Handbook of United States Coins 2009: The Official Blue Book (Handbook of United States Coins (Paper)) (Handbook of United States Coins (Paper)) (Handbook of United States Coins (Paper))

This publication has and is always the most up-to-date and accurate representation of present wholesale value of rare and common US coins. Very useful in anticipating future values.

This handbook (The Blue Book)provides a good target price representing dealer's cost for all the US Coins listed in the corresponding retail value Red Book. Invaluable reference tool for quick evaluation of a seller's coin price markups for the casual collector who doesn't need up to the minute price changes. Use it with the Red Book to establish a range for buying and selling.

The Bluebook is an invaluable reference when you are selling coins (along with the Redbook when buying) since it tracks what coin dealers pay for coins. You need to keep in mind that in a "hot" market prices change rapidly which can make the Bluebook "dated" fairly quickly. In any case it does provide a baseline indicating what others have received for coins in specific grades over the past several months giving some indication of what you should receive from a coin dealer.

If you are interested in what you can expect to pay for a coin you want to buy then use the Redbook which tracks the amount dealers charge for coins in specific grades.

The difference between the Redbook and Bluebook indicates the monies retained by dealers for the value they add to collector's trades. So, if you are trading collector-to-collector with no dealer involved, the two references can serve as the high and low bar for the negotiation process.

This book is nice to use when you are wanting to sell one of your coins. It would be a better book if it would come in spiral bound so that it is easier to use.

While useful and informative and, indeed, a must if you buy coins, this book is quite outdated. Since the price of gold and silver have gone up considerably and change daily, the effect on coins is intense in many cases.

There are several sites online where you can get more up-to-date information. Yet having this handy is a good idea. I like having something near my work area and in my hands so I can quickly look up the information I want. Then I can follow that up by going to one of the Web sites.

-Susanna K. Hutcheson