An old adage in coin collecting is Aaron Feldman's "Buy the book before you buy the coin." Arguably, for collectors of United States coins, the first book to buy is A Guide Book of U.S Coins, better known as the Red Book. This book gives a broad overview of U.S. coins beginning with foreign and colonial issues that circulated in the fledgling country, continuing with the various coin types minted for the last 200 years, and ending with the commemorative coins. Additionally, the Red Book provides some grading criteria for the coins along with prices. However, due to the printing process and distribution of the Red Book, the prices could be as much as two years old.

So, you buy your first book. Now what is the second book you should buy for your coin library? I asked some noted coin personalities that question. Bob Campbell, past president of the ANA, suggested the ANA Grading Guide, now in its 5th edition. Ed Rochette, ANA's executive director, thought the Krause catalogs would be a good second book. Finally, Tom Hallenback, ANA governor, decided on Walter Breen's Encyclopedia of U.S. Coins.

As most of these people collect United States coins, I asked Kerry Wetterstrom, former dealer of ancient coins and the current editor of the Celator, what first book an ancient coin collector should buy. He suggested Wayne Sayles's Collecting Ancient Coins.

For your third and subsequent book, here is a list for your consideration.  Bill Fivaz originally complied this list in October 1983, and Mary Sauvain revised it in July 1993. In turn, I've updated it with suggestions from Ray Larson WINS#20, Jason Craton WINS#5, and Charles Calkins WINS#47 in June 2001.

As you can see, United States material dominates the listing. So, if you have your own list for another country or time period, I would greatly appreciate you e-mailing it to me so I can update the list. Also, if you have a review of one of the books below, I would appreciate that as well. Please contact the WINS librarian with the data.

• A Guide Book of United States Coins (Red Book) - Yeoman
  
• Comprehensive Catalog and Encyclopedia of United States Coins - Coin World
  
• Standard Guide of United States Coins - Raymond
  
• The Complete Coin Collector - Reed
  
• Encyclopedia of United States Colonial Proof Coins, 1722 - 1977 - Breen
  
• Dies & Coinage (pamphlet) - Breen
  
• Coin Dealer Newsletter (Grey Sheet)
  
• Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter (Blue Sheet)
  
• United States Pattern, Experimental, and Trial Pieces - Judd
  
• Complete Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins - Breen
  
• The Early Coins of America - Crosby
  
• High Profits from Rare Coin Investment (13th edition) - Bowers
  
• United States Copper Coins: An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor - Bowers
  
• United States Three Cent and Five Cent Pieces: An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor - Bowers
  
• United States Dimes, Quarters, and Half Dollars: An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor - Bowers
  
• United States Coins by Design Types: An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor - Bowers
  
• The History of United States Coinage - Bowers
  
• The Numismatist's Companion Books - Bowers
  
• Adventures with Rare Coins - Ford
  
• Coinage Laws of the United States, 1792 - 1894 - Ganz
  
• A Buyer's Guide to the Rare Coin Market - Bowers
  
• The United States Clad Coinage - Rapsus
  
• Standard Catalog of World Coins - Krause
  
• Historic Gold Coins of the World - Hobson

• Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins, 5th edition - ANA Photograde - Ruddy
  
• ANACS Counterfeit Detection, Volumes I and II - ANA