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Red Book: The Smell

smartin53smartin53 Posts: 16
in U.S. Coin Forum
So I know back when I was a kid getting into coin collecting one of the most vivid things I remember was the smell of a fairly new Red Book that I would rent from the library. I dunno if it is the same now since I haven't read one in years, but in 1992 they definitely had a distinct smell I will never forget. It is a very fond memory.

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    rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just checked mine.... nothing notable... ask Dentuck, maybe they stopped adding

    hot dog aroma.....image Just kidding.... but really, did not detect anything unusual.

    Cheers, RickO
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    goldengolden Posts: 10,496 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ?
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    StuartStuart Posts: 9,831 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just gave the Sniff Test to my 2014 Hardbound Red Book, and it had the typical paper and ink smell of a new book -- because I have not used it very much.

    Stuart

    Collect 18th & 19th Century US Type Coins, Silver Dollars, $20 Gold Double Eagles and World Crowns & Talers with High Eye Appeal

    "Luck is what happens when Preparation meets Opportunity"
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    oih82w8oih82w8 Posts: 13,119 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Maybe someone was eating a hotdog while looking through the Redbook and "juiced it", hence the smell/aroma? image



    Is this where the term "juice" comes from at auctions? I know...I am reaching for it. Just let me relish in the moment. image
    oih82w8 = Oh I Hate To Wait _defectus patientia_aka...Dr. Defecto - Curator of RMO's

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    lakeshorelakeshore Posts: 178 ✭✭
    I remember the smell too! Almost like leather furniture......
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    BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Before you do... Remember if it smells don't lick it image
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
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    BillJonesBillJones Posts: 35,864 ✭✭✭✭✭
    New books can have a certain smell. The biggest problem with the Red Books in the 1970s was that they often fell apart. I hesitate to open of the 1970's Red Books in my complete set for that very reason. So far, knock on wood, they are still intact.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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    LanceNewmanOCCLanceNewmanOCC Posts: 19,999 ✭✭✭✭✭
    .

    imo, the new ones are distinct from other books. can last for a long time if not used much.

    .

    <--- look what's behind the mask! - cool link 1/NO ~ 2/NNP ~ 3/NNC ~ 4/CF ~ 5/PG ~ 6/Cert ~ 7/NGC 7a/NGC pop~ 8/NGCF ~ 9/HA archives ~ 10/PM ~ 11/NM ~ 12/ANACS cert ~ 13/ANACS pop - report fakes 1/ACEF ~ report fakes/thefts 1/NCIS - Numi-Classes SS ~ Bass ~ Transcribed Docs NNP - clashed coins - error training - V V mm styles -

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    david3142david3142 Posts: 3,691 ✭✭✭✭✭
    OP, I know exactly what you mean! If I open my 1990 Redbook, it immediately takes me back to being a little kid, marveling at how expensive a 1909 SVDB or 1914-D were.
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    cmerlo1cmerlo1 Posts: 8,062 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The thing with the more recent, spiral-bound Red Books isn't the smell, it's the paper particles they shed everywhere when new.
    You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
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    COALPORTERCOALPORTER Posts: 2,900 ✭✭
    Originally posted by: cmerlo1
    The thing with the more recent, spiral-bound Red Books isn't the smell, it's the paper particles they shed everywhere when new.



    You mean "hanging chads" : the things that decide who's president ?
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    TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 45,092 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I used to smell silver dollars before I looked them up in the red book. Smelled like Red Snapper ™

    https://acoinshop.com/ —-> https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5

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    cmerlo1cmerlo1 Posts: 8,062 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: COALPORTER
    Originally posted by: cmerlo1
    The thing with the more recent, spiral-bound Red Books isn't the smell, it's the paper particles they shed everywhere when new.



    You mean "hanging chads" : the things that decide who's president ?


    Lol exactly.

    I can always tell when a show is giving away free red books because I'm always having to clean them off my table.
    You Suck! Awarded 6/2008- 1901-O Micro O Morgan, 8/2008- 1878 VAM-123 Morgan, 9/2022 1888-O VAM-1B3 H8 Morgan | Senior Regional Representative- ANACS Coin Grading. Posted opinions on coins are my own, and are not an official ANACS opinion.
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    BLUEJAYWAYBLUEJAYWAY Posts: 11,668 ✭✭✭✭✭
    They smell like money.
    Successful transactions:Tookybandit. "Everyone is equal, some are more equal than others".
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    johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 33,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: Broadstruck
    Before you do... Remember if it smells don't lick it image


    dont touch it either if its green. you dont want to bring any verdigree ( how ever ya spell it ) home to the rest of your coins. just saying
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    CoinZipCoinZip Posts: 3,253 ✭✭✭
    It's official..... coin folks are weird .. image

    Coin Club Benefit auctions ..... View the Lots

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    CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 34,014 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I am sure that they have used different kinds of ink over the years. Could have been the ink you smelled.
    Numismatist. 54 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Also won the PNG's Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
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    coindeucecoindeuce Posts: 13,515 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin used to sniff their rolling papers too. Kinda the same effect, I guess. image

    "Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
    http://www.american-legacy-coins.com

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    CoinosaurusCoinosaurus Posts: 9,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think we have a new collectable category here - flavored Red Books - collect 'em all image
    Newman Numismatic Portal, www.NewmanPortal.org
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    DeliaBugDeliaBug Posts: 881 ✭
    The Red Book has a distinction among books in that the Chinese counterfeited it. A $5 book. Yup.
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    ms70ms70 Posts: 13,958 ✭✭✭✭✭
    image
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    TwoSides2aCoinTwoSides2aCoin Posts: 45,092 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: CoinZip
    It's official….. coin folks are weird .. image

    imageimage

    I am sorry for my demeanor. (not really, but sort of )

    https://acoinshop.com/ —-> https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5

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    johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 33,133 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Originally posted by: CoinZip
    It's official..... coin folks are weird .. image


    ya got that right image

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