Advice on the older "Red Books" 1 1

[Hinkle]

Hi everyone,  just came across this 34th edition red book at a thrift store for 2 bucks. Are these good to keep , I'm just curious because by reading through this book and comparing a few things to the newer red books, this 34th edition has better details and a little more information on coins than your newer red books. I know these are collectable and all out fails we can fall back on these for better information on coins.

My question, is it a good thing to have these around. Does people still use these for better education. Or do we just stick with and go by the newer red books. 

What's interesting is I was more excited about this red book than I was buying a coin, couldn't wait to get it home and read it. That might sound a little funny,  but it's true. Thanks, Joe 

[Alex in PA.]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:24 AM, Hinkle said:

I was more excited about this red book than I was buying a coin,

I don't blame you.  That is a very impressive find and should give hours of excellent reading.  Definitely a   

Edited November 30, 2021 by Alex in PA.

[James Zyskowski]

Hey. Nice score. I have bought a few trying to keep 10 years between them. There’s lots of information and looking at prices is fun. Just missed one from the 50’s but they come around. 
Good price on yours. I have paid $5 ish for mine. 

[James Zyskowski]

Here’s 7 of my last 10 purchases. The other 3 were coins. At my age I have become accustomed to using pictures from books for comparison. Living in extreme snow conditions, power outages are real and books are a comfort 😉

Edited November 30, 2021 by James Zyskowski

[Hinkle]

Thanks guys, them are nice James. Bob posted in another thread about Red Book on Red Books. I might purchase that if I can find it. Just to learn more on the older Books.

[JKK]

I don't know how it is with Red Books, but there's one coin reference area in which I can tell you you'd never get rid of the old ones if you had any sense: Krause World Coin books. See, over the years, Krause has thrown a fair number of varieties out of each book. So for example, you might be looking up late Imperial 7 mace and 2 candareen coins, and be presented with five photo examples, none of which are quite your coin (because it has, let's say, seven spikes on the dragon's tail rather than six, or whatever), then ultimately learn that your variety was one of those chucked out a decade or two ago. If you had the older books, you'd have a shot at a solid positive ID.

Oh, and they never did add those lost varieties back to the .pdf versions on CD. That would be work, like updating the actual prices every couple decades, and we couldn't have that.

[Mohawk]

On 11/30/2021 at 12:02 PM, JKK said:

I don't know how it is with Red Books, but there's one coin reference area in which I can tell you you'd never get rid of the old ones if you had any sense: Krause World Coin books. See, over the years, Krause has thrown a fair number of varieties out of each book. So for example, you might be looking up late Imperial 7 mace and 2 candareen coins, and be presented with five photo examples, none of which are quite your coin (because it has, let's say, seven spikes on the dragon's tail rather than six, or whatever), then ultimately learn that your variety was one of those chucked out a decade or two ago. If you had the older books, you'd have a shot at a solid positive ID.

Oh, and they never did add those lost varieties back to the .pdf versions on CD. That would be work, like updating the actual prices every couple decades, and we couldn't have that.

Man, are you right about the Krause, my friend!!! They do love to exile varieties to a land of no return, for some reason.  I have the 2010 edition of the Krause, and I treasure it.  Very useful books for sure.  I'd love to get my hands on a few more editions, but Krause guides are expensive and somewhat elusive.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Mohawk

[JKK]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:21 AM, Mohawk said:

Man, are you right about the Krause, my friend!!! They do love to exile varieties to a land of no return, for some reason.  I have the 2010 edition of the Krause, and I treasure it.  Very useful books for sure.  I'd love to get my hands on a few more editions, but Krause guides are expensive and somewhat elusive.

And I'm not sure if there are going to be any more, given that their parent company declared Chapter Something. But I'll tell you what: I do not take chances with the CDs' integrity. I have the PDFs all copied to a thumb drive and I use that, enabling me to search them for terms without adding wear to the disks. Also makes it easier to take the content with me if traveling. The pricing does not really matter; it was always fantasy to begin with. What matters is the positive attribution.

[Mohawk]

I didn't know that the Krause company declared Chapter something!! That really sucks....the Krause Guides are really interesting books.  If I ever get one with the CDs, I'm going to follow your methods to the letter.....CDs do eventually degrade.  And you're absolutely right about the pricing.  I don't use my Krause for that.  Like you said, it's an attribution tool.  It's very good for that, but not for pricing.  Much like the Red Book for U.S. coins, I'd say.

[Oldhoopster]

Redbooks are collectable, but like coins, condition and rarity are everything.  20 years ago, I had about about 25 diff editions The older ones were cheap book store, thrift store, and coin club buys, while purchased the 80s and 90s new.  They were taking up to much shelf space so I sold most on eBay. Did ok, but that was a while ago.  I still kept a few, including my Uncle's 1965 edition that gave me when I started as a young kid in the early 70s and the 1974 edition I got as a Christmas present and read cover to cover countless times. 

