Numismatic literature score! 0

[coinsandmedals]

My wife and I took a day trip to Memphis and part of the day was spent exploring “antique” shops and random stores that we had never been to.  She was on a mission to find to some fall décor for the house and I was really just along to spend time with her without the thought of actually finding something I needed/wanted. At some point during our adventures we found ourselves in an Ollie’s Bargin Outlet which is essentially a giant discount store for new goods. We had never been to one and I had no idea what to expect. It didn’t take me long to find the book section. I halfheartedly looked until I noticed a little sign that said “Reference”. I had little hope that they would have even a Red Book, but I was shocked when I looked through their selection of books. I was even more impressed when I looked at the price tags. The Mega Red was the most expensive at $10 and the others ranged from $3-$5. In total I spent $50 and added 9 quality books to my growing library!

 

[physics-fan3.14]

You got some good ones, and you wasted your money on some. If you have the Mega Red, there is absolutely no reason to buy the regular Redbook. Mega Red has everything and far, far more. At $10, that was totally worth it. 

The individual red books are good to get if you are interested in those series. If so, great buys - if not, you'll probably never use them. 

Numismatic Art in America is a really interesting read. I highly enjoyed the ideas in there - he basically analyzes the artistic qualities of US coins. It's a bit of a different perspective on some of your favorite designs. I read it once, and now it just collects dust. It's not something that you'll reference repeatedly unless you are writing an article and are looking for a good quote. 

The bottom two are pretty much a waste of money. Put them on your coffee table to start a conversation with guests, I suppose, but there isn't really much good that I can say about them. 

[Just Bob]

Very cool. I have found a few numismatic books at the local Ollie's, also.

[Conder101]

Good Ollies has the 4th edition mega reds now, that means I should get mine soon. (I don't have a Ollies near me, but a local club member picked up the 2nd and 3rd editions for me.  I'll have to have him keep an eye out for the 4th now.)

[coinsandmedals]

2 hours ago, physics-fan3.14 said:

You got some good ones, and you wasted your money on some. If you have the Mega Red, there is absolutely no reason to buy the regular Redbook. Mega Red has everything and far, far more. At $10, that was totally worth it. 

The individual red books are good to get if you are interested in those series. If so, great buys - if not, you'll probably never use them. 

Numismatic Art in America is a really interesting read. I highly enjoyed the ideas in there - he basically analyzes the artistic qualities of US coins. It's a bit of a different perspective on some of your favorite designs. I read it once, and now it just collects dust. It's not something that you'll reference repeatedly unless you are writing an article and are looking for a good quote. 

The bottom two are pretty much a waste of money. Put them on your coffee table to start a conversation with guests, I suppose, but there isn't really much good that I can say about them. 

I appreciate your thoughtful reply, but I don’t see any of these purchases as a waste of money. They all contain some information that I am sure will be new to me. I currently do not collect US coins and even when I did my focus was almost entirely on EAC. These are more so for just general information for if/when I do decide to pursue collecting US coins again. Plus $4 is pretty cheap entertainment. 

Your point about buying both the Mega and the Red book is well rounded, but in this case, the red book is actually a gift for an aspiring YN. I thought about getting him a Mega but I feel as though would likely be overwhelming for someone his age. He found a wheat cent in his change and was fascinated. I told him I would mail him a copy of a red book the newest one I had on my shelf was from 1998. I figured for $3 I might as well give him an updated book. I picked up a few rolls of wheat cents and a Whitman album to help him on his journey. 

I’m excited to read the Numismatic Art in America book! I briefly looked through it and it seemed interesting. Your review has piqued my interest. I had never heard of the Milestone Coin publication but for $3 I wasn’t really concerned. I really do appreciate you letting me know it’s not up to par. The one on the bottom was $4 and the quality of the images was enough to entice me. I actually plan to use this as a conversation starter when my wife’s family comes to visit. Her grandfather is a history buff and I figured if anything he would enjoy looking at the pictures and reading the short essays. 

[coinsandmedals]

2 hours ago, Just Bob said:

Very cool. I have found a few numismatic books at the local Ollie's, also.

 

15 minutes ago, Conder101 said:

Good Ollies has the 4th edition mega reds now, that means I should get mine soon. (I don't have a Ollies near me, but a local club member picked up the 2nd and 3rd editions for me.  I'll have to have him keep an eye out for the 4th now.)

I must be late to the party on this one. I had never heard of an Ollie’s until this Saturday. Do they normally have a selection of related material? 

[Jade Collection]

I hope to find some Krause World Books for a cheap price one day, since I collect world, they would be of great help for me!

[thebeav]

Looks like a lot of fun for less than a tank of gas !

[coinsandmedals]

9 hours ago, Mk123 said:

I hope to find some Krause World Books for a cheap price one day, since I collect world, they would be of great help for me!

You and I both. I have a few gaps in my Krause catalogs, but with the NGC price guide, I barely use the paper versions anymore. Although it is nice when you have no idea what you are looking at and you can scan the pictures to help guide you. I had to this a few weeks ago when a relative asked about so obscure German coin that I had no idea about.

[Just Bob]

I took a trip to my local Ollie's this evening, hoping to score a few books that I did not have. All they had was the Guidebook to Shield and Liberty Head Nickels, which I already have.

[Crawtomatic]

12 hours ago, Just Bob said:

I took a trip to my local Ollie's this evening, hoping to score a few books that I did not have. All they had was the Guidebook to Shield and Liberty Head Nickels, which I already have.

OK, I definitely need to check it out this weekend.  They just expanded to the DFW area within the past 10 months so I've never actually walked into one yet.  Saw one in Baltimore last year on a "boy's trip" to see the Ravens-Browns game and my brother was going on and on about how awesome the store was but he never mentioned numismatic books.

[Just Bob]

Update: I got an email from the local coin club president, saying that another member had gone to our local Ollie's, and was told that they DID have the 4th edition Mega Red Book, but they had not been unboxed yet. I will have to try again on Monday. :)

[coinsandmedals]

Now that we are on the topic, what other cool related things have you all found at Ollie's? I am starting to wonder if I should have checked other areas more closely.