5 comments about Sea Glass Chronicles.

1. Considering there was only one other book on sea glass that I knew of, I absolutely HAD to have another-being the avid sea glass fan that I am. However, upon receiving the book, I was greatly unimpressed with not only the images, but also the lack of magnificent specimens. The book tells more about ceramic shards than it does actual glass. In my opinion, I find actual glass to be much more attractive than any kind of pottery shard.
   
   Furthermore, the book had hardly any information on where to find glass, how to look for it, or even when to go and look... absolutely nothing about actually collecting. Or what about the weathering process of the shards? Nope. I was very disappointed in the lack of information. For those craving explanations of the possible origins, when and where to find glass, and just general information regarding anything one can think of about sea glass, get the book Pure Sea Glass. It's an amazing reference whenever I come home with new and interesting pieces.



2. Last night I opened Sea Glass Chronicles to read a few pages, but found I couldn't put it down! This lovely book is a treasure, just like the "treasures" it describes in each chapter. After a few pages, I realized that Pat Hanbery's photographs were amazing as well! Enjoyable on several levels, it's a "coffee table" book that any age would enjoy simply for the browsing, but the writing and research by C.S. Lambert will take you much, much deeper into this hobby enjoyed by nearly everyone: beachcombing! It is an educational trip through the archaeology of beach glass, pottery, and doll fragments, caught in time before they were all altered by water's relentless task of reducing them into sand particles on a beach. Although there is a great deal of information, it is presented in quickly-readable short stories. This is a real "keeper" as well as a good gift idea.



3. so much information about seaglass...
   and the photos allow you to compare what you have already found or looking for.



4. 
   
   Fabulous book for anyone who loves beachcombing and collecting sea treasures - highly recommended!



5. Nice book with some pretty pictures but does not really contain much useful information about sea glass. The book "Pure Sea Glass: Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems" contains much more information about the possible origins of sea glass for the novice collector.

2 comments about Bud Hastin's Avon Collector's Encyclopedia: Avon and California Perfume Company Products-1886 to Present.

1. Both specialty collector libraries catering to neo-pro collectors and general-interest public libraries will find AVON COLLECTOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA: AVON AND CALIFORNIA PERFUME COMPANY PRODUCTS 1886 TO PRESENT an invaluable acquisition, appearing in its 18th updated edition to provide the latest prices and details. Here are thousands of products, paired with the latest prices, black and white and color photos throughout, making for an invaluable at-a-glance reference.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. I BOUGHT THIS BOOK HOPING TO IDENTIFY ALOT OF OLDER AVON I HAD FOUND..THE BOOK IS GREAT..GOOD DESCRIPTION OF OLDER AVON PRODUCTS AND EASY TO USE ..THANKS

4 comments about Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Doll 2008: Identification & Values (Collector's Encyclopedia of Barbie Doll Collector's Editions).

1. I found this book to be very helpful in that I have a BARBIE COLLECTION and needed to find out the value of my 200+ collection for insurance. Although not all of my dolls were in this book I still found many of the values that I needed.
   Great value for the money spent



2. J. Michael Augustyniak's COLLECTOR'S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BARBIE DOLL COLLECTOR'S EDITIONS 2008 is a 'must' for any Barbie collector or any collection catering to doll collectors. It packs its pages with the latest values and updated color photos, including descriptions, notes on special collections and Barbie attributes, and more. If only one Barbie doll collector's comprehensive reference were acquired for a general lending library, it should be this one.



3. This is a collector only. Its not a price guide for all Barbie's ever made, like it makes you think.



4. This was a gift for my wife who collects Barbies not to sell but to enjoy displaying them. The book doesn't mean anything to me but to her she is like a small child reading or just looking through it anticipating every turn of a page. It made her happy and that what rates this a 5 star in my book anyday.

2 comments about Beckett Price Guide to Hot Wheels, 2008 Edition.

1. I purchased this book thinking that it was a collection of all the hot wheels from the beginning. The fine print of 2006-2008 was difficult to see on the cover.For those who are only interested in those years the book was filled with great pictures and information,but for the vintage collector, this is not helpful!



2. It's good if you started collect in the last few years, If you have older cars I would recommend Lee's Toy Review. Lee's put's out Toy price guide every month.

5 comments about Classic Wristwatches 2008/2009: The Price Guide for Vintage Watch Collectors Over 1300 Models! (Classic Wristwatches: A Catalog of Vintage Timepieces & Their Prices).

1. The 2008-2009 edition of CLASSIC WRISTWATCHES packs in features of over 1300 models, including good-sized color photos of each watch, descriptions of manufacture, case and appearance, and company histories. This blend of price guide, identification guide and watch history is outstanding for any collecting watches, and is a highly recommended pick for any library catering to collectors.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



2. I just went over the book, and I was a bit disappointed.
   Picture for money is quite interesting, thanks to a lot of images for small bucks, but the goods of the book is just that.
   
   Interesting are the pages with the history of the maisons, that provide some useful hints about not very well known producers.
   
   Organization of the book is quite disappointing, though: the models depicted are put on paper at random, with no age or value order.
   As far as I could understand, those are the watches that were estimated by some kind of trader during the year, so no section covers completely the model range of a brand. If you need to evaluate a specific piece, most of the time you have to guess comparing it with similar age-feature watches of the same or other manifacturer.
   Some brands aren't even in the book (Breguet? Rado?) while for other you just get 6 models.
   
   The book is useful, anyway: with few dollars it can help you in identifying a particular brand that may catch your imagination, or browse through many hundreds of pictures, to find ideas for particular models, shapes, or features you may like to have in your collection.
   
   If possible get a new copy: I bouth an used one, and the binding glue went bad: pages started to part from the book.



3. Very nice and informative book. Quality is fine and price is fair. I strongly recommend it for watch enthusiasts like me.



4. This book covers a very broad selection of watches and is especially strong in the major brands - Omega, Patek, JLC, IWC. Rolex, etc as well as some of the more "working class" timepieces which today are very collectible.
   
   Some of the calibre and associated information on some of the listings are not totally accurate but on balance, this soft cover resource provides a good point of reference to check value and collectability of many classic watches.



5. ...but this is not a guide you would want to use daily. This is an ok book for higher end collector watches, but very limited.
   
   I was hoping it would cover some or much more of the $200, $300 & $400 watches. Example: Only 8 models of Hamilton watches are shown.
   
   I do like pictures: very nice, color photos. Also gives some history on the manufacturers of the watches presented in the book.
   
   Nice coffee table book, but for daily reference you need a "Complete price guide to watches" by Engle/Gilbert/Shugart.

5 comments about Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994.

1. As an avid childhood collector of GI Joe 3 3/4 figures and vehicles, I can certainly say that this guide seems extremely accurate. Although most of my collection sadly did not survive my childhood, this book certainly brings back some memories. It also helps to appraise some the pieces that did survive. I'm only depressed now that I didn't take better care of my original collection as it would have been worth a lot. As a GI Joe geek, it was interesting to see Larry Hama's (the original author of the Joe's Filecards) comments and thoughts on the characters. As a kid, I can certainly say I never gave the ideas behind the characters much thought. I also didn't understand half the things written on the filecards as they had more military jargon than a Tom Clancy novel. It does contain numerous references to the GI Joe cartoons and comics to help illustrate complete character biographies - which is interesting only if you were (or are) well-versed in the comics, the cartoons, and the toys. Overall, this is a great resource for serious collectors and devoted GI Joe disciples, but it's probably a bit too technical for casual fans.



2. My husband and I enjoyed this guide and found it very useful for our collection. Great pictures with accessories. Just seemed very complete for the collector. Well done in my opinion and would recommend.



3. For those of us that collect this is an excellent reference guide. It details weapons, vehicles and just about anything you can think of. The only thing I was expecting was to have pictures of the figures/vehicles..carded. And thats one thing that would have made this book perfect, that aside its a great book and I am glad I picked it up. The pictures included are crisp, clear and the information on them is detailed. Enjoy...



4. What this guide is essentially comprised of is clinical pictures, bland details and a very dry presentation. This book is entirely geared towards the Joe collector who isn't necessarily interested in the fun or cool aspect of the toy line. For the casual Joe fan or those looking for some glorious nostalgia, the book fails miserably.
   
   The promise of the immense amount of full-color pictures are what sold me on this book. What it actually delivers are unenthusiastic shots with no fun factor at all. Each figure is shown with legs and arms straight out laid on their backs on a flat white background. Each piece of personal equipment is shown beside the figure, not on it. It is all quite cold and boring to flip through.
   The vehicles and bases fare even worse in their representation. They are mostly photographed from a full-on top-down view. A small handful are shown from the side. You only get one photo per vehicle, so if the angle doesn't inspire you (and it never really does), you are out of luck.
   While there is absolutely no action to the pictures, they are very sharp in quality.
   I would have liked to have seen pictures of the cards the figures came on and the boxes the vehicles came in, since the artwork was always amazing. Since this is an aspect to some collectors, I would have assumed it to be included. You can see the actual carded figure or vehicle/playset box about 5 times throughout the whole book. What a travesty!
   
   The information presented with the photos spits out name, classification and then proceeds to take some direct quotes from the file cards. The whole file card is never printed and would have been a great inclusion. Instead you are forced to read what the author decides is important enough to document. In most listings you are given other proposed codenames for the figure, which are obscure tidbits of info I found worthless. Specific figure variants, when actually mentioned, are discussed only briefly with no accompanying pictures. Suggested prices are given but compared to actual prices at hobby shops and eBay, they are practically useless.
   Unless you are a collector looking up banal manufacturing details, there isn't much enjoyment to be gleaned from reading what is printed.
   
   Nearly a full third of the guide covers the 90s era Joes, which many agree are easy to dismiss as part of the Joe universe. Again, only the most avid collector would care for this much info. The guide even goes so far as to cover the Street Fighter series of figures put out by Hasbro in 93. That has so little to do with actual Joes it's not funny.
   
   I had an enormous GI Joe colelction up until my teens and I still love the Joes to this day. I am not a rabid collector. I am a nostalgic fan. For me, this book was a waste of money. No cool photos of the Joe figures with their gear on and no fun displays of the vehicles and such. I read the comics and watched the shows. For me, there was nothing worth reading into here. No interesting information or exhilerating facts.
   Before you go out and get a copy of this guide, ask yourself if you are a general fan or a collector. If you answer fan, pass on this book. It is strictly for the OCD collector.



5. GI Joe toys of the 80's were some of the most fun and exciting ever seen, and this book chronicles them with brilliant excellence! A must have for any fan of the toys!

5 comments about The Expert's Guide to Collecting & Investing in Rare Coins: Secrets Of Success.

1. --
   "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



2. 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.



3. 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.



4. 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!



5. 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.

2 comments about 2008 Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide (Comic Book Checklist and Price Guide).

1. this book is fairly complete to about june 2007. has listings for alternate covers and fairly accurate pricings for older books. the grading guide that is inside has great color descriptive images to define different grades , with great written explanations.



2. I've been very vocal in my support for the Comic Buyer's Guide Comic Book Checklist & Price Guide. To me it is the comic book price guide of choice over the Overstreet guide for a number of reasons. First, the CBG guide is not weighted down by literally hundreds of pages of advertisements like the Overstreet guide is. I mean, what is the point of endless pages of ads for comic dealers and shops anyway? Who buys mail order with eBay around?
   
   Secondly, the CBG guide is not filled with dozens of pages of market reports from dealers around the country. Yes, at one time I found these market reports to be very valuable. But again, this we in the pre-eBay/Internet days. If I want to know what a certain book has been selling for, I can just search completed auctions on ebay or other auction sites. It's no longer useful to me to read what a dealer in Podunk, Idaho sold a Hulk #181 for.
   
   Lastly, while concentrating its efforts only comics from the Silver Age to the present, the CBG guide is able to provide much more information about individual issues. True, the Overstreet Guide does go back to the Golden Age but at a cost of condensing it's information so tightly and with such a small font, it's almost unreadable. I much prefer the CBG guides where each issue of a title is listed individually, rather than as a range of issues. This allows the guide to provide more information such as notable events as origins, first appearances, and the issue's artist, as well as noting the month and year of each issue.
   
   The CBG price guide provides only the near mint price for each issue but comes with a detailed, full color grading guide that explains how to calculate the prices for books that are less than near mint. Like the Overstreet, literally hundreds of cover pictures are included in the book's 808 pages. This is my price guide of choice. It is all meat without any of the Overstreet fat.
   
   REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

5 comments about Breyer Animal Collector's Guide: Identification and Values (Breyer Animal Collector's Guide).

1. Describes everything I needed to find out about the Breyers. Sometimes it was a little difficult since I had the horses and had to search individual pages until found... no ID no. on horse, or some other method



2. There is a wealth of information on the various types of Breyers and great descriptions. However, many of the color photos are off, with a lot of orange tinting. You need to go by the written description rather than the actual photo. Also, I was extremely disappointed in the pricing. As an avid collector and owner of over 180 traditional Breyers, the prices are rather low. You could not use this book for insurance purposes or buying prices. I have seen many of the Breyers listed in the book go for much higher prices than what is quoted in this 5th edition. It is still a good reference book.



3. This goldmine of information is necessary for both the serious collector and for anyone with interest in the Breyer collectables. It's straightforward pictoral guide is easy to use and the fair market values are just that...fair. Don't shop for a Breyer without it!



4. Lots of great pictures, but values are off. I would not use this to determine the value of what I'm selling. The values are often less than what the going price is, and occasionally more than they're worth. Great pics and book to see what is out there nonetheless.



5. As someone who has collected model horses for years and is trying to brush up on my Breyer horse knowledge, this book has been an informative guide. The pictures are clear and it is easy to see the models. Very well written and nice layout!

5 comments about Fountain Pens Past & Present (Fountain Pens Past and Present).

1. As a novice collector, I found this book extremely helpful. The pictures
   are fantastic and it covers the history of all the pen companies. Having the price guide is very helpful to get an idea of value. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in fountain pens...Paul Erano
   got it right!



2. This book does help identify pens to some extent. It often takes extensive looking to find information the reader doesn't already know.



3. As a beginner collector I found the book very usefull. It helps you organize and plan your collection. But also don't miss Fountain pens of the World by Andreas Lambrou. It's is expensive but it's a "must have".



4. This is a very informative book and a must have for collectors. It provides a sound foundation on a wide variety of fountain pens, their value and is an invaluable general reference for any collector. I find myself opening it at lease weekly.



5. This is the book for you, if you are fascinated by fountain pens and all their beauty, and would like to know them better, but did not know where to start. It is very clearly written, thoroughly documented and well-organized, and profusely illustrated. The photographs are excellent and there is a lot of practical information for would-be collectors.