2006 Redbook............................

INXS

.....other than the descriptions and mintages I find this book totally useless. The prices that are quoted for moderns are so far out that its not even funny. What do these prices that are quoted represent?

relayer

I don't pay any attention to prices in the Redbook. At best it's a best guess of retail prices that are out of date anyway.

And besides, as the dealers here will tell you, prices flucuate many times a day a shows which is why they can't put prices on their coins.

Cladiator

I use it for pictures and that's about it.

cladking

<< <i>.....other than the descriptions and mintages I find this book totally useless. The prices that are quoted for moderns are so far out that its not even funny. What do these prices that are quoted represent? >>



Only a couple years ago they listed most modern prices based on face value so at
least they're headed the right direction. It is laughable that they list some prices as
retail that are far below wholesale for coins that are several grades lower.

Even here though, they aren't all listed too low. There are some which are much too high.

nencoin

Although we rarely mention Red Book prices (with the exception of Colonials), the prices can still be useful...particularly to the beginner collector. I often tell folks new to collecting to use the prices to help determine relative value between the different coins of a series. If someone just inherited a bunch of Morgans from grandpa, they can use the pricing in the Red Book to at least determine which are better dates in circulated condition and warrant further research.

oreville

Red Book useless?

No way! It is excellent for historical pricing reference to analyze possible future prices based on historical precedent.

Take a look at my analysis of valuing Washington quarters based on utilizing the Redbooks all the way through the 2005 Red Book.
This would not be possible without a consistent price reference going back to 1947.

Thread analyzing prices of 1932-1940 Washington quarters

It is only to be used to comparing prices within a series understanding that they may not be exact; instead they are approximate.

Steve

It is a shame that we blame the Red Book for publishing out of date or false prices. Why don't we just look into our own minds and realize that ANY price quoted for ANY US coin is just an approximation of value. Each of us values coins differently based on our PERCEPTION of the coin's grade and condition.

The Red Book is a great tool to have for historical information about all our coins and its history.
Steve

carl

As already mentioned, the Red Book is not a daily, weekly or even monthly publication. How would anyone expect the prices of any object in just about any yearly publication to be kept current? Many items in many catalogs change drastically if something happens to the market for that item. Examples are the camera market. Look at a B&H catalog for a 35mm camera and check the price today at a store. The digital market has almosta distroyed the value of 35mm cameras. The Red book in the old days was just about the only pulication you could buy with suggested prices because the market didn't change that much yearly. Today the coin market appears to change almost daily due to the internet, coin shows, coin magazines and newsletters. The famous Red Book is still a great guide for educational perpuses for the young as well as the old like me. One thing for fun is to look carefully though this issue for all the errors and it's full of them. Example: page 114 & 116 heading for Lincoln proofs or page 170 you may notice that there are NO D mint coins made in 1976 yet we all have then in our collections.