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So I was at an auction this last weekend, and there were about 100 coins that got auctioned there. Mostly Indian Cents, Buffalo Nickels, and random low end Numismatic coins. Almost every time a decent coin came up I would find myself dueling with a gentleman in his 70's. Afterwords I spoke with him for about a half hour and he was a fellow collector. I also must say I am 30 years old as it's pertinant to the story... He knew his prices pretty well, and he insisted that I get a Redbook. I told him that I always have my iPhone and iPad on me at ALL auctions just in case there is something I need to look up and that is where I do my research. I also have many different websites like greysheet and such that I refer to and try to find a concensus on an items price. I also check eBay for what things are actually selling for. This seemed to irritate him as he still was very rigid in the fact that i NEEDED a Redbook and all those other things were wrong and inaccurate....

Now here is the advice I need from fellow members as there is an eclectic mix of seasoned collectors and newbies and all in between. Am I just naive to think I don't need a Redbook....isn't all the info that is in Redbook pretty much online? Do I just have my techno blinders on??? Please any and all advice is Welcomed!!!


-The Great

The Red book is more than a price book. Nice history on coins. Also all kind of photos . You can some times get a free copy from http://whitman.com when you buy a coin album.

Price guides are just that... GUIDES. That guy you spoke to is taking it as the "end all, be all" of coin prices and information. Don't think that anything other than that is better information, however... everything is just a guide. I have paid well above any guide price for coins in the past, as well as below any guide price. It really just comes down to the old adage, "Buy what you like when you see it, and when it seems affordable to you" A coin that I once paid $200 over guide price is now worth $500 over what I paid for it (on the auction level). I have also paid guide prices on coins and could not find any other buyers at or slightly above that price... I lost money on the deal.

Don't dive into coins. Buy the book, and then the coin.

Give the forum that guy's contact info!

If he thinks the Redbook has good prices he is paying FULL RETAIL and then some!

He would be a great guy to sell to

My personal opinion is the Redbook is great for beginers for infomation but it most often leads them to overpay for common low value coins. The are far greater resources online to gauge approximate values for lower valued coins. Mike offers some good advice if your "Collecting" buy what you want and can afford. If your investing or flipping, you will need to be able to gauge a far more accurate market value than the redbook's retail prices. It's tough and Market Harmony speaks with a great deal of experience and knowledge and offers sound advice. Higher end coins will sting you if you dive in head first, that's where I believe MH advice would be most applicable...

ScottyTX wrote:My personal opinion is the Redbook is great for beginers for infomation but it most often leads them to overpay for common low value coins. The are far greater resources online to gauge approximate values for lower valued coins. Mike offers some good advice if your "Collecting" buy what you want and can afford. If your investing or flipping, you will need to be able to gauge a far more accurate market value than the redbook's retail prices. It's tough and Market Harmony speaks with a great deal of experience and knowledge and offers sound advice. Higher end coins will sting you if you dive in head first, that's where I believe MH advice would be most applicable...

Thanks for all your replies. I do some "collecting" but mostly buy to resell/flip. Most coins I deal with are Indian Head Cents, Silver coins, pretty much any 19th century coin save for the Morgans as they just go for stupid prices ($50+) for even commons. I usually always base my research on Good to Very Good gradings as to not loose any money. I am very cautious with my purchases. So I do loose alot of auctions mostly because I am afraid to bid too high.

I also keep track of what things actually go for at auction as well as places like eBay. I also told that to the gentleman who was goading me into the Redbook, but he said you can't go by what people pay online and at auctions as thats not the real value. Just for 95% of coins, I can't pay retail price or otherwise I wouldn't ever make a dime on them. I was just starting to question whether I was being unreasonable or he just was being a stubborn old man not accepting technology....hence why I asked RC

-The Great

My mom always told me " Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay"

The Red Book had a lot of information other than just prices. You can learn which coins are key dates or generally have higher premiums. I would not use it to determine the worth of any coin. Using up to date real time, real sell price guides will help if you are looking for a quick flip. Using the internet via smart phone or tablet gives you an idea of what a coin is really worth (actual selling price)