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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;princeofwaldo, post: 2627235, member: 24091&quot;]Most of the valuation information is accurate in a relative sense in the Standard Catalog of World Coins, though specific valuations are sometimes way off.&nbsp; Used to be they tended to be too high, but over the past decade it has swung the other direction, and you must be careful about the catalog listing much lower valuations than the actual market.&nbsp; This particularly true for patterns and provas and that sort of thing, though chances are you are not collecting anything that esoteric, at least not yet.</p><p><br /></p><p>With that in mind, you should consider a used copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins if cost is any consideration at all. My first Krause volume was a used 19th/20th century catalog (back when the two centuries were in a single book about 25 years ago) and I bought it used for $10.&nbsp; The used catalog was about 4 years old at the time, and I pretty much wore the thing out.&nbsp; I didn&#039;t replace it until 8 years later.&nbsp; The pricing information in it was useful, but as mentioned earlier, there is no substitute for doing a little research on your own regarding prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>What is truly amazing though, is the number of books out there about specific coins and the issuing authorities who struck them.&nbsp; Many are older publications that are no longer in print, but for the specialist are indispensable references.&nbsp; For instance, collectors of Russian copper coins must, absolutely MUST own a copy of Brekke if they want to really know what they are doing.&nbsp; Bitkin, a Russian general catalog is very good too, ---light years better than Krause--- but for the collector of 17th, 18th and 19th century Russian copper coins, Brekke is the bible.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Other countries generally have at least one highly celebrated reference book.&nbsp; For Romania, it is Stambuliu.&nbsp; For Colombia, Restrepo.&nbsp; Nearly every other country that has struck coins in any serious way, has at least one specialized reference book.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Most of these specialized reference books aren&#039;t cheap.&nbsp; But if you get to a point where your collecting pursuits are highly focused in one area, having access to these types of books will take you to a new level of sophistication and appreciation for this hobby that can&#039;t be experienced any other way.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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