergarten. Essentially it’s picture matching. The bonus is the majority are cheap especially in the raw. I’ve picked several which from a cost basis have been free. Hard to beat free. The freebies are Cherry picks from sets. Example, buy set at $165. Buy non-variety at $20, swap out then pop back the set at $200.

 

Is there a new Cherrypickers guide coming out soon?

 

If I recall the last one which took forever to be released arrived just a few years ago. I doubt there’d be another for awhile.

 

The last issue was 2023 Sixth Edition Volume ll. I look forward to the next issue also, but I won't hold my breath. I do enjoy the few I have.

 

Actually Vol 3. 6th Edition came out in July 2024. There was this https://www.coinnews.net/2025/06/06/whitman-taps-noal-white-to-help-lead-new-cherrypickers-guide/ recent announcement which says the 7th edition will recombine the previous three volumes into a single volume. I can't imagine what will be excluded from that, given the way they gutted the Barber dimes in the most recent Vol. 2. I'll admit that I lost respect for them after I spent considerable time writing up new dime transition varieties, they told me they decided not to include them for space reasons, then two years later they asked me to send all that stuff again, then they ended up chopping two dozen Barber dime entries out anyway without adding anything new. But maybe Noel White will take it in a better direction.