1 comments about Spring-loaded Fish Hooks, Traps & Lures: Identification and Value Guide (Identification & Values (Collector Books)).

1. My husband and I know one of the authors, Tim Mierzwa, personally. He told us in August of 2005 that he had a book coming out about fishing lures and other equipment. We weren't sure what to think. But when we received the book recently, my
   husband and I were extremely impressed on the detail, the photos, explanations and layout of the book! My husband enjoys
   fishing and I don't, but BOTH of us are enjoying the book
   immensely! I am now ordering another copy for the outdoor club
   we live in to share with the members. For anyone interested in
   fishing, collecting fishing gear and/or the history and value of fishing gear, this is THE book to own!

2 comments about Steiff Identification & Price Guide.

1. This book probably has a limited audience, since it seems to be missing many items for someone else, I'm adding that its back section listing only begins with the 1980's, so if you're looking for earlier Steiff information, this probably won't have it, especially some of the more common items.



2. There's lots of non-rare items missing from this book (all the one's I'm looking at).

5 comments about Photograde: A Photographic Grading Encyclopedia for United States Coins.

1. rather weak when you deal with uncirculated coins. very
   difficult area of grading.



2. Almost useless for AU and MS grade coins. Very, very small and poor quality b/w pictures of coins. Dissapointing as it could have been great if high resolution pictures were used and enlarged. Also, not including pictures of MS60-67 grades truely limits this book.



3. It is very helpful if all that you have to go off of is the Guide Book of United States Coins 2003: The Official Red Book, And I dont know what Wayne Lukert was thinking but they are real photographs. Gives a nice description of coins and a black and white photograph of every grade. also If you dont have any books on cleaning care and other helpful topics it has page after page about that stuff too.



4. If your a beginner at coin collecting this may be okay for you.
   This book has hard to view pictures ( not photographs ) of the coins being used as samples. This alone can confuse the beginner,as imperfections appear on the pictures and may be mistaken for the actual coin. The written descriptions and arrows point to too specific areas. The areas to be scrutinized are much broader than the head of the arrow. A better book for the beginner is HOW TO GRADE U.S. COINS by James L. Halperin.
   It uses a color code system that is much easier to follow and the pictures have much better detail. Also type coins for newer coins are NOT dicussed.



5. This book is exxentially an extended version of the coin conditions/states table that you'll commonly find in coin magazines. This book is much, much more complete and comprehensive as it covers all U.S. coins in circulation (no commemoratives) and has photos and key points of wear for each grade from About Good to About Uncirculated. This edition also has interesting chapters concerning the cleaning of coins and artificial toning. This reference is a great help to inexperienced collectors of USA coins who are building eclectic collections. Don't feel that you need to buy this book new, the grading information is static and, as you will learn much from this book in a short time, it won't be used much thus used copies are likely to be in excellent condition. Four stars because, as the young reviewer below states, color photos are sorely missed in this book.

4 comments about Lefton China: Price Guide.

1. It lists good marks so you can date the pieces and is easy to understand. This is not a history book and doesn't do much for detail. I was able to find similar items and get a general price. My understand is that I will need to get the other books as each volums supposedly has more items. I will purchase the others, too.

   The worst thing about this book is the binding. The cover came off and I had to hot glue it to keep it together.




2. I found this price guide to be a bit skimpy. I was not able to find any of my Lefton pieces listed. I was very disappointed. They also could put the listings in better order.



3. The book is not too bad for a paperback price guide. But it seems the idea is to get all of her books. I couldn't find more than one reference to my Lefton collection. I look forward to seeing a whole-extensive book on Lefton China. Maybe writing books on different categories, such as dinnerware, figurines, etc.



4. I found this book to be a very useful resource for adding to my Lefton collection. The pictures are good and the preliminary information on the company along with its trademarks is helpful. I question some of the values that are given, but the author explains her pricing difficulties in the preface.

   The recommendation I would give for the next edition of this booklet would be to organize the listings in a better way. The categories are alphabetized but the listings in the categories are not organized either by number or description. The listing for figurines, for example, is very long and having to run through all the listing to find one item takes awhile. I also hope that the next book will be more inclusive and include all the pieces from all the patterns and not just a few selected.

   In the meantime, I applaud the author for her efforts in putting together a much needed resource on this area of collecting that is becoming extremely popular.

2 comments about Collins Machetes and Bowies, 1845-1965.

1. The book has alot of information. I own one of the old Machetes and it was quite interesting to read about it. I would highly recommend this bood to anyone owning a Collins Machete.



2. Since I appear many times in the text of this book as an observor, as a facilitator, and as a source, it may be considered presumptuous for me to review it. But since I am competent to do so, here goes. Ed and I knew each other from 1971 when we first met. Since I am in MD and he was in CA our face time was limited but we kept in close touch by snail mail and phone. He made many trips to the source at Collinsville and I dug a large amount of materials out of the National Archives, Smithsonian, and the Library of Congress. Since Ed focused strictly on Collins products and only on the sub lines of machetes and I am interested in all military edged tools and cutlery as well as axe work in general, we overlapped our interests. Is this the book I have written or would have? Certainly not, but I know for certain that it is all in focus and, unless there is a new vast discovery of documents, if there is anything more to be known about Collins machetes you can put in a very small pot. By focusing as he did Ed was able to find things that I never did nor even thought to look for. The ultimate test of this kind of book is is it interesting, and is it useful? I think it is so, and I wll be able to chop out all the corporate history which was in my original work and refer the reader to this one. Carter Rila

4 comments about Collector's Guide to Vintage Televisions: Identification & Values (Collector's Guide to).

