Washington quarters... buy the book before you buy the coin?

[scyther]

I'm finally going to put together a set of silver Washington quarters. Traditionally the advice has been "buy the book before you buy the coin". Is this still true in the internet age? If so, what book should I buy? If not, where online should I look for good information? I want to avoid counterfeits, which I know there are a lot of, especially from China. If anyone has any advice for detecting fakes, or just for collecting these in general, please post it here.

[pcm2007]

Youtube user "coinweek" sometimes publishes videos on detecting counterfeits of different American coins. Search among their videos. You might find something useful.
Good luck.
Pedro

[thepmetalstacker]

The fakes I've seen on the washingtons have not been very good at all. The reverse on all of them is a dead giveaway.