The newest edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins (known to collectors as the “Red Book”) will debut at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Collectibles Expo on March 31, 2016. The 70th edition, with a 2017 cover date, has been expanded by 16 pages and includes new and completely updated content. It can be pre-ordered online (including at Whitman.com) and after the Expo will be available from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide.
The Red Book, used by coin collectors to identify and value their coins, prices 7,800 entries in up to nine grades each, with more than 32,900 retail valuations in total. Keeping up with the latest coins from the U.S. Mint, the 70th edition has the newest cents, nickels, dimes, America the Beautiful quarters, half dollars, Native American dollars, Presidential dollars, commemoratives, official Mint coin sets, and bullion coins. It includes 102 new coin issues and 15 new sets. Mintages of modern coins have been updated across the board using the latest government data.
Following up on last year’s expanded coverage of early federal pattern coins, a team of experts led by Senior Editor Kenneth Bressett has created a new section on foreign coins that circulated as legal tender in the British American colonies and early United States. This section includes photographs, history, and pricing for various collectible Spanish-American, Dutch, French, and English coins dating from the 1550s to the 1820s.
Expansions are also seen in the addition of the 1920 Manila Mint Opening medal; an illustrated gallery of significant mint error coins worth $2,750 to $150,000 each; coverage of the American Arts gold medallions of 1980 to 1984; a new appendix on modern U.S. Mint gold and silver medals; and information on modern Satin Finish coins.
As in past years, collectors will benefit from the Red Book’s recent auction records provided for significant rare coins. Listed throughout the charts are more than 170 notable auction results. Combined with the listed retail prices, the auction data help advanced collectors understand the modern 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 11 more coins have broken the $1 million mark, for a new total of 90. This includes three new coins that auctioned for more than $2 million apiece since the 69th-edition Red Book debuted one year ago.
In a positive measure of the health of the hobby and ongoing numismatic research, the Red Book’s bibliography includes 26 standard references published within the past five years.
The cover of the spiralbound 70th edition shows three beautiful and historic American coins featuring women: a Dolley Madison silver dollar, a Jackie Kennedy First Spouse gold coin, and a Morgan dollar.
To celebrate the Red Book’s 70th anniversary, autographed copies of the hardcover edition, each signed by Bressett, Bowers, and Garrett, will be given away as prizes at the Whitman Publishing booth during the Baltimore Expo, March 31–April 3, 2016, at the Baltimore Convention Center.