Big Boys Hobbies

Coin Books for ID and Value?

Proflemoi

Proflemoi

Full Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2009
Messages
227
Location
Gales Ferry, CT
Hello All,

I am looking for some recommendations for a coin guide to help ID finds. I love coin shooting and would love to have some type of reference manual for the coins I find... both domestic and foreign.

For example, I once found an English Half Penny... I have no idea what it is worth.

My son found a walking liberty ... same story.. no guide to give us a sense as to value. I know there are likely resources online...

Any inout would be much appreciated :)
 
Proflemoi said:
Hello All,

I am looking for some recommendations for a coin guide to help ID finds. I love coin shooting and would love to have some type of reference manual for the coins I find... both domestic and foreign.

For example, I once found an English Half Penny... I have no idea what it is worth.

My son found a walking liberty ... same story.. no guide to give us a sense as to value. I know there are likely resources online...

Any inout would be much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

This site is real good for ID on US and foreign coins , has pictures , mintage , materal made of , melt value if silver , https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?ct=coin
 
For American coinage, get the most recent copy of either the Red Book or Blue Book on Coins, available at any good coin dealer. Also spend a bit of time reading about coin grading and how high grade coins differ from those found when MDing....usually expressed as environmental damage. Dug coins, no matter how good looking, when graded never reach the value of coins from circulation, due to what is called environmental damage...microscopic scratches, corrosion, etc.
 
This is what I have been using outside of the internet.
2BBD48C7-6416-469B-B283-B55FCFAE8CC5.jpeg
 
For foreign coins, Krause has some books separated by the centuries. However, I've been cautioned that the latest editions weren't as accurate on the values.

Ancient coins, you would have to go by auction records, as the general books written by David Sear are not updated yearly like the Red Book.

For US coins, the Red Book is the way to go, but keep in mind that those values are RETAIL, and not what a dealer would pay you for them. The are *approximately* what the dealer would sell them for.

-- Tom
 
achaios said:
For foreign coins, Krause has some books separated by the centuries. However, I've been cautioned that the latest editions weren't as accurate on the values.

Ancient coins, you would have to go by auction records, as the general books written by David Sear are not updated yearly like the Red Book.

For US coins, the Red Book is the way to go, but keep in mind that those values are RETAIL, and not what a dealer would pay you for them. The are *approximately* what the dealer would sell them for.

-- Tom
Click to expand...
The problem with values is they are constantly changing up and down. Coins are worth their metal value and collection value. The real value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay. Remember beer can collections, those fancy baskets and how many other collections?
 
MuddyMo said:
The problem with values is they are constantly changing up and down. Coins are worth their metal value and collection value. The real value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay. Remember beer can collections, those fancy baskets and how many other collections?
Click to expand...

True... but for a quick ball park reference the Red Book is just what I was hoping to find.
 
Just to chime in as an old coin collector, long before I got my first metal detector, "The Red Book" has long been pretty much THE go-to guide among numismatists to U.S. coin values (see: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Guide_Book_of_United_States_Coins).

Sure, there are lots of more or less accurate websites out there nowadays, but if you spot even an elderly copy of A Guide Book of United States Coins in those thrift store bookshelves, it'll definitely be worth that 25¢ or so they're asking for it, if only for its interesting blurbs about the different types of coins, which will only enrich your appreciation of what you've scooped out of the dirt. They've printed about 30 million of the things, so you see 'em all the time.
 
Proflemoi said:
Hello All,

I am looking for some recommendations for a coin guide to help ID finds. I love coin shooting and would love to have some type of reference manual for the coins I find... both domestic and foreign.

For example, I once found an English Half Penny... I have no idea what it is worth.

My son found a walking liberty ... same story.. no guide to give us a sense as to value. I know there are likely resources online...

Any inout would be much appreciated :)
Click to expand...

For British coins, Spinks is pretty much the go to book here in the UK..the more recent versions are fairly expensive, but older editions should give you a ball park figure, and are also very helpful for IDing British coins..

If you would care to post details and pics of the half penny, I would be happy to take a look in my copy of Spinks
 
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