It depends on what you are using it for. If you are using it as a price guide then I would agree, it isn't real accurate. But if you are using it for information about the coins then it is pretty darn accurate. Some of the mintage figures are wrong and there are a few other things, but over all for basic numismatic information it is very good. I've been collecting for over thirty years, I spend a couple thousand on numismatic books each year and my library contains over a thousand items, and I USE them. Yet I still keep a copy of the Redbook handy for quick general reference.
the Red Book Yes the Red Book is the number one book to start with. However, pending on your necessity to spend money, you may want to check out flea markets, used book stores, garage and yard sales for a slightly older version. the latest is the 59th edition but if you just want an idea of prices, mintages, historys, coin disigners and other general information, a few editions old wouldn't be so bad. I've seen older editions for $1 and people were bargaining him down from there. Now if you want to spend some money go to the Whitman web site or just type in coin books and you can find many for lots of money. I usually get a Red book one edition old from a coin dealer I know for a few dollars but this lately coin boom made him run out so I had to buy the latest version. His price was $12 so I wonder where he gets them. but at flea markets you just don't ask. Other things you may want to do if you have a printer connected to your computer is to call up web sites where there is lots of information and print out what you want. This way you can make your own book and fairly cheap. Try the coppercoins web site for instance if you want infomation on Lincoln Cents. That guy has over 7,000 photos of Lincoln Cents and has published 2 books on just that. I bought one of his books at a coin show and it is really great for information. Then there is the PCGS web site for prices.
I disagree...the PCGS price guide is almost if not as bad as the Red Book....the prices just are hyped up...if you want true prices use online auctions. Speedy
The correct spelling is "you're", not your. Did you drop out of school or something? Just kidding. Regards, CraigG Answer: one. Question: How many psychics does it take to change a light bulb.
The Red Book used to be the best book and almost the only book you could buy on coin information and values. Lately there are numerous books on coins on the market and if you can find a coin show there should be lots of them there for sale. One thing I've noticed over the years with coins is the sudden interest in writting a book on them rather than trying to sell them to make money. One great book that took lots of photos and hours to put together is the one called Looking Through Lincolns. You could check it out on thier web site called coppercoins.com. I bought the first edition some time ago and there is another second edition out now. Many, many photos and information on just Lincoln Cents. At a coin show I was at last Sunday I noticed one dealer had about 20 or more different coin books. Soon everyone will be collecting coin books instead of the coins. I've already started to do that since I have all the Red Books from Edition 8 to present.
