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The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 53, December 31, 2006, Article 6 BOOK REVIEW: "TRIBUTE EDITION" REPRINT OF FIRST REDBOOK The 1947 first edition of R.S. Yeoman's Guide Book of United States Coins has been reprinted by Whitman Publishing. We've discussed it quite a bit in earlier E-Sylum issues (see links below). I was pleased to receive a copy from my wife for Christmas this week. As described for us by publisher Dennis Tucker, the book's dust jacket is an image of a lightly (but obviously) used copy of an original 1947 edition. A "1st edition commemorative reissue RED BOOK!" label cleverly covers the 1947 date on the spine of the dust jacket, but the book cover itself is indeed a fairly faithful 100% reproduction of the original. There are subtle differences that a trained die-variety collector would pick up on as key diagnostics to differentiate the reissue from the original. On my copy, one telltale sign are several filled letters in the gilt printing of author R. S. Yeoman's name. The main difference, of course, is the 32-page full-color section of new material at the back of the book. Six of those pages are ads, another feature not found in the original. The 1947 edition listed valuations for about 3,400 different coins, tokens, sets and other items. The 2007 edition covers more than 6,000 items. The introduction section reviews the history of the book, and notes that mintage figures were originally in a section at the end, rather than beside each individual listing. There are pros and cons to this arrangement. Concise, tabular mintage tables can be more convenient depending on the question the reader is trying to answer. Perhaps these could be reinstituted as a special feature of the deluxe version of future editions. The remaining sections are organized as the Red Book is - Pre-Federal coins and tokens, Copper and Nickel coins, Silver, Gold and others. Each section discusses the differences between 1947 and today: in the book itself, in the hobby, and in valuations. Tables at the front of each section list the total number of pieces cataloged in the 1947 and 2007 editions, and show price differences for selected coins. For example, a Fine 1722 Rosa Americana halfpenny listed for $5.00 in 1947 but is $2,500 today. The final section, 'The Red Book: Yesterday and Today' walks the reader through the changes in the hobby decade by decade up to the issuance of the 2006 Benjamin Franklin silver dollars. One other nice feature I'd like to mention are the drawings by Chuck Daughtrey of editors R.S. Yeoman and Ken Bressett on the back dust jacket flap. All in all, a nice addition for the libraries of bibliophiles and ordinary collectors alike. I've actually bought and sold several copies of the 1st edition Red Book over the years, but didn't save a copy for myself. I do have two nice high-condition examples of the 3rd and 5th editions that I just couldn't part with - these are not as valuable as the 1st edition, but more rare. There can only ever be one "first", and the new Tribute Edition is a fine way to honor the inaugural 1947 edition of Dick Yeo's gift to numismatics. "TRIBUTE EDITION" REPRINT OF FIRST REDBOOK PUBLISHED esylum_v09n45a04.html THOUGHTS ON THE FIRST EDITION RED BOOK esylum_v09n46a05.html MORE ON THE FIRST EDITION RED BOOK REPRINT esylum_v09n47a07.html Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum | |
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