As a teen and newly minted numismatist, I needed info about my chosen hobby. My small town bookshop didn't stock Red Books so I bought the next best thing - the Black Book - the first one I acquired (above) is still on my shelf. It was a wealth of coin stats and history and doubled as a checklist, plus it had a small register in the back where I could record my purchases. Looking back now, the earliest entry was Dec 19, 1980 when I bought a G4 1934P Lincoln for 62¢. Hm, rather overpriced in retrospect.
I eventually moved up to the Red Book in 1985 but it's cool to look back at the early days.