CAN YOU RECOMMEND SOME COIN PUBLICATIONS

APA1709

Hi all,

Would anyone care to recommend some coin pulications they'd recommend with the goals of:

1. Increasing general coin knowledge
2. Pricing guides for knowing the value of a rare coin I would consider buying.
3. Information about coin errors, varieties.
4. Learning how to grade coins, i.e., learning how to grade a coin I might consider submitting for grading.

There seem to be so many publications out there.....just wondering if someone could steer me towards the better publications.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.....Arthur

coppercoins

I subscribe to 8 different coin periodicals. There are two that I would recommend for your purposes. CoinAge is a nice magazine to read decently laid out stories about different series of coins, the basics concerning the history of coins, and to get a nice idea of what's out there to collect, but it doesn't typically include grading help nor pricing information. For that information plus other information relating to the coin market as a business and show calendar/classified ad information I would recommend Numismatic News, a weekly "newspaper" style magazine that contains a useful "insert" price guide on a regular basis.

Geoman

I used to receive several, but I am down to one now. It is Numismatic News. Well worth it in my opinion.

coppercoins

You might find this somewhat useful...I subscribe to the following, and have the following to say about each:

Numismatic News - A nice magazine overall - it tends to accentuate the business end of the coin market, which is fine. Nothing wrong with reading about the market that essentially drives the hobby. I like their low number of advertisements compared to Coin World, and I like the free classified ads for subscribers.

Coin World - Still yet a nice magazine, but not as nice as Numismatic News - I subscribe to this one more out of habit than anything else - I have been a subscriber to this publication since 1987. What I have seen over the years with this periodical bugs me - many fewer stories of any content, and a LOT more ads. Yes, there are over 100 pages in each issue, but only 30-40 pages worth of useful information. The rest is all ads.

CoinAge - A nice generalist magazine that once in a while suprises me with some really good information about copper. Of course the other info is good too, but in general they keep their information on the more basic level for the novice to imtermediate collector - Less geared for the seasoned collector.

Coins - Another nice magazine, and very much like CoinAge in most respects. They have some good stories that suprise me once in a while.

Coin Prices - Just a price guide, and it comes out quarterly - but it seems to be pretty "on the level" with retail pricing. I have found that "real" retail pricing is a lot like reading tea leaves - really hard to figure out exactly where the dealers get their prices for stuff. I find that an average between Coin Prices, Coin World Trends, and Numismatic News' price guide is a pretty good "average" retail value.

ErrorScope - The flagship magazine of CONECA, a good error/variety magazine for those who are into that sort of thing. It has no color and is a bit lacking in information at times, but they try. It comes as a part of membership to the club.

Error World - A nice magazine still in its infancy of publication. still a few rocks to clear on the path to smooth sailing, but overall a higher quality magazine than the competition. One of these days I am sure it will be recognized as the leading magazine in the error/variety industry.

The Hub - Overall a better magazine for die variety collectors than ErrorScope, but still lacking in color and, at times, content.

That's it...should be enough there to chew on for a while.