As I read these posts over the last couple of weeks one question has been nagging me. Why do a lot of you recommend people to obtain a copy of Red Book for coin pricing? I was given these when I was a kid and started collecting but haven't bought or owned one since maybe 1978. I have occasionally picked one up at a book store to see if they have changed. I alway felt they are overpriced and basically useless other than for mintage #'s. The pricing information is out of date before it is printed and alot of information basically never changes year to year. Why am I paying $20-$30 for a coin Red Book list for $1.50 for the past 6 years? Has it improved over the years?
I never suggest getting one for the price guide...I mean....not to go by it totaly...its alright for an idea. Where the RED BOOK is put together many months before the year that it is for the prices are off sometimes...sometimes they are right. The reason I suggest one is becaues of the mintage numbers/some of the photos/and such... Speedy
There are still those who think that the prices listed in the Red Book are accurate. For a long time, thats all there was for a price guide. Today - we have price guides galore. But the vast majority of them are nowhere near accurate. As has been said many times, realized auction prices are your best guide.
The red book has definitely improved. It has tons of nice photos and such. It's more of a general reference guide than anything. Coins usually seem to go for 70-130% of the value of the red book in my experience, or much more or less. It simply depends on the demand. I would follow GDJMSP's advice to check realized auction listings.
Coin collecting is like getting a college degree. Your freshman and sophomore years you take 100/200 level class's (RedBook). As you gather knowledge you begin to specialize you require a more precise measurement tool, 300/400 level class's (Internet Price Guides, Greysheet, etc.) and the RedBook is cast aside as being too elementary or common. Your beyond it and soaring toward new numismatic heights... Me, I still like to have a copy handy as it's always been the standard in our family. I also have all the old (See Spot Run and Dick and Jane) readers stored in our librtary as keepsakes. Comfortable old reminders of a simplier time Bone
i get it as a research tool, also it comes in really handy to get a price range ( to see what the key dates and semi-key dates are in a series of coins )
All very true Bone, but I would venture to say that the Red Book is probably my most commonly used reference book. And I don't even collect US coinage. There is not a day goes by that I don't pick it up at least 4 or 5 times. I just dont use it for prices - for other info, it is invaluable
I like the redbook for identifying key coins in a series. The prices are useful sometimes because there is frequently a huge jump in price between certain grade levels, and it is nice to know exactly where that jump occurs. I would think it is a good idea to buy the grade just before the price jumps, or well after it. There would seem to be a lot of risk in buying the first grade to greatly increase in price due to the danger of overpaying for an overgraded coin.
To each, his own. Each of us has our reasons. The bibilography in each section is important. Most people who collect American coins do not understand that literature creates markets and defines prices. If you want to become a serious collector, you will acquire the books listed in each section, depending on your interests.
As Mike said "If you want to become a serious collector..." but, serious collectors make up a very small fraction of coin collectors today just as they ALWAYS have. Most folks buy the RedBook as a quick and easy coin identification source to have next to the cookie jar. The vast majority of individuals who purchase the book actually have spent more on the book than they have tied up in coins. Somebody may buy a copy thinking the 1960-D quarter they've had since childhood is rare or there is a (V) on their Peace Dollar... After checking it's tossed in the closet and forgotten. RedBook user's don't care about clashed dies, etc. But once in a while a safety deposit box is opened and miracles occur. Case in point is Mrs. Lee and the 1854-S Quarter Eagle. As I stated earlier, the RedBook is a midlevel tool used by individuals who don't want to or plan on becoming SERIOUS collectors. The majority and always so. Bone
What about the blue book? I've heard of it, in fact it's advertised in the new red book, what's the difference between it and the red book? (I got my red book in a deal pakage, so it wasn't that expensive. Right now, I'm using it to learn a little about the different types of US coins, not necessarily their value)
REDBOOK-You think it's useless except for mintage numbers????????? Well guess again, I'VE FOUND AT LEAST 10 wrong mintage numbers in the 2005 Redbook, I used to by both the red and the blue books until this year when I found the differences in mint numbers between the two. Same company but the right hand does'nt know what the left hand is doing! I contacted them about the difference in figures and wanted the correct numbers or my money back, well they admitted the mistakes but you want money back or the corrected version? HA!! thats a laugh! They lost a long time customer because they are to damn cheap to back up their own work!
Let me point out something found in one of the book in question: "The publisher of this book does not deal in coins; the values shown here ae not offers to sell or buy but are included only as general information. Descriptions of coins are based on the most accurate data available, but could contain beliefs that may change with further research or discoveries." So, it may be just a simple mistake and not something to loose the value of a good reference book in fighting about it. Just my oppinion.
The publisher has until the next edition to make the corrections according to industry practice. Refunds are a different matter altogether. Most retailers would require the item to be returned. B
As to the most accurate data available, there PREVIOUS issues were correct on the dates that I checked. A simple mistake??? try 10 of them while I was bidding on coins at an auction, just when I need accurate information, I buy coins based on actual numbers minted. I dont think it's to much to ask to get what you pay for and that is actual mintage figures, Hell all they have to do is look back at there previous issues or they could buy a competitors book and copy. I guess I'm just a stubborn German but I expect accuracy for my dollars and any thing less is sloppy work and unacceptable.
