I'm waiting on my red book I ordered and don't really have anything that great yet, but online things vary so much I was wondering if you all have sold things for about what the red book suggests they're worth. A few people on here suggested it so I'm sure it's a good book, but I'm mainly looking for error coins (U.S.) and was wondering if this was the best one to go by.
Red Book values in general are high (except in cases where the current price of gold or silver is significantly higher than they were when the book was printed). The section on error coins and their values is very thin. You would do better with the Error Coin Encyclopedia by Margolis.
The red book is a good starter book. It gives good info on mintage and common error pricing, but if your looking to focus on mainly error coins another book would be a better bet. But in my opinion the red book is a must have if your going to collect.
I flipped through a red book at a shop and you guys are right that it seems to be a good starter book. I might take a look at some of the books that deal only with errors. I don't go through anything except U.S. coins and only then by roll searching. I'll keep an eye out for the error book by Mongolis. Thanks guys!
I would suggest you totally disregard the Red Book prices. The up to date FMV for coins are presented in the CDN sheets. ( Gray, Blue & Green for paper ) These are the prices that coins trade at without premiums for select issues .
The bottom line is that the Red Book is intended as a general purpose guide to US Federal Type Coins. If you pursue Error Coins, you will not find what you are looking for in the Red Book. Errors are a specialty beyond the Red Book, except for certain well-known examples, such as the 1955-DDO Lincoln Cent. Also, as noted with Errors, certain other series such as Bust Halves (Capped Busts in general), and Large Cents and Half Cents are specialized pursuits with their own collector communities, grading standards, etc. Anyone who is serious about Large Cents has a Red Book, for sure, but they also have other books that are more important for what they actively pursue. The Red Book is fine ... as far as it goes for most issues. The problem with the prices is not the bullion value, but the actual supply of certain key coins in high grade demanded by willing collectors. Good examples of where dealers pay more than Red Book include US Gold Dollars and Three Dollars. The colored paper price sheets are, indeed, commonly agreed to price ranges. But understand that Blue is for sight-unseen coins: You say you have a PCGS AU-55 and without actually seeing the coin, I might be comfortable offering Blue Sheet for it. In any event, the Blue-Grey-Magenta-Teal-Orange Sheets do not list the prices of the kinds of Error coins you are seeking.
I guess I'll just have to dig around bookstores and find something that has what I'm looking for. I'm mainly looking for something to help me FIND the coins to begin with. Some of the error DD's are only in a tiny part from what I've seen and it would be handy to have a quick reference book with pictures for when I'm on the go. As far as the big errors go, I'll focus on finding them and then worry about haggling, lol.
Well, let me suggest that as nice as Cincinnati and the Tri-State area is, you will not find the books you need in a used bookstore. First of all, I checked the ANA Library for "Errors" and got over 180 hits. If you are serious about this, the ANA is an important resource. The library will lend you books. All you have to do is pay the shipping and insurance both ways. Membership is still under $40 per year, less if you take the electronic version, not the print edition of the magazine. American Numismatic Association: http://www.money.org. For $25 a year you can join CONECA, the Combined Organization of Numismatic Error Collectors. (Website here: http://conecaonline.org/) Among those 180 books were these: The cherrypicker's guide to rare die varieties by Bill Fivaz and J. T. Stanton. (Whitman Publishing. Website here.) The best of the Jefferson nickel doubled die varieties by John A. Wexler, published by Brooklyn Galleries (website here). ...Best of the Washington quarter doubled die varieties. ... The encyclopedia of doubled dies: Volume I. ... The Lincoln cent double die, a complete listing & price guide of over 200 known Lincoln cent double die varieties. ... Over mintmarks and hot repunched mintmarks. ... Here is Wexler's Doubled Die Website: http://doubleddie.com/ Finally, realize that at some level, studying errors is the wrong way to find errors. The books can help you validate and verify and evaluate your finds. But to find errors, you have to look at your money and know what perfect examples look like. Anything not perfect is a possible find. (By perfect, of course, I don't mean Mint State, though there is that. I mean standard, correct, the intended outcome.) You might find cracked dies, clashed dies, strike-throughs, etc., etc., etc. You have to learn what you are looking at. One of these Error Gurus (Kevin Flynn, I think), told me that he started collecting errors in the Army in the '60s because all he could afford was to look at his pocket change. I'm just saying, a pair of eyes and maybe a hand lens will be a good start. You find some errors, use your profits to join the ANA and CONECA and buy some books. (But do not buy any errors until you buy the books.)
no, you can find them in coin shops. johnnyflesh, go downtown to coins+ on 6th. they have a large selection of books, plus brad can special order some older, no longer in print ones.
Also you need to understand there is a difference between errors and varieties. Errors occur individually and, for the most part, are one of a kind. (Examples of errors are off center, broadstrike, clipped planchet, laminated, missing clad layer, brockage, struck through, indent, etc.) Varieties are caused by some difference in the die(s). Several to numerous example of varieties are produced by those dies. (Examples of varieties are doubleD dies, wide AM, overdate, RPM, RPD, 8 Tail Feathers, 3-Leg Buffalo, etc.)
The values are approximate, some high, some low, some pretty darn close. Do not use it as a final price guide. It is not published with that purpose in mind.
I will second that. Thanks, Swish! Bradley Karoleff is highly regarded in the hobby and profession. They don't list Books on their website, but, truly, this is a shop you should visit, patronize, and learn from. They have three locations. Website here:http://www.coinspluscincy.com/
Looks like I'll be making a trip downtown. Also thanks for pointing out the difference between error and varieties, Mmarrota. I just got my red book yesterday and can tell it will be nice to reference, but I'll definitely need to do a lot more reading than that. Thanks for the address of the shop swish513
