NEW BOOK: A GUIDE BOOK OF U.S. COINS, 67TH EDITION

With the addition of 45 new photographs this year, the Guide Book of United States Coins (known to hobbyists as the “Red Book”) has a record-breaking 2,019 full-color images to help collectors identify and value their coins. The 67th edition, with a 2014 cover date, will debut in a special show-only offering March 14–17, 2013, at the Whitman Baltimore Coin & Collectibles Expo. In the meantime it can be preordered online (including at Whitman.com) and will be in bookstores and hobby shops nationwide on April 16.

The 2014 edition prices 7,560 entries in up to 9 grades each, with more than 32,500 valuations in total. Extra pages have been added to the bullion and commemorative-coin sections, and all of the U.S. Mint’s circulating coins have been updated with new data. The 2014 Red Book includes 108 new coin issues, and 9 additional die varieties have been listed in older coin series. A new appendix tells the story of the 1794 silver dollar that broke all auction records when it sold in January 2013 for $10 million—an optimistic sign for the future of the hobby, according to the Red Book’s editors.

Another new appendix promotes membership in the American Numismatic Association as a valuable resource for coin collectors. It lists ANA member clubs by state, with contact information.

As in past years, collectors will benefit from recent auction records provided for significant rare coins. “Peppered throughout the chart listings are 169 notable auction results,” said Valuations Editor Jeff Garrett. “These, combined with the listed retail prices, help advanced collectors understand today’s market for high-end rarities.”

In addition, the appendix of the “Top 250 U.S. Coin Prices Realized at Auction” has been fully updated. Since the last edition, seven more coins have broken the $1 million mark, for a new total of 52.

“This year I find it interesting to note that parts of the market have moved in different directions,” said Red Book Senior Editor Kenneth Bressett. “Scarcer coins, especially those in high grade, are very much in demand while many typical collector pieces are in the doldrums, perhaps offering strategic buying opportunities. Certain perennial favorites continue to be popular and show price increases, while those items that are by necessity tied to bullion tend to be unpredictable at any level.”

Research Editor Q. David Bowers, commenting on the Red Book’s continuing popularity (more than 23 million copies have been sold since 1946), reminisced, “In 1952, at the age of 13, I received some Whitman penny boards as a gift. My first purchase after that was a Red Book, and ever since then I’ve kept a current copy close by. The Red Book improves with age, and the 2014 edition is the best of all.”

Mintage figures for all circulating coins and commemoratives have been updated as currently as possible with official data from the U.S. Mint.

Appendix B, “Collectible Red and Blue Books,” has also been expanded with more grades and information. A first-edition (1947) Red Book is worth $1,700 or more in New condition. Other numismatic updates in the 2014 Red Book include new text and images for the New Spain (Texas) jola tokens, and a new section on 1964 Special Strike coins. The book features expanded coverage of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial cents, modern Jefferson nickels, and M.E. Hart’s “Coins of the Golden West” tokens. New and ongoing research in numismatics led to many updates. Several long-standing mintages were modified, and a dozen existing listings were revised for greater accuracy.

In what Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker describes as a good measure of the health of the hobby, the listings in the Red Book’s numismatic bibliography include 25 standard references published within the past five years.

About the Guide Book of United States Coins

A Guide Book of United States Coins is the world’s most popular annual retail price guide for U.S. coins, tokens, and other numismatic items. More than 23 million copies have been purchased since 1946, making it one of the best-selling nonfiction titles in the history of U.S. publishing. For the 67th edition, more than 140 professional coin dealers, scholars, and other numismatic experts contributed their knowledge under the direction of Senior Editor Kenneth Bressett, Valuations Editor Jeff Garrett, and Research Editor Q. David Bowers.

The 67th edition of the Red Book will be available in April 2013, online and at bookstores and hobby shops nationwide. A limited number of advance copies will be available for purchase at the Whitman Baltimore Expo, March 14–17. In addition to offering a Large Print Edition and several formats of the regular edition (hardcover; spiralbound softcover; and spiralbound hardcover), Whitman Publishing is also taking pre-orders for the leather-bound Limited Edition (1,000 copies autographed by Bressett). For more information and to order, the Whitman web site is www.Whitman.com. The publisher is offering free shipping on every order placed online that includes a 67th-edition Red Book, through April 16.

448 pages
Full color By R.S. Yeoman; senior editor Kenneth Bressett; research editor Q. David Bowers; valuations editor Jeff Garrett
$14.95 spiralbound
$16.95 hardcover
$19.95 spiralbound hardcover
$29.95 Large Print Edition
$69.95 leather-bound Limited Edition (1,000 copies)

Wayne Homren, Editor

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web