In the world of American coinage, there is perhaps no better printed resource than the "Red Book," as commonly called by collectors. A valuable tool for the budding enthusiast to the most seasoned numismatist, the newest edition of the Official Red Book® – A Guide Book of United States Coins will soon be available.
The 2016-dated, 69th edition makes its debut on March 26, 2015 at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Collectibles Expo. Following the Expo, the Red Book will go on sale in local hobby shops, book retailers and Whitman.com. Pre-orders are accepted now with shipping expected on April 7, 2015.
Whitman Publishing, who issues the Red Book, describes its latest edition this way:
"The Official Red Book®—A Guide Book of United States Coins— is 69 years young and going strong. Collectors around the country love the book’s grade-by-grade values, auction records, historical background, detailed specifications, high-resolution photographs, and accurate mintage data. How rare are your coins? How much are they worth? The Red Book tells you, covering everything from early colonial copper tokens to hefty Old West silver dollars and dazzling gold coins."
Photographic images of coins are offered as an aid in positive identification. This continues the tradition established by R.S. Yeoman who founded the reference book which first appeared in the 1947-dated edition.
Available in several different formats, pricing is $16.95 for the hardcover, $14.95 for the spiral, $19.95 for the hidden spiral and $29.95 for the large print edition.
The hard cover has 448 pages of reference material. It covers 7,600 coins and other collectibles with over 32,500 prices based on recent purchases and graded conditions.
A special Deluxe Edition is $49.95. It includes "certified population data, more die varieties, more auction records, and more pricing than the regular-edition Red Book," according to Whitman.
I get one about every three years. can’t live without it.
I take the price shown in the Red Book (because it’s full retail price), discount about 33%, and that’s what I offer to purchase from any dealer. I have been pretty successful using this formula.
My very first Red Book was 1977. That book helped get me started collecting coins. I still have it, and have since added 1965, 1981, 2011. Huge gaps I know. More than looking to see what coins are worth, I love the detailed histories the book gives on each coin.
Mr. Griffin, I can go even farther back – I bought my first Red Book in 1964! About the only page I didn’t read was the one with the copyright date.
Bob –
You could purchase the Blue Book to see coin wholesale prices (the typical dealer price) and then add an appropriate profit to your offer.
You can also do an advanced eBay search, checking the “Completed Listings” box to see the selling price of a given coin prior to a dealer visit.
Happy Collecting
Thanks RonnieBGood, I do those things as well. I also have the “Black Book”, and sometimes I ask for a not too old copy of the dealer’s Greysheet.