Dennis Tucker forwarded this press release on the new edition of MEGA RED, the pumped-up edition of the Red Book. Thanks!
-Editor
Odd U.S. Coins are Featured in
Whitman Publishing's New 8th Edition of MEGA RED
The eighth edition of MEGA RED (the Deluxe Edition of the Guide Book
of United States Coins) made its coin-show debut at the 2022 American Numismatic Association
World's Fair of Money. The 1,504-page MEGA RED can now be ordered online (including at
Whitman.com) and is available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide.
Every U.S. coinage series has been updated and revised in the eighth edition. The book includes
nearly 300 pages of expanded study of two-cent pieces, copper-nickel three-cent pieces, silver
trimes, half dimes, twenty-cent pieces, and $1, $3, and $4 gold coins.
More than a dozen appendices explore specialized subjects such as patterns, error and misstruck
coins, and counterstamped coins of the featured types. One 19-page appendix, based on the work
of James A. Haxby and Harvey B. Richer, studies Canadian half dimes (five-cent silver coins)
and twenty-cent pieces and their relation to United States coinage. William Bierly, author of In
God We Trust: The American Civil War, Money, Banking, and Religion, contributed an appendix
on pattern two-cent pieces.
Billed as the biggest, most useful Red Book ever, MEGA RED measures 7 x 10 inches and has
1,040 more pages than the regular edition. The larger size and increased page count combined
make MEGA RED five times bigger than the regular-edition Red Book. It prices more than 9,000
items in up to 13 grades each, with 50,000 individual values and more than 15,000 auction
records covering circulated, Mint State, and Proof coinage. The book is illustrated with
thousands of full-color images, including hundreds that are new to this edition.
MEGA RED covers American coinage from New England colonial times to the modern day—
half cents through $20 gold double eagles, plus bullion, commemoratives, Proof and Mint sets,
error coins, significant tokens and medals, coins struck by the United States for the Philippines (1903–1945), and other numismatic collectibles. It follows the basic structure of the regular-
edition Red Book, but each chapter is dramatically expanded with more historical information, more die varieties, detailed grading instructions with enlarged full-color illustrations, specialized
advice on strike characteristics and other technical details, market analysis, auction data, and
guidance on collecting and investing in rare coins.
Q. David Bowers is the book's Senior Editor. Jeff Garrett is its Valuations Editor. Kenneth
Bressett serves as Editor Emeritus. A richly illustrated 83-page introduction, The History of
Coins in America, 1607 to Date, is the work of Bowers. More than 120 numismatists have
contributed research, photographs, market analysis, and other valuable knowledge and resources.
The eighth edition of MEGA RED includes a study of Chinese counterfeit coins by Beth
Deisher, and a 2022 Coin Market Report by Jeff Garrett. Jeff Shevlin and Bill Hyder contributed
an illustrated appendix on So-Called Dollars, with a focus on medals of the 1893 World's
Columbian Exposition. An in-depth 24-page appendix on American Arts Gold Medallions is the
work of Dennis Tucker.
Each year's new MEGA RED features an expanded focus on one or more coin series. The first
edition included a 364-page section on copper half cents and large cents, with images, history,
diagnostics, and pricing for 832 die varieties, 1793–1857. The second edition featured 330 pages
covering 607 varieties of Flying Eagle, Indian Head, and Lincoln cents, 1856 to date. The third
edition's feature was on nickel five-cent pieces—Shield nickels, Liberty Head nickels, Buffalo
nickels, and Jefferson nickels—covering 545 varieties in 314 pages. Other editions have studied
dimes, quarter dollars, half dollars, and silver and related dollars.
For federal coins, detailed charts show each mintage; a summary of certified population data;
average national retail prices in grades ranging from About Good to high Mint State and Proof;
and three or more recent auction records for most coins. Enlarged close-ups of die varieties
provide visual guidance. Extensive chart notes give the backstories and additional details on
significant coins.
MEGA RED: A Guide Book of United States Coins, Deluxe Edition, 8th edition
ISBN 0794849660
1,504 pages, full color, $59.95 retail
By R.S. Yeoman; Senior Editor Q. David Bowers; Valuations Editor Jeff Garrett; Editor Emeritus Kenneth Bressett
Wayne Homren, Editor
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.
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