5 comments about Standard Catalog of World Coins 1701-1800.

1. It's a complete and very informative book about world coins. I used it everyday as a price reference and getting the right description of old coins.



2. My collection of 18th century coins is virtually non-existent and their value is so low that this catalog cost me much more than they are all worth. But I did not buy it to see how rich I am or how wisely I invested my money. I treat this book as a very special history book. I read it every now and then, starting from a state I have never heard of to discover some new information from the past. This is the imperfect but only source to dig into the history of minute Italian, German or Indian states which often had nothing but minting rights which they excercised profusely. About sovereigns who believed themselves mighty enough to have their profiles struck on multiple thalers only to disappear from annals of History within just a few years. About political plans, expectations and pretences of which we can't remember anymore but they were all detailed on coins.
   Coin-collecting is not a way of investing money (it well may be though in most cases it is rather by luck than wise planning), it is a life-time of studies. You have to invest your time, and coins will start speaking to you. Half-worn faces will become flesh and blood individuals from the past. Strange letters will mean their might and their dreams. You will probably never have too many of these coins (even if you have the money, actually) but this is the kind of book which can give you knowledge. And knowledge, in time, may turn into wisdom.



3. Certainly this is the book for 18th century coins, unless you are mainly interested in one country like the UK or France -- in that case you would find more information more attractively laid out, along with other centuries, elsewhere, usually more cheaply too. But for its coverage of the world, including hugely complicated countries like Gemany, Italy and India, it is unbeatable. This 3rd edition is an improvement over earlier editions, because more pictures (especially of the smaller coins) and more obscurities have been included.
   
   For users in countries which do not speak English, the conversions such as VF = TTB = BB =MBC are very useful !
   The book is not difficult for foreigners to use.



4. I need a guide so I just do not blindly pay big bucks for cute pictures. There are a lot of good guides and some more specific on particular eras and locations such as Westphalia. But as you do a coin search you are bound to run across something you are not familiar with and need a guide. This guide is a great place to start; it is easy to navigate and gives cursory information on particular locations and times surrounding the coin's production.
   
   Keeping in mind that this is just a guide, there are holes and the coins are not displayed in color. On the other hand the coins shown are in actual size; size is hard to translate form internet pictures.
   
   With all the electronic references today it is nice to have something tactile, static and transportable. This book meet al those needs.



5. This is the best guide to world gold coins dated
   after 1600. Before 1600, look for Friedberg's
   "Gold Coins of the World" which has gold ancient coins
   and gold coins up to year 1600.
   Clark Smith
   www.coinvault.com

5 comments about The Official Precious Moments Collector's Guide to Figurines.

1. The 2007 Bomm Precious Moments guide is truly precious since it incorporates retail and secondary values into the same book. The cross-indexing by figurine title and model number is also wonderful. The photos are great quality, too. The guide is a must-have for all collectors!



2. Took a while to receive due to release issues, but once received, Book is great!



3. I think this book is a great way to keep track of my Precious Moments and give me a current value of each one. However, because values change from year to year, it could be a lot of work transferring them to a new book each year. I think every couple of years would be fine to keep track of what you have unless you purchase numerous figurines every year.



4. This guide is an essential reference for any serious collector or anyone buying or selling Precious Moments figurines. The lack of serious competition will make sure this sells. However, there is little improvement in this 3rd edition over the 2006 second edition. The addition of the newer figurines and an update in pricing, which seems to average about 16% increase, are the main differences. There is also a size difference. The second edition was a handy 8.5" x 5.5" but the third ed is 11' x 8.5", which I believe is too large for a soft cover book. There is no new information about each piece that is not in the earlier version. It would have been nice to include the size of each item. There is an annoying change in the index that consolidates several previous entires into entries by series. For example, instead of separately listing the sugar town skating pond there is one listing for the series 'sugar town' with 18 page numbers.
   
   Overall, I was disappointed in this guide and would recommend that anyone not needing information on the last 2 years figurines stays with the 2nd edition and awaits the 4th.



5. Just received this book in today's mail, and frankly, other than the pictures of the pieces, it is, in my opinion, not worth the paper it is printed on. There is NO secondary market except internet auctions for Precious Moments any more. This guide lists "Free Puppies," for example, as a value of $2,100 - they sell regularly on auction for $300 - $450, depending on whether or not they have a box. Last week, one with an original brown cardboard box (extremely unusual), went for just under $600 in mint condition - a beautiful piece. The rest of the "Original 21" are priced through the roof - some of them 10 times and higher prices than what reality is. There is a disclaimer in the book claiming that the prices vary from spot to spot, and they got this information from dealers and collectors around the country. I wish they would give credit to these so-called knowledgable people, and it would be nice to know who paid $2100 for "Puppies" and how many years ago that happened.
   