If you enjoy reading and collecting the old editions, there's nothing wrong with buying them on the cheap. I'm still tempted when I see one at the local library book sale

[JKK]

On 11/30/2021 at 10:04 AM, Mohawk said:

I didn't know that the Krause company declared Chapter something!! That really sucks....the Krause Guides are really interesting books.  If I ever get one with the CDs, I'm going to follow your methods to the letter.....CDs do eventually degrade.  And you're absolutely right about the pricing.  I don't use my Krause for that.  Like you said, it's an attribution tool.  It's very good for that, but not for pricing.  Much like the Red Book for U.S. coins, I'd say.

The brands were bought, not sure whether now owned by Penguin Randomness or some outfit in Iowa, nor whether they will actually publish new versions. There was a 2020 release of the 1901-2000 book, which is heartening enough.

[bsshog40]

I collected these a while back. Still have them. I think my oldest is 50's something. Was gonna try to get all the years but the first couple editions are pretty rare. I think I have about 30 of them from the 90's back. 

[Hinkle]

On 11/30/2021 at 1:05 PM, Oldhoopster said:

Redbooks are collectable, but like coins, condition and rarity are everything.  20 years ago, I had about about 25 diff editions The older ones were cheap book store, thrift store, and coin club buys, while purchased the 80s and 90s new.  They were taking up to much shelf space so I sold most on eBay. Did ok, but that was a while ago.  I still kept a few, including my Uncle's 1965 edition that gave me when I started as a young kid in the early 70s and the 1974 edition I got as a Christmas present and read cover to cover countless times. 

If you enjoy reading and collecting the old editions, there's nothing wrong with buying them on the cheap. I'm still tempted when I see one at the local library book sale

I love to read to learning more. It's funny when I go into thrift stores or antique shops looking for coins and stamp books , because I have the whole section to myself. Nobody is really into the books in those places.  Yeah my niece got us into stamps a little bit so we're slowly getting into that hobby also. Started a profile on the stampboards just to get a little feel of it, but I'm making a fool out of ourselves. Lol

Family keeps asking what I want for Christmas. I'm just going to say the 2022 red book and a couple of US stamp books. I'll see how that goes. But we don't want to get overwhelmed on books in the hobby. Even though,  the more the better. Thanks Joe 

[James Zyskowski]

Joe. Me and my associates do a little stamp collecting. Heck we collect token,medals , plateblocks, whole sheets ( for face value 👍🏼) currency, guitars and a 69 VW Camper Van !Collecting ,was earlier this week ,correctly called very addicting. Welcome ,we understand 😉

[Fenntucky Mike]

The Standard Catalogs are exceptionally good at "poofing" a variety, that being said they are great references. Especially for new collectors. I have my doubts as to whether or not new editions will be published, but I will say that the Numismaster website, which seems to be where the catalogs landed in there latest form, is pretty poor.  I hate how several references have shifted to monthly or yearly online subscriptions, and I have a feeling that is what might happen to the Krause Catalogs. Interestingly enough Pick #'s are still being assigned to newly issued banknotes and I would assume that the KM #'s are being kept up to date as well. 

Red books are similar to the Krause Catalogs in that one years' RB would have more or better information about a series than another years. It's my understanding that the 2020 Mega Red is better than normal in regards to U.S. dollars.

Plenty of postage stamp currencies out there to collect, especially towards the end of WWI.

[James Zyskowski]

Mike. I had no idea how different the Mega-Reds are compared to the little guys. Huge amount of information.  

[Oldhoopster]

You can never have too many books

Not sure if I've posted this here before, but here is my library.

US shelf - A couple Redbooks on the left middle shelf. Got rid of the others because there was no room for them. Bottom shelf has what I consider important auction catalogs.  Left about 2x that number at a coin club before a move

 

Ancient, medieval, and world bookshelf

[Mohawk]

On 11/30/2021 at 9:24 AM, Hinkle said:

Hi everyone,  just came across this 34th edition red book at a thrift store for 2 bucks. Are these good to keep , I'm just curious because by reading through this book and comparing a few things to the newer red books, this 34th edition has better details and a little more information on coins than your newer red books. I know these are collectable and all out fails we can fall back on these for better information on coins.

My question, is it a good thing to have these around. Does people still use these for better education. Or do we just stick with and go by the newer red books. 

What's interesting is I was more excited about this red book than I was buying a coin, couldn't wait to get it home and read it. That might sound a little funny,  but it's true. Thanks, Joe 

That's a cool find, Joe! I think that older Red Books are valuable books and some of them are collectibles in their own right.  It's pretty cool that you can get an idea now of what U.S. coins were valued at 40 years ago and for the cost of $2.  Great knowledge and education to be gained from that buy......well done 

[Hinkle]

On 11/30/2021 at 4:43 PM, Oldhoopster said:

You can never have too many books

Not sure if I've posted this here before, but here is my library.

US shelf - A couple Redbooks on the left middle shelf. Got rid of the others because there was no room for them. Bottom shelf has what I consider important auction catalogs.  Left about 2x that number at a coin club before a move

 

Ancient, medieval, and world bookshelf

Thanks for sharing that hoopster. A couple of book cases with 3 or4 shelves would be anough for me. Not to many and not to cluttered. 

[Hinkle]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:22 PM, Mohawk said:

That's a cool find, Joe! I think that older Red Books are valuable books and some of them are collectibles in their own right.  It's pretty cool that you can get an idea now of what U.S. coins were valued at 40 years ago and for the cost of $2.  Great knowledge and education to be gained from that buy......well done 

Thanks Tom, I'll be on the hunt for those more often. There fun to find for sure. 

[Conder101]

On 11/30/2021 at 12:02 PM, JKK said:

See, over the years, Krause has thrown a fair number of varieties out of each book. So for example, you might be looking up late Imperial 7 mace and 2 candareen coins, and be presented with five photo examples, none of which are quite your coin (because it has, let's say, seven spikes on the dragon's tail rather than six, or whatever), then ultimately learn that your variety was one of those chucked out a decade or two ago. If you had the older books, you'd have a shot at a solid positive ID.

That's why I have held onto my complete set of Krause Standard Catalogs.  And even if they kept the varieties they have removed a LOT of the images as well. They do take up a LOT of space though.

 

On 11/30/2021 at 12:55 PM, JKK said:

And I'm not sure if there are going to be any more, given that their parent company declared Chapter Something.

I think it is probably gone.  There was no 2020 or 2021 editions.

 

On 11/30/2021 at 3:46 PM, JKK said:

There was a 2020 release of the 1901-2000 book

There was?  I must have missed that one.

 

On 11/30/2021 at 4:19 PM, Hinkle said:

But we don't want to get overwhelmed on books in the hobby.

You can never have enough good books.

[JKK]

On 12/1/2021 at 12:43 AM, Conder101 said:

There was?  I must have missed that one.

It has a 2019 release date but is labeled 2020, so whether it is 2020 might be a matter of interpretation, on further review.

[Keith Dee]

When I bought the latest 79th edition it came with a Blue Book. Do all the previous editions come with a second book for dealer pricing? When collecting is it better to have the pair or is the Red Book the only one that matters. After seeing the dealer pricing I think it would be best to sell any coin worth big money at auction lol. 

[James Zyskowski]

Dealer price is nice but in today’s world we require updates regularly. So nice read but not too relevant. JZ

[RWB]

On 11/30/2021 at 3:46 PM, JKK said:

The brands were bought, not sure whether now owned by Penguin Randomness or some outfit in Iowa, nor whether they will actually publish new versions. There was a 2020 release of the 1901-2000 book, which is heartening enough.

Yeah....Whitman called it a "Tribute Edition," I think...or was that the first edition....? (I lose track of these imitations...)

[Hoghead515]

On 11/30/2021 at 10:52 AM, James Zyskowski said:

Here’s 7 of my last 10 purchases. The other 3 were coins. At my age I have become accustomed to using pictures from books for comparison. Living in extreme snow conditions, power outages are real and books are a comfort 😉

If you like to do alot of reading I recommend @RWBbook , "From Mine to Mint."  It will give you a whole new kind of respect for the hobby. Makes you feel like your right there with the ol boys while they are striking coins. Be great reading material when you are snowed in. You can find it on Ebay at, " Wizard Coin Supply." 

[Mohawk]

On 12/5/2021 at 9:36 AM, Hoghead515 said:

If you like to do alot of reading I recommend @RWBbook , "From Mine to Mint."  It will give you a whole new kind of respect for the hobby. Makes you feel like your right there with the ol boys while they are striking coins. Be great reading material when you are snowed in. You can find it on Ebay at, " Wizard Coin Supply." 

I'll have to check out "From Mine to Mint" myself.  I read Roger's Peace Dollar book and I found it absolutely fascinating.  I think I'll pick it up......snowed in is a reality for at least a few days in my corner of New York almost every winter.

[RWB]

"FMTM" is also a book you can skip around in, and read in any order your like. The accompanying free CD lets you search by any word or phrase. Original sources are noted so readers know where material comes from.

[GeorgeDarling]

On 11/30/2021 at 8:04 PM, Mohawk said:

I didn't know that the Krause company declared Chapter something!! That really sucks....the Krause Guides are really interesting books.  If I ever get one with the CDs, I'm going to follow your methods to the letter.....CDs do eventually degrade.
  And you're absolutely right about the pricing. 
I don't use my Krause for that. 
Like you said, it's an attribution tool.
 
It's very good for that, but not for pricing. Much like the Red Book for U.S. coins, I'd say.

Krause Guides are really interesting books.This book used to be freely available, but now on the same page is an article about the Founding Fathers on a resource https://freebooksummary.com/category/founding-brothers with free summary samples for students. It would be great to find it in digitized or paper form. I'm thinking of continuing my search on ebay or on other similar resources. Perhaps be able to clarify the circulation and the main territory of sale, it makes sense to look at the sites for sale in other countries and make delivery.

I didn't know either(

Edited April 27, 2022 by GeorgeDarling

[James Zyskowski]

Howdy. Old thread🤨 I see. Yes, books before coins. 
  There are those who say when your library is larger than your collection of coins, your becoming a numismatist.  
   All you can get and then there’s these that are from the 20’s & 30’s. Enjoy 😉🙀🦫

  Also a quick shot of my daily reference 🧐