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Message:: [QUOTE="National dealer, post: 12841, member: 487"]The official Red Book. A guide to United States Coins. While the Red Book is an invaluable referrence guide, many aspects of the information contained can be very misleading. Many new collectors look to the red book often quoted as the bible of coin collecting, as the be-all, end-all. This simply is not true. While the book provides many facts about mintages, designers, nice little stories, it doesn't give the complete picture. Seasoned collectors have learned when to use the Red Book. This book is published once per year. So any values given cannot be used for a actual baseline. Coin values change very often, some daily. Mintage numbers while accurate, do not give the reader the true idea of what remains available. Many new collectors fall into this trap. They look at the mintage numbers, and proclaim, this coin must be rare. While the fact is, many examples are readily available and are considered common. A mintage number in and of itself do not always guarantee rarity.  The Red Book is a fantastic beginning, but should never be used as a stand alone referrence guide. If something within the pages, sparks an interest, do some independent research to justify your findings. No one source can give you all the information regarding a particular coin or series.[/QUOTE]