   For the pictures, the guide is fine, but beyond that, DO NOT rely on it for accurate price information - even many of the suggested retail prices in the book are incorrect.
   
   I give this one a thumbs-down. There is no secondary market to amount to anything in collectibles any more, in my opinion, and this book's prices just encourage disillusionment among collectors so they keep buying (or investing?) in pieces, hoping to make good money when they sell. It ain't gonna happen - there is a ton more merchandise out there than anyone ever guessed back 30 years ago at the beginning of this.
   
   Buy what you like, like what you buy, and don't expect to put your kid through college when it's time to sell - you might not get back enough money to even pay the bookstore bill!
   
   For what it's worth - my opinion!

3 comments about Ty Beanies Tracker Third Edition.

1. Few 20th century collectibles have had as huge a success in the popular culture as those small plush toys known as Beanie Babies -- as well as Punkies, Pinkys, Girtz, and more!. Now in an expanded and fully updated third edition, "Ty Beanies Tracker" under the deft editorship of Beanie Baby expert Karen Holmes provides collectors, dealers, and the general public with a unique, comprehensive, illustrated reference and price guide for these popular toy collectibles. Featuring more than 4,000 color pictures comprising the complete Ty product lines (including variations and rare items), "Ty Beanies Tracker", with its Note Pages, Daffynitions, Attic Treasures, and NASCAR Beanies, is a simply indispensable addition to personal, professional, and community library Antiques & Collectibles reference shelves.



2. This new edition of Ty Beanies is a complete, very informative source for all "Beanie" collectors, old or new, excellent reference!



3. Beanie Babies were one of the truly remarkable pop culture phenomena of the last 15 years. I can still remember the first time McDonald's offered the Teenie Beanies and my wife and I spent the better part of the weekend trying to track down as many of the little critters for our son as we could. Beanies, however, suffered the same fate as many other collectibles such as comic books and sports cards, two hobbies I was very familiar with. First, it quickly became driven by speculators trying to make a quick buck. Next, corporate greed too over as Ty began churning out more and more product and started to try and manufacture collectibles with special releases. Today, we go to garage sales and Flea Markets and see people dumping their Beanies, often for as little as a buck each.
   
   Yet for its core collectors, those who got into it for the love, and not necessarily the promise of future value, Beanies are still around and viable. If you don't think there is still an active market out there for trading Beanies, just check out eBay. As I write this review there are over 21,000 auctions underway in the Ty category. The speculators have long since dropped out, prices have righted themselves, and Bangzoom has released the 2nd edition of their indispensable guide. The guide covers the Beanie scene right up through the beginning of 2006 and in its review of the marketplace it makes no bones about it...now is a great time to buy, but not such a great time to sell.
   
   The book provides a history of Beanies and their hang tags. A picture of generation's unique tag is included in the book with notes on variations and changes. The book also lists several different Beanie related websites that feature news, accessory sales, trading posts, and other information. The book lists Beanies alphabetically, and lists their birth date, introduction date, retirement date (if applicable) and their hang tag poems. The generation(s) is also listed as well as a current price. But you'll find more than just Beanie Babies In the guide...it also covers Beanie Buddies, Kids, Boppers, Teenie Beanies, Jingle Beanies, Pluffies, Punkies, and more, over 1500 different TY items. The back provides a handy index and checklist.
   
   While the craze of the mid-90's may be over, there are still millions of Beanie collectors and lovers out there and there is simply no better book on the Market than the Ty Beanies Tracker from Bangzoom.
   
   Reviewed by Tim Janson

5 comments about Collecting Costume Jewelry 202: The Basics of Dating Jewelry.

1. In "Collecting Costume Jewelry 101", Julia Carroll provided a guide to the main makers of (American) designer costume jewellery, which would allow a beginner to get some idea of what is on offer before going out into the market. In the sequel to this book, "Costume Jewelry 202", Carroll starts by assuming that her readers have already started their costume jewellery collections and then proceeds to give advice on how to date this jewellery.
   
   According to Carroll, there are six main methods of dating costume jewellery: using the maker's mark; using patent information; by reviewing vintage advertisements; by the style or design of the piece; by using books and the internet; and by provenance. Carroll then provides as much of this information as possible to her readers to allow them to date their own jewellery using these methods. For each of the major designers whom Carroll has selected (and there are a lot of them), she provides tables of patent numbers and descriptions, pictures of vintage advertisements, tables of maker's marks and information on style. Much of this information I have not seen in any other book. Extra space is devoted to Coro, Vendome and Trifari jewellery. Readers of "Costume Jewelry 101" will recall that in this book Carroll recommended that beginners start by collecting jewellery by Coro, Kramer, Trifari and Weiss, so this is somewhat consistent with that. Although, I feel that she should have also devoted extra space to Kramer and Weiss jewellery to be fully consistent.
   
   As with the previous book, this book is filled with numerous colour photographs of the jewellery, with 2007 values given for each piece. Please note that this book focuses on dating costume jewellery produced between 1935 and 1980, so if you are interested in dating jewellery that is either earlier or later that this, this book may prove inadequate.



2. This was a wonderfully informative book with information that dozens of other books on this subject do not cover.



3. This book held my attention for days (not just hours!) because it took hours just to get through it --- which I still haven't!! It is a must for anybody who loves jewelry the way I do. It is a must for the true collector. The photos are fantastic! Enjoy!



4. This is one of the better jewelry books around. I had a copy and gave it to my sister who is learning about jewelry. Then I bought another copy to replace it. It is chock full of jewelry manufacturer information as well as patents. Perfect for researching jewelry. This book will become dog-earred just like my first one-I use it that much.



5. The way this book is set up is not useful to me. Interesting but non-functional.

5 comments about Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960.

1. When paging through this colorful book, Dating Fabrics: A Color Guide 1800-1960, imagine my tremendous joy when I found THE yellow flowered fabric featured in my most prized quilt, dating it between 1830-1860!
   
   This very well researched and comprehensive collection introduces each time period from "Pre-1830 'A New Nation' with a thorough introduction of the era and the history of quilts and fabrics. Following are 1-inch x 1-inch photo swatches of the fabrics arranged by print style and colors.
   
   A wonderful reference book for those who make, collect or simply appreciate this art form.



2. This book is a great addition to my historical fabrics/quilt collection. I really appreciate the hardback cover and the spiral binding!! It has
   excellent photographs.



3. This is a great book and took a lot of time and research to put together, although it did not help me. It seemed to have more northern than southern information.



4. Excellent. It's a keeper and is now on my reference shelf. It was hard reading but the best book by far with the pictures and text for dating my fabrics. It really helped in dating my quilts.



5. This book is a picture book of fabric samples, sorted by time period, then color. After studying a time period's samples, one can begin to place a quilt in time. It includes a glossary, bibliography, and list of resources in addition to the photos. I consider it a very useful source for me in attempting to repair some old quilts I have. I need to find repair fabrics that resemble the fabrics used at the time of the quilt. I strongly recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about dating old quilts. It does not attempt to deal with other aspects of quilt appraising, such as thread, style, or construction methods.

2 comments about Collectibles Price Guide 2008 (Collectibles Price Guide).

1. Mostly pictures with litte information, but what I really disliked was it was difficult to hold open and therefore no fun to even look at the pictures!



2. I received this book yesterday. For a newbie to collecting like me, it is just what I've been looking for. The pictures are amazing. The information in it is incredible. The categories make things easy to find. It is just the right size to fit in my purse while I shop. I'm going to enjoy using this book very much!

5 comments about Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!.

1. This book does not cover everything Mego, but its a wonderful collection of photos and important information. I recommend the book for any Mego collector.



2. Simply put this is a fantastic book. It is a walk down memory lane for Mego fans who had the pleasure to grow up with these wonderful action figures in the 1970s. The photographs are splendid and bring to life Mego's WGSH line. The author's attention to detail cannot be matched by any other book out there that purports to touch upon this fine line of Mego action figures. If you are debating between Mego books to buy, please don't pass this book up. It is a decision you will regret a year or so from now when you are trying to track down this book from online auction sites, etc. For anyone looking for a wonderful trip into the past, jump on and enjoy the ride!!!



3. I had all of the items shown in the book as a kid so paging through it was a big trip down memory lane. It reminded me of a lot of fun times.



4. No complaints here! Excatly as a MEGO book should be done with lots of color pics!



5. Very nice history of the Mego Company. Mego was one of the premier toy manufacturers in the Seventies. If you had any of these toys as a child this book will bring back memories. The book is also very detailed in which figures were released when and with what accesories which should satisfy any collectors. Be advised this book covers ONLY Greatest Super Heroes, just as the title suggest. For some reason I had expected the Star Trek and Planet of the Apes line would be included. My fault. Never the less, this book more than made up for it. Great for the avid collector or the person who wants to relive his or her childhood.

No comments about Standard Catalog Of Remington Firearms (Standard Catalog).

5 comments about Hot Wheels Variations: The Ultimate Guide (Hot Wheels (Krause Publications)).

1. This was purchased for our 4 year old who is a major Hot Wheels fan. He and dad pour through the colorful photographs and line up all their cars that match those found in the book. I am sure from a collectors point the information of the value along with the detailed picture would be very useful. It is a nice thick, heavy paged book