shadroch Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I've been attending a lot of auctions since I retired and coins are almost always a big part of them. I see some people using red books, others using blue one. Can someone give a brief explanation of the differences, and which would be better for me to buy? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy44 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 In 25 words or less, Red Book reflects retail values, Blue Book reflects wholesale values, sort of.. The Red Book would be preferred in my opinion because of the detailed information available in addition to prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWB Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 I would buy a Red Book -- or the "Guide Book of United States Coins." Mao's "Little Red Book" doesn't have current coin values, and the Blue Book is ... well...how do you say it in French? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physics-fan3.14 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Neither of these books should be used for price or value. The prices are locked months in advance of printing, and may be a year or more out of date by the time you use it. The RedBook is useful for mintage and background information. The Blue Book is not useful for much of anything, and I'm not sure why it is still printed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny9434 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Neither of these books should be used for price or value. The prices are locked months in advance of printing, and may be a year or more out of date by the time you use it. The RedBook is useful for mintage and background information. The Blue Book is not useful for much of anything, and I'm not sure why it is still printed. a few others that i know wonder why that blue book is still around as well. i have no use for it but what ever suits the person. just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conder101 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 The blue book is still around because enough people still buy it to make it profitable to Whitman to publish it. 124Spider 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutmeg Coin Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 The Red Book is vital and fairly comprehensive guide to US coins, I know dealers who don't consider coin a "variety" unless it is in there. From what I have seen the Blue Book is just rock bottom pricewise, maybe the same % under Red Book year to year, so they just print the same propaganda to give false hope that buyers could get no problem coins for those prices. At least the Farmer's Almanac has some poetry and prose that make it interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourse28 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Red Book = Market Value at that point in time. Blue Book can be used as a quick buying reference when making an offer on an estate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raisethis2 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Both are simply a guidebook for US coins. They provide coin populations and will help you understand important varieties. Neither of these publications is worth much at all when it comes to buying coins at auction since auction prices for the vast majority of coins are most often lower than the prices published in these handbooks. I see auction participants often who show up with the publication "Coin Prices", while closer, it's also off on most coins. For common coins a used Grey Sheet's "bid" prices are accurate at least 90% of the time. For rare and unique coins researching auction prices through Heritage or the PCGS web page will provide an actual history you can use as a guidepost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numisport Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Red book is a valuable text but cannot be used for determining values. Don't forget that a coin is only worth what someone will pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
e1cnr Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The Blue Book is not useful for much of anything, and I'm not sure why it is still printed. Some Brick and Mortars use it for buying offers. I remember taking a few bucks in 90% silver to one place and they offered me 50% of melt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coinman_23885 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The Red Book lists the prices dealers wish they could sell their coins for; the Blue Book lists the prices dealers wish they could buy coins for to include them in inventory. The last time I bothered looking at either for pricing information, neither seem realistic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillJones Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Neither of these books should be used for price or value. The prices are locked months in advance of printing, and may be a year or more out of date by the time you use it. The RedBook is useful for mintage and background information. The Blue Book is not useful for much of anything, and I'm not sure why it is still printed. I agree with this statement. The Red Book contains a lot of useful information, and I still use it every day to look up mintages and general information. I have viewed the Blue Book as useless from the time I was a YN in the 1960s. I have built a complete set of Red Books and have kept many of the copies I used in the 1960s - except that ones that fell apart ... . Falling apart was a problem for the Red Book in the 1970s, and I treat the books I have from the era very gingerly when I have to open them for some information. I don't think I have any old Blue Books around although there might be hiding hiding on bookshelf somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CometHunter Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 The BALD TRUTH in few words : Red Book Value- what the coin dealer charges you for his coin(s). Blue Book Value- what the coin dealer offers you for your coin(s). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LINCOLNMAN Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Bought one Blue Book as a kid in the 60's. One and done. Red Book gives a sense of relative value and I have used it just to keep track of want lists, upgrades. The other information it contains is alone worth the modest price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Conder101 Posted April 25, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 25, 2018 The BALD TRUTH in few words : Red Book Value- what the coin dealer charges you for his coin(s). Blue Book Value- what the coin dealer offers you for your coin(s). And the values in neither one bear any relationship to real-life. rrantique, Quintus Arrius and RWH98 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DorianReborn Posted November 13, 2021 Share Posted November 13, 2021 (edited) Thanks! I am very interested in this topic, especially after I wrote an essay about it. I used https://writinguniverse.com/free-essay-examples/national-honor-society/ to better understand my research topic. This helped me get the best grade in the class and my teacher was very pleased with me. Edited November 21, 2021 by DorianReborn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 On 1/19/2017 at 2:35 PM, Nutmeg Coin said: The Red Book is vital and fairly comprehensive guide to US coins, I know dealers who don't consider coin a "variety" unless it is in there. And some years they go back and add in ones they never listed before. It’s getting to the point that I crack open the MegaRed more often than the regular Red Book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VKurtB Posted November 14, 2021 Share Posted November 14, 2021 On 1/28/2017 at 11:00 AM, e1cnr said: Some Brick and Mortars use it for buying offers. I remember taking a few bucks in 90% silver to one place and they offered me 50% of melt. I see that a lot too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
