First organized effort to track coin prices?

dan1ecu

Does anyone know when and by whom the first list of coin prices was compiled? For that matter, when did coin collecting become popular enough that one was needed?

Dan

Flash

I'm sending this back up to the top because I think its a good question. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer. All I can tell you is that the Redbook was first published in 1947. I know there were regular lists of values before that, but I don't know who put them out. Hopefully somebody else can answer.

dorkkarl

i'd guess the old B Max Mehl catalogs were an early version of price lists. i have some of them from the 1920's, and they list the prices he'd actually pay for certain coins. it's funny to see the catalogs listing bust coins at face value.

K S

MICHAELDIXON

Send your question to: answerman@aol.com

Clankeye

I believe Shiro traced it back to the 15th century and The Earl of Trends.

Conder101

In the US auction results date back to at least the mid 19th century. The Star Rare coin book by Mehl dates back to the 20's but that was his buying prices that he was offering to the unknowledgeable. As far as a book or list of retail prices by date and mint it would probably be he Standard Cataloge of United States Coins by Wayte Raymond. It dates back to the early 30's (I don't know the first year of issue, and was the equivilent to todays Redbook. It also predates the Whitman Bluebook which came out before the Redbook.


Addendum: Before the early 20's collecting by date and mint was not popular and most people only collected by date so a complete listing before that time was probably not needed. In fact until 1893 there wasn't even a readily available list of even what dates and mintmarks were produced.