1. Man's consciousness happened in a cathode ray tube in the 1900s.
   This much we know to be true. Use this book to track old hardware used to tap into this consciousness and then view with the whole family!



2. This book is lots of fun even if you only want to look at the many excellent photographs.



3. A must have for anyone interested in television. Clear and easily readable, this book provides all the essential information (and then some) when it comes to vintage TV's.



4. Beautiful little paperback with 200 superior, very sharp full color pictures. Sets are grouped by manufacturer. There are brief sections covering cautions, definitions and warnings. Current values of each model appears, along with its description, model number and year of manufacture. The products of nearly 120 manufacturers are included. Anyone collecting vintage TVs or those interested in nostalgia items will enjoy this book.

No comments about 2004 Krause-Minkus Standard Catalog of U.S. Stamps: 2004 edition-Listings 1845-Date (Krause Minkus Standard Catalog of Us Stamps).

5 comments about The Wonderful World of Cookie Jars: A Pictorial Reference and Price Guide.

1. Am well pleased with this book but I would like to see a 2005 updated version. Some prices are a little too high in regards to value but it helps a collector to keep a proper perspective of what to pay and what not to pay for a jar. I also appreciate the "mark" to look for on the jar to help in making sure the jar is a "fake" or the real thing!



2. I FOUND THIS COOKIE JAR BOOK TO BE THE BEST BOOK OUT THERE ON JARS. THE VALUES ARE A BIT HIGH BUT THEN AGAIN I AM WAITING FOR THEM TO UPDATE THE BOOK WITH TODAYS VALUES. WHEN THE BOOK WAS WRTTEN COOKIE JARS WERE AT A HIGH DOLLAR VALUE. THE CROSS REFERENCING AND THE PICTURES ARE EXCELLENT AND THE BOOK DESERVES A AAA+++ FROM ME!



3. Pros: comprehensive, excellent cross-referenced organization (easy to find jar when you don't know maker), notes what mark should say on jar
   Cons: values are too high, photography is good on some but on average it's not great -- too much contrast so difficult to see detail (looks like flash photography rather than lighted) and color is biased towards yellow, would be nice to have a measurements on all pieces



4. Best Cross reference book out there..... We have been collectors for years and have all the books there are concerning Cookie Jars. And every edtion... Supnicks book is chalk full of pictures.... And the cross reference is wonderful....... I noticed when reading the other reviews some people don't have my same thoughts... I can't help but wonder if these are other authors who wish they had taken the time to do the cross ref. .. As far as the prices being higher in there book,,, I do notice that,, but I also notice that in other cookie jar books that are SO CALLED Revised prices,,,,,, Are not well researched.. Just putting out the same book and raising the prices of a few jars...
   Supnicks Book is the beat one out there............... More photos then any other..
   I felt I needed to write this as I notice some reviews were WRONG,, stating items not identified correctly... Well, anyone who is a Cookie Jar collector KNOWS some jars have questions as to who made them,, and everyone has their own thoughts.. Again leading me to believe there might be a few jealous authors out there.. GET THIS BOOK.. It will be your Bible...........



5. Excellent Reference Book with one of the largest picture listings that I have found. It has helped me MANY times in my search for information on cookie jars that I have purchased. Every collector of Cookie Jars ABSOLUTELY must have one of these books! You will not regret it!

2 comments about The Cube Teapot: The Story of the Patent Teapot.

1. Anne Anderson's tome on the cube teapot is without doubt the definitive history on the subject. Of special interest to steamship china collectors is the impressive number of photographs showing the cube tea service in use on board the old Cunard ocean liners. There were a number of different patterns applied to the service and Anne provides us with an excellent photographic reference of each one. Loaded with vintage photographs, this book is a must have for collectors of this type of china. I am so happy to see books like this documenting something that would otherwise be lost forever that I am reluctant to offer criticism. The narrative in the book, while thorough, could use a bit more editing to smooth it out. There are several typos in the book as well as instances of paragraphs with random facts thrown in that are irrelevant to the main idea being presented. Hence my rating of three stars.



2. I purchased this book to learn more about the cube shaped (and space saving) tea sets used on the Cunard ocean liners in the 1920's through the 1960's. It is a wonderful resource for collectors of ocean liner memorabilia but it also tells a facinating story of the development of the cube teapot. This book discusses the English pastime of taking tea and the quest to design the perfect teapot. The end result was a patented cube design produced in beautiful, collectible colors and patterns. This book is a must for collectors and history buffs alike. Happy reading!

1 comments about Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money.

1. The words "absolutely incredible" just doesn't do this book justice !!! This book is filled with breathe taking color pictures of U.S. Paper Currency and goes into great detail as to the value of each and every note anyone could possibly collect. This reference book not only covers the small-sized notes but also the collectible horse-blanket notes. This book is fast becoming my most favorite reference book in my library. This is a reference book just like the yearly revised Standard Guide to Small-Sized U.S. Paper Money books and when you combine both of these reference books in your private library you definitely can not go wrong !!!