Author Description

Each year since 1942, The Handbook of United States Coins - THE OFFICIAL BLUE BOOK(R) - has helped U.S. coin dealers and hobbyists with current wholesale values for collectible U.S. coins. The new, 82nd edition has clear, easy-to-follow grading information for each series, and prices dealers are paying in multiple grades per coin. Its price listings offer a real-world look at the coin market, gathered from professional dealers around the country. Inside, you will find the average dealer buying prices for American coins from 1616 to today; a 16-page full-color section on collecting Abraham Lincoln cents; historical information and specifications on each coin; actual-size photographs of hundreds of coins; grading and collecting tips; how coins are produced; detailed mintage records; the top 25 U.S. coin prices realized at auction; colonial and early American coins; federal coins; commemoratives; Proof and Mint sets; die varieties; State, National Park, and American Women quarters; Presidential, Native American, and American Innovation dollars; private and territorial gold; the Philippines; tokens; and much more! TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Contributors How to Use This Book Collecting Coins PRE-FEDERAL ISSUES Colonial Issues Post-Colonial Issues FEDERAL ISSUES Contract Issues and Patterns Half Cents (1793-1857) Large Cents (1793-1857) Small Cents (1856 to Date) Two-Cent Pieces (1864-1873) Three-Cent Pieces (1851-1889) Nickel Five-Cent Pieces (1866 to Date) Half Dimes (1794-1873) 81 Dimes (1796 to Date) Twenty-Cent Pieces (1875-1878) Quarter Dollars (1796 to Date) Half Dollars (1794 to Date) Silver and Related Dollars (1794 to Date) Gold Dollars (1849-1889) Quarter Eagles (1796-1929) Three-Dollar Gold Pieces (1854-1889) Four-Dollar Gold