ANA grading book - worth the dough?

[pendragon1998]

I was thinking about picking up a copy of the ANA grading book over at Barnes and Noble, but thought I'd go online first and see if there was a review or something. I read this thread at CoinCommunity.com and they seem critical of the book. Is the book worth me spending my money?

[Bruceswar]

ANA Grading guide is a great book, for everybody. Nobody can be 100% right on every series. As far as the mint state part of the grading goes, I don't find it that helpfull at all to me, but it has alot of good material in it... I would buy it again.... I own the book

[astrostu]

Same here. I have the 5th ed. and I use it all the time. But I agree that above AU-50 and it's pretty arbitrary.

[Regis44]

I have it BUT, I bought a couple other "all coin" books first and the ANA is the best. The only way I see getting better is to get a book dedicated to a particular issue and then you get much more detail on that particular coin. I have one Morgan and one WLH books that go into much more detail on specific grading for those coins.

I think the ANA book is excellent.

Regis

[James_OldeTowne]

I bought this book years ago, and wouldn't even consider not owning it. It isn't helpful at all for UNC grades, but for anything below MS-60, it is invaluable in my opinion. I consider it one of my five most important books.

 

James

[michael]

yes YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

photos great

 

but with regards to mid range circ. indian head cents and buff nicks they are way off on the high side

 

just buy an older ana grading guide or brown and dunn and go by them for mid range circ indians and buffs

 

i am sure there are some other overgraded grading standards in this new book but they are for the most part right on

 

and the extra information the new grading book gives you at the end of each coin grading type is invaluble also the long forward is great coin informationm along with the middle color photos

 

BUT IT it will increase your knowledge and grading skills many tens of hundreds of times for the price of the book

 

it would be a law that each coin collector would need to buy this book if i was the prez.

[TomB]

I think a better question, instead of "worth the dough?" is "what is my risk if I don't use it?". This is a terrific book, but as others have mentioned the MS grades are a bit tough to discern. Spend the bucks!

[pendragon1998]

Perhaps I should outline my individual collecting goals, then y'all can tell me if the book will suit my needs or if another would do a better job.

 

My primary goal is to complete a set of Susan B. Anthony dollars in MS/PF. Beyond that, I am beginning a set of Liberty Head nickels in AU condition. That one should take me some time, as I'm on a very limited budget. Possibly, I'll be working on an Eisenhower dollar set in MS/PF, but that will be a tertiary goal. Finally, completely on the side, I'm working on a 19th and 20th century type set - but that will really only be me picking up the occasional coin I just *love*, rather than a focused effort for now.

 

So, with those goals in mind, is this book a "should-purchase", a "read-through-a-section-in-the-bookstore", or a "you-don't-really-need-it-right-now"?

[gmarguli]

The book should cost under $15 including shipping. That's a small investment that if it helps you avoid ONE SINGLE MISTAKE, it pays for itself easily.

 

I'd buy the book if I were you. The mint state grading in it is useless, but it's solid for the circulated grades.

[Jazzy]

It's a book you should have as a serious collector, but it has its drawbacks as others have noted.

 

MS grading is useless.

 

The only reason I use the book is that it DOES give accurate information as to where rub first appears on a particular issue. This is important information when you're trying to discern between an AU and Unc. coin.

[ahs45-migration]

I own the book and basically agree with the previous comments.

It stands to reason that a standard limited to a single series would

contain more detailed information.

That fact doesn't mean that the ANA Guide isn't a valuable addition

to one's library.