The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins: Secrets of Success: Coins, Tokens, Medals, Paper Money

IMO, this is the single most must have Reference for coin collectors and Investors. Throw in every addition of the Mega Red and you will have specialized information on every type of coin, every year of issue, every grade. The Mega Reds will cover grading of each type of coin in every grade, most of the errors and die varieties, historical info, specifics on each year of each coini type, circulation strike and proof strike, little known historical facts, what to expect for color, toning, details, strength of strike etc., for every year of every issue. This book will give you strategies for successful collecting and investing. If you buy and study the 9 editions of the Mega Reds (as of 2024/date of this review) and this book, I do not think you will need any references on errors or die varieties (sorry Cherrypicker's Guide and Pocket change Error etc) or grading. These 10 books and maybe Bower's "A Guidebook of United States Type Coins" would cover most every collector's needs, with the only exception being specialist of a series, which would require several volumes solely devoted to a specific coin type/series (although I think specialists in SOME series could get away w/ using just the Mega Red, depending on how specialized and technical you're going to be). The Guidebook to type coins gives a good overall view of past performances of every U.S. coins series--I just have the 2005, but it tells me, as an example that the capped bust dime returned 8233% in Fine 12th, 12,900% in EF-40, and 61,438% in MS64 from 1946 to 2005, as well as the estimated populations/survivor estimates, and certification estimates (as of 2005 anyway). Basically, these 11 books would make a complete Library on US coins and keep you ahead of 90% plus of the investors and collectors, outside of AI algorithm based software or apps focused on volatile and fast changing specialized market pieces or issues.

-- "The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins" is definitely worth reading. It is autobiographical and contains the secrets of his 60 years of success as collector, investor, numismatist, grader, dealer, auctioneer, ANA board member, and author. Cramming six decades of numismatic life experiences into a single book is tough, requiring mental and spiritual strength. Doing this in a comprehensive, coherent and organized manner is unquestionably a laborious, taxing, onerous, and difficult task. Such a demanding project could only be achieved by the formidable Q. David Bower. Mr. Bower is one of the most prolific numismatic writers of all time, he has written over 30 books and numerous articles and columns.This is by far the most important of his works and possibly the best ever, the quality of information & wide-ranging content makes it the cream of the crop, flower of the flock, pick of the bunch --whatever you want to call it. It is full of valuable expertise, candid story telling, dealer & auctioneer trade secrets, smart buying and selling techniques and recommendations, and detailed descriptions of every US coin by type, complete with a close focus on: Rarity, Grading, Quality, and Value of coins. It also includes his recommendations and insights on Conferences, Life & Internet Auctions, Library, Protection and Conservation of Coins, Tokens, Medals, and Paper Money. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I Recommend this Book. See my other reviews. Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins High Profits from Rare Coin Investment A California Gold Rush history: Featuring the treasure from the S.S. Central America : a source book for the Gold Rush historian and numismatist A Guide Book Of Us Morgan Silver Dollars: A Complete History and Price Guide (Official Red Book) (Official Red Book) The History of United States Coinage The United States Gold Coin Collection Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia The Numismatist's Bedside Companion (The Numismatist's Companion Series) A Guide Book of Modern United States Proof Coin Sets: A Complete History and Price Guide (Official Red Book) The Inside Story Of The State Quarters (Official Whitman Guidebook) A Guide Book of U.S. Commemorative Coins (The Official Red Book) Coin Dealer Newsletter: A Study in Rare Coin Price Performances American Coin Treasures & Hoards Recollections of a Mint Director

I read "Gold Rush: How to Collect, Invest & Profit With Gold Coins" by Mitch Battino and Arlyn Sieber (see my review of that book) prior to reading this book by Q. David Bowers. I'm glad I did because while the Gold Rush book was a very big disappointment, it made me realize just how truly good Mr. Bowers book is. I have to be honest, coin books are generally NOT books that you read from beginning to end and find that you can't put down. This book is an exception - I couldn't put it down and I read the entire book from beginning to end. Although I've been collecting for years, one thing I enjoyed about this book was that some of those obscure numismatic terms that other authors assume you know, Mr. Bowers will stop and take a sentence or two to explain the term. I really appreciated that. Plus, where the Gold Rush book failed in the "How to Collect, Invest, and Profit," this book did an excellent job of showing how to do just that. It is not a price guide with outdated prices. It is an excellent reference guide with information that will never get old. This book will still be great 10 years from now. This book has excellent chapters with hands-on advise and great stories to help explain coin market cycles, determining coin prices and value (not a list of coin prices like other books but goes into things like grading, rarity, and demand), history of the coin market and predicting the rare coin market, techniques for buying and selling, and chapters on collecting advise for everything from gold coins, commemorative coins, to paper money and tokens and medals. The only thing I would point out as that this book sticks to the U.S. rare coin market and does not discuss World coins. I own more than a few coin books and this book has shot up to the top of my list as the "must have" book. Whether you are a new or experienced collector or investor (aren't we all really both), you will enjoy and profit from this book. In the future, when I'm asked by new collectors what is a good book to get, this will be the book I recommend.

Very informative, well written guide in investing in coins. The author possesses unquestionable authority on the subject and has a remarkably well-honed ability to write on an academic topic in an exciting manner. He is sharp-witted and enjoyable. The book is very complete and most importantly - relevant and timely. If you wish to invest and collect coins this is a must have guide.

This is a must have book for all coin collectors. It discusses the difference between investors and collectors and how one can become the best of both worlds, a COLLECTOR/investor. A wise collector can result in one becoming an investor as an after thought. The book is loaded with coin-related information that is too much to mention here but all valuable. The book has the history of the US instilled as part of the coin information. This is a book hard to put down. I have read many "coin-related" books but seldom find one interesting and informative enought (at least for me, to see my way thru from cover to cover. This book is a rare exception. BUY!

This is the best "general information" book about US coins I have ever read. As usual with Mr. Bowers`s books, it is well written, higly readable and full of useful information. It is not to replace a handfull of notable numismatics books (Green's encyclopaedia, Ruddy's Photograde, etc.)- it shows you what American numismatics is like - and you are ready to consult and read the classics. Truly a wonderful book, much more than tells the title.