I know the Red Book is the bible for coin collectors. I've got one, a 2010. I use it to compare prices on ebay. I used to buy the magazine price guides. For the collecting I do, one magazine would last me a year or so. The only reason I got a Red Book was because the local Waldenbooks was going out of business and I got it for two bucks. But what I notice about the Red Book is the grading doesn't go any higher than MS-65. The silver Eagles are only graded Unc. and proof. With all these coins now being graded MS-69 and 70, what am I supposed to use as a guide? I find the magazine price guides have higher grades, and I'm constantly looking at a six month old magazine just to get a feel of what the coin must be worth. You would think the Red Book guys, knowing their reputation, would add these higher graded coins in their price guide.
I wouldn't use the redbook for accurate pricing, it is a year off and usually way high. Past ebay sales and Greysheet are much more accurate.
Well those are worth bullion so look at spot prices. But I"m sure this will spark an argument as these bullion coins being graded XX. That's just my opinion though and offer it up to why Red Book doesn't put more into it then that.
I agree with whats already been said. I wouldn't use it as a price guide. And I consider those bullion coins too, and would price those as such myself. However, you can probably get a good idea of value on coins by checking the closed auction archives at Heritage or ebay.
I agree with everybody, too. So, why is the Red Book so highly regarded? On this forum, every new coin collector is advised to get it. I wouldn't pay 15 bucks for it. Wouldn't it be better advice to have the novice collector buy a $5.00 magazine, or go to the library and check out a four year old Red Book?
As Duke said there is a lot more to the Redbook than the prices. I tend to think I am a fairly advanced collector, but I still refer to the Redbook regularly, just not for prices. I advise new collectors to get a copy and then READ it. Don't worry about the prices that much but read the first part of the book and the description sections before each series. I also recommend they get an OLD copy if they can from back in the 1970's or 80's from back before the beginning section was written by Q David Bowers. The first 60 or so pages in those older Redbook is one of the best concise histories of US coinage I have ever seen. The Bowers re-write is a big step down.
...as mentioned, the red book is an excellent source for coin info such as the weight and size of a coin or identification of mint marks and mintages. it's VERY informative. it's worth reading from cover to cover.
The prices mean nothing the historical information, mintages, sizes, weights, years, series, all in one small book mean everything. There is no ther book in print that offers so much for so little in one handy easy to read book, that's why.
Red book is a good reference tool, but the prices don't really reflect the market where I shop. Greysheets and 'bay are more realistic, though 'bay stuff sometimes goes so high you gotta wonder......money laundering or caught up in the moment?
But the average Joe can't get a greysheet, can they? I also have a Blue Book. How vital is that to a coin collector?
The Red Book is actually a decent price guide but not the latest ones. If you do want to use the Red Book for prices, just use a 2 or 3 year old version. I've always told that to people if thier intensions are basically to have a price guide of some sorts. Also, people should always remember that any prices listed in any book that is produced annually can not possibly be accurate. And annual book, magazine, etc. could only be accurate if the producers can predict the future. Also, with all the new coin books on the market, the Red Book is also not the greatest for excessively minor detailed information. Today there are books that specialize in just one type of coin so they can stipulate much more detailed info than a book that has almost all coins listed. And example is the www.coppercoins.com books out on just Lincoln Cents. In that book there are many, many Cents listed with all types of varieties that could not possibly be listed in the Red Book. Another problem I've been finding is now that Whitman, Publishers of the Red Book, is no longer really a Whitman Company. From what I've heard, may or may not be true, some time ago, the employees of Whitman purchased the company. Then sold it to Harris. Although now keeping the Whitman name, much more difficult to communicate your concerns with them. As to the original question about the grades in that Book. Not sure about the reason for no MS-68, -69, -70 grades but if you use the Indian Head Nickel for an example, there is already 9 columns for grades. So why not a AG-3, AU-58, etc. Regardless of how many grades they would list, someone would always ask what about xxxxx? One thing about the Grades in the Red Book that does irritate me is the inconsistancy. Most of the book uses the normal system with AU-50, F-12, MS-60, etc. However, for some odd reason there are many pages that use G, F, Unc. PF only. Possibly if more of their customers would send them emails about thier concerns, many items of concern would be corrected or at least investigated.
I like the Red Book for all the rich information everybody else has said. As for grading, I'm surprised at that MS 67 (at the very least) hasn't been added by now. MS 67 is as much a "landmark" grade as MS 65 has been for 30 years or more.
The Red Book has the grades they have because those are what will physically fit on the page. It took forever for them to add AU grades in many series. The Professional edition takes care of some of this problem. In any event, I wholeheartedly recommend the Red Book as a *general* price guide. Sure, it's not up to date and the prices are high retail, but you can take a look at it and tell that your 1909 cent isn't worth anywhere near as much as a 1909-S, for example. Most importantly, as others in this thread have mentioned, the rest of the information in the book is absolutely invaluable. Grading, variety attribution, specifications, numismatic history, mintage figures, where to find mintmarks -- where else are you going to find all of that info as easily and as cheaply? In case you're wondering, Heritage catalogers all have a copy of the Red Book at their desk, and they use it constantly. They have a lot of other info at their fingertips, to be sure, but the Red Book is great as a quick source of good info.
