Anyone get the new Smallforrest SCD book 2010

Bear

What do you think of this latest edition of the updated book.

keets

i bought a copy of the first edition in 2006 and was duly un-impressed so i see no reason to buy another. my experience with buying/selling these medals is that most every price guide is useless. that includes the supplement put out with the revised edition of the book So-Called Dollars. i know that the authors claim they were forced to include some type of "Price Guide" with the book but what we ended up with was vague and pretty much useless(like the Small Forest supplement). realistically there is only one method of determining value on these medals and it doesn't appeal to most collectors; you just need to spend time tracking the sales based on rarity, grade, venue and relative availability of the different issues.

a few things i've learned, in no particular order:
-----some issues are rare but appear frequently.
-----some issues are scarce but are hardly ever offered for sale.
-----some issues are almost always seen in gem grades.
-----some issues are almost never seen in gem grades.
-----some issues can be found from VF to MS65.
-----the URS scale is helpful but many issues still aren't properly reported.

pricing is difficult for the above reasons in addition to the fact that buyers sometimes are willing to pay way, way too high out of both ignorance and greed. my suggestion to a newcomer and to a wise old Bera is simple-----pay attention to sales wherever you can find them, buy only those medals which really interest you and pass on anything with even a trivial problem. my experience has been that almost every issue has choice or attractive, problem free examples available. don't concern yourself with vague price guides, they are often issued by the individuals who hope to benefit from the information they contain. if you watch various sales venues you should be able to determine who the most important and knowledgeable buyers/sellers are. those people will be your best teachers.

Dentuck

Great post, keets!

shorecoll

Ibid, and it applies to more than SCDs.