|
What's it Worth?
 | By Mike Thorne, Coins Magazine
March 06, 2008 |
The first question that almost all new coin collectors ask is, "What's it worth?" When I started collecting coins in the mid-1950s, the answer to the question was simple: A coin was worth whatever A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book) said it was worth. In fact, one coin dealer in the town in which I grew up both bought and sold by the Red Book. When buying, he paid half Red Book, but when selling, he charged full Red Book.
Rather than emulate this particular dealer, when I bought coins from my fellow high school students, I paid whatever the Handbook of United States Coins (the Blue Book) told me a coin was worth. Actually, I usually paid a little bit more than the Blue Book price, as that was often face value for the coins I was offered.
Of course, the new editions of these venerable Whitman publications are vastly more sophisticated than they were 60 years ago. And if I didn't have copies of Red Books from the early days to show me how much improvement has occurred, I could compare the 1947 Tribute Edition Red Book ("an exact recreation of the first Red Book") with the latest edition (the 2008, 61st edition).
I am immediately struck by the size difference between the two books. The first edition had 254 pages; the current edition more than 400. Color, of course, was nonexistent in the first edition (and many succeeding editions) but virtually ubiquitous in the current edition.
The number of grades for which coins were priced has grown dramatically over the years. For example, in the first edition, Mercury dimes were given values in just two grades: Fine and Unc. In the current edition, eight grades are listed and evaluated.
But the most striking difference is in the actual coin values. In the first edition, a 1916-D Mercury dime was worth $17.50 in Fine, $65 in Uncirculated. In the current edition, the two values are $2,600 and $18,000 (in Mint State-63), respectively. That's an increase in value over the 60 years between editions of an astounding 27,592 percent for the uncirculated coin!
In addition to containing a reproduction of all the pages in the first Red Book, the Tribute Edition has an additional 25-page section that compares the first Red Book with the 60th edition. In this section are numerous charts comparing values of different coins.
For example, in 1947 an uncirculated (MS-63) 1901 Morgan dollar was worth $3.25. In the 60th edition, the same coin was worth $16,500, for a percentage increase of 507,592. The 1895 proof (PF-63) Morgan dollar was worth $35 in the first edition and $47,500 in the 60th edition, for an increase of "just" 135,614 percent.
If you're a fan of statistics, you'll find it fascinating to know that the total value of all collectible silver coins in circulated condition was $11,255 in the first edition. In the 60th edition, the comparable statistic is $1,389,692, which is an increase of 33,163 percent.
The last several pages of this section of the Tribute Edition are devoted to an overview of numismatics from 1946, when the first Red Book appeared, to today. Subheadings in this section provide a feel for what was happening in the hobby in different decades. For example, there's "The Dynamic 1950s," which is when I entered the hobby.
Some of the signal events of this decade were the issuance of the 1950-D Jefferson nickel, with the lowest mintage of the entire series; the launching of Numismatic News, initially a monthly paper; and gold coins became popular with collectors.
In "The Pivotal 1970s," a great interest arose in the United States in the purchase of gold coins, particularly gold $20s. As a result, "millions of gold coins, mostly double eagles, but some $10 and $5 coins as well, were repatriated [from foreign banks]."
As the 1970s drew to a close, runaway speculation drove silver and gold prices to astronomical (and unsustainable) heights. Also in the 1970s, the American Numismatic Association adopted William Sheldon's 70-point grading system, creating the numerical grading scale we have today.
The new Red Book (61st edition) contains all the material that has made the series of Red Books so popular with collectors. In addition to grades and values for all U.S. coins, the new Red Book has sections on coin grading, an overview of the history of American coinage, a few pages on checking your coins for authenticity, a listing of famous hoards, a listing of the top 250 coin prices at auction, and even a chart showing the values of the Red Book as a collectible. The Tribute Edition, by the way, already shows a small increase over its issue price.
As a companion volume to the Red Book, Handbook of United States Coins, also known as the Blue Book, covers much of the same territory. The main distinction between the two, other than the fact that the coins pictured in the Blue Book are in black-and-white rather than in color, is that the values in the Blue Book are "the average amount dealers will pay for coins&if required for their stock. This book is not a retail price list." Prices in the Red Book are supposed to be retail values.
The problem I've always had with the Blue Book as a guide to the wholesale value of coins is that the prices it contains are typically lower than the actual wholesale values most reputable dealers will pay. Often these differences are dramatic.
For example, the 65th edition, 2008 Blue Book, informs me that the wholesale value of a Good-4 1901-S Barber quarter is $2,750. By contrast, my most recent edition of the Coin Dealer Newsletter, the buying guide used by most dealers at coin shows, gives a value for the same coin in G-4 of $4,350. Trust me, this is not an isolated incident.
Comparatively speaking, of course, the values in the current Blue Book are worthwhile for the novice collector. He or she would certainly be able to tell that the 1901-S quarter is a key date and is much more valuable than the 1901 or 1901-O or any other date in the series.
For the information they contain, both the latest Red Book and the latest Blue Book are well worth their cost. For anyone interested in the history of U.S. coin collecting since the time of the first Red Book, the Tribute Edition will be invaluable. All three books can be obtained either from the publisher (Whitman Publishing, www.whitmanbooks.com) or from online booksellers such as Amazon. The Red Book and Blue Book are often available wherever books are sold (e.g., Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble).
Add to: del.icio.us digg
With this article: Email to friend Print
Something to add? Notice an error? Comment on this article. | |