A Guide Book of United States Coins, 2nd Edition: The Official Red Book, Deluxe Edition

There is a tremendous amount of information in this book. It does list a price for the coins but don't use this for a price guide. This is a coin history book. The print is easy enough to read....not microscopic, which seems to happen sometimes with these big reference books. Each coin has information on it. The coins are all U.S. colonial up to present. For folks collecting, or ever just considering coin collecting, this is the book to buy. There are books, excellent books out there about specific coins. This book covers all the coins. History folks would enjoy this book also, not just coin collectors. A tremendous amount of history here. If you are specializing in one or two coins you can buy those specific books but any coin collector actually NEEDS this book. This book will cover many many other books, so if you don't want to or can't buy multiple books get this one. We have been collecting for over 15 years and are extremely pleased with this book and are letting go of a few previous red books....we simply won't be using them anymore. Excellent book.

A scholarly, well-crafted, and accessible text that provides a plethora of facts, figures, and engaging stories about our country's numismatic history, along with most of the contemporary knowledge necessary to become an advanced collector. I say 'most', because, as other reviewers have noted, some coins receive less attention than others. If you specialize in a particular series, e.g., 20th century dollar coins, you might consider a text that focuses exclusively on such coinage. But if you're looking for a comprehensive text that will provide the essentials on all U.S. coins, with encyclopedic coverage of the most popular series, e.g., Lincoln wheat cents, I highly recommend spending a little more money for this text versus the standard edition. Nothing against the venerable Red Book, but the Mega Red provides five times as much information for less than three times the price. It's like getting a 1916-D Mercury dime in AU-50 for the VF-30 price. ;O)

Great, great book and an excellent price. Shipped right away. Love it. Pictures show detail and are enlarged for the best viewing. Will definitely allow you to grade your own coins with simplicity. It is a must have book for anyone interested in United States coins. Besides the coin pictures and prices, there is a ton of information about the coins. It is a hard book to put down. It peaks your interest and is educational.

This book is chockablock full of really super information. As such it weighs at least ten pounds. I haven't owned a red book in years, at least 10 likely more mostly because I didn't get much out of it. I bought this because I read that a new section was to be included about So-Called Dollars which is true, but more on that later. The Red Book, as most of you already know, is the authoritative general reference used by coin collectors and dealers to get general, and some specific information about pretty much all of the coins issued by and for the people of the United States (and British colonies) and its territories. As we've matured as a nation and indeed as the research has grown more and more categories of numismatics have become sought after and eventually legitimized by inclusion in this book. The 2017 Mega Red book is the culmination of what we "know" about the state of United States coins and coin-like material. One of the excellent things about this expanded format is that it gives the editors the opportunity to become downright chatty in their discussions of coins which makes the articles pertaining to their respective subjects that much more lively, informative and entertaining. The book begins with a broad overview and then drills down by topic to include just about everything you'd want to know on a casual basis. The reproductions are done in color and this book is lavishly illustrated, even going so far as to include close-ups of many of the sought after or notable doubled-dies, die details and markers, and mint mark/lettering varieties. The book also includes quite detailed grading information for the various coin series and pricing information (estimates and some actual auction results). Modern bullion coins are given their own sections too. What brought me to the book, frankly, were the appendices, and specifically the section on so-called dollars. This was edited by Jeff Shevlin who is generally considered the world's leading expert on the topic. He has chosen a broad cross section of medals that are listed in the book "So-called Dollars" by Hibler and Kappen, comprising around 100 medals. Many of those included are rare, some virtually unobtainable, but others are readily obtainable for very little money. Given the limited space Mr. Shevlin was given, he did an excellent curatorial job. My only quibble would be that he did not include more of the 'monetary" issues, specifically the Bickford and Eutopia dollars. Having said that, if one drills down more deeply into the book, he will find that there are other sections of the MEGA Red Book that include so-called dollars that are listed in the Hibler & Kappen reference. To wit, the chapter (and legitimate chapter, not an appendix chapter) about "Private & Territorial Gold" contains about a half dozen numbers that are listed in "So-Called Dollars" as issued in "Hart's Coins of the West." Also, under the "Private Tokens" chapter there is a section on Lesher Referendum Dollars which are also listed in Hibler & Kappen. Finally, in Appendix I the editors has taken up the task of listing "Modern US Mint Gold & Silver Medals" which although containing a small number of entries at present does seem to promise an expanded presence in the years to come. This reviewer particularly welcomes such a development as one does get the impression that the US Mint has gone into overdrive in the production of nominally monetary, rather uninspiring, modern commemorative coins that will never find circulation and are produced in such large numbers that they will likely never become rare. Medals and so-called dollars, on the other hand, because they have only recently come into their own despite having been produced years, and in some cases more than a century, ago are surprisingly affordable and fun to collect despite, or because of, their oftentimes excruciating rarity. I do have one overarching criticism of this book and that is that the editors neglected to include an introductory discussion of what is new in the book. Doing so would have drawn collectors to this 'new' material thus reinforcing their decision to include it. This is inexplicable and sorely missed. Nefvertheless the chatty, informative style in which the book reads, and the truly enormous and enormously valuable information it includes makes this a very, very, good inclusion to one's library.

this is a great comprehensive book of coins. yes, it is bulky and about 5 pounds but it will provide many many enjoyable reading and examination of all types of coins. if you are interested in delving into more than a superficial overview this is the one for you. kudos.

I just received this about a week ago. It is very heavy. I trust that means it is full of good information. It has so been so far. Lots f good pictures and descriptions. It has good historical information. I am glad I bought this. I would recommend this to any coin collector or curios person.

Every U.S. coin collector should buy this book, The deluxe edition contains a wealth of information and photo grading examples of each series of U.S. coins as well as colonial issues. I bought the first edition too and plan on adding a new one each year to my numismatic library.

Big thick complete red book. Much more content and color than the regular version. Sucker is thick - 2-1/2"! Text and photos are twice the size of regular version. All color photos. Not as nimble to use, but as eyes get older I really appreciate the difference. Great content and history on each denomination.