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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Conder101, post: 595510, member: 66&quot;]The Noyes books are great but costly, and that book listed on Amazon as being by Noyes is NOT what you are looking for.</p><p><br /></p><p>&nbsp;I also do not recommend the Newcomb book.&nbsp; Yes, it can be used but not easily.</p><p><br /></p><p>Probably the best single book that covers the whole series is probably the 1986 Superior auction catalog of the Robinson S Brown collection.&nbsp; With the 1989 Superior catalog of the Jack Robinson collection being a close second.&nbsp; Both of these catalogs have every coin as a single lot and every lot pictured.&nbsp; Both of them have every single Sheldon numbered variety and many of the NC varieties.&nbsp; I believe each is missing just one or two of the middle date varieties.&nbsp; Each collection is missing no more than about a half dozen of the late date varieties.</p><p><br /></p><p>For each lot in the early and middle dates the lot description includes the identification diagnostics for the variety, and some die state information about the variety.&nbsp; Often times if the obv or reverse is used on other varieties it tells you which varieties allowing you to see other examples of the same die.&nbsp; The coins are (usually) high enough in grade so the needed diagnostics are visible and the picture quality is pretty good.&nbsp; The only down side is the pictures are actual size or close to it.&nbsp; (But this is true of the Newcomb book as well, and the pictures aren&#039;t as good.&nbsp; Same goes for the 1990 edition of Sheldon&#039;s Penny Whimsy.)&nbsp; It isn&#039;t real useful for the late dates though.&nbsp; (Frankly nothing is useful on those except the Grellman book.)&nbsp; The differences between the varieties are just too small/delicate to show up in pictures.&nbsp; I have been using my copies of both of these catalogs ever since they came out.&nbsp; In fact I&#039;m on my second or third copy of each and I have a couple more copies in reserve for when these are completely worn out.&nbsp; (and that takes a lot.&nbsp; My copy of the Jack Robinson sale lost its covers long ago and is currently just a pile of individual loose pages but I refer to it constantly.)</p><p><br /></p><p>No matter what you decide to do, I would suggest getting on the Goldbergs auction catalog mailing list.&nbsp; The Dan Holmes collection is going on sale starting this fall.&nbsp; It will be sold in three parts, the early dates this fall, the middle dates next spring and then the late dates either next fall or the following spring.&nbsp; Dan&#039;s collection is the most complete ever assembled and the Goldbergs are doing it up pretty well.&nbsp; EVERY Sheldon numbered variety, all but one of the NC varieties (The missing one is unique and in the ANS collection). EVERY middle date variety, all but one of the late date varieties (The missing one, 1851 N-42, is unique and the owner wasn&#039;t willing to sell it so Dan could have the only complet set ever assembled.&nbsp; Fourteen people have completed the Sheldon numbered varieties and Dan has more NC&#039;s than anyone has ever assembled.&nbsp; Only a one or two have ever completed the middle dates, and no one has ever completed the late dates.)&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The Dan Holmes catalogs would surpass the RSB and Jack Robinson catalogs except for one thing, the lot descriptions do not include the variety diagnostics.&nbsp; The photography is better, but what the ultimate catalog would be would be Dan&#039;s coins and photography combined with RSB sale type descriptions.&nbsp; (It isn&#039;t surprising the Goldberg&#039;s Dan Holmes catalog is so good, when Superior produced the RSB and Jack Robinson catalogs, it was owned by the Goldbergs.)[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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