I have the Wright book and find I like it very much for descriptions and photos.. Though I am not sure how current the rarity ratings are at this point.
Newcomb book is not as easy to read - but I do find that with it and the grellman book the late date large cents are easier to nail down. The plate pictures in the back are not the best either. I need to get another middle date book for comparison.
Newcomb can be used for the middle dates without too much trouble. In my opinion it is actually an easier read than Overton. But the lack of good pictures is a SERIOUS drawback. Think of trying to use Overton without the pictures. mark_h seems to like it for the late dates but frankly after reading it over I would use it myself for them. I will stick with Grellman for those. Rarities are always changing, and usually getting lower. Some of the rarities in Wright are probably wrong now. The latest rarity information can usually be found in one of the Copper pricing guides, Penny Prices, or Copper Quotes. But they will cost you $50 to get a copy. If you want to do it the cheap way you go look at the archives of the most recently auctioned major collection because the latest rarity rating is almost always listed for each variety. For the middle dates go to the Goldbergs auctions site and check the auction archives for the Dan Holmes II sale. It also has the advantage that since Dan had a complete middle date set it can also be used as an attribution guide.
Conder: are you saying more coins are being discovered as varieties or coins are getting lower R populations?
Just for clarification. Not by itself - when I first got the book it was too tough to do late dates. Then I got grellmans book from toad. I tried using only it on the late dates and it was impossible to me. BUT using grellman and newcomb together I find it is easier - easier is a relative term in this case. The late dates are tough no matter what and almost impossible with some of the lower grade coins.
Mostly what I meant was more specimens being found resulting in rarities declining. Every now and then a new variety is discovered though, mostly in the late dates. There have also been varieties delisted in the late dates as well.
