The Red Guide Book of US Coins ~ Books that I didn't buy.

[dreambooks]

Those recent ones are in great condition

I learned from Craig's posts on this board that these books look like nothing and some of the early editions worth some money.

Today I showed up in a coin collector's auction and there were a table of these red books ranging from 1947 to recent. The 1947 first edition is a 2nd printing (condition is not very good) and the 1948 copy is in bad condition.

Anyway I did not buy any of them. There was competition from a fellow Ebay seller. He bought 3 for $70 each (1947, 1949, 1950 ones), then bought a couple for $15 each, then bought the rest $100 as a lot.

I didn't bid further and he told me that if I went $80 the first round he would not go up further.

So he end up buying all these books for $300+.

I feel that I made a right decision because the 1947 one is not in very good condition.

Any thought?

[ozarkjoe]

I would have paid $70 for 1947 but not that much for the others.

In better shape 1947 can sell for over $500

[bestpaperboy]

The first year is worth something and the better condition the more it is worth. After the first couple of years the books can be extremely hard to sell even  in the best condition. You probably made a good choice not to buy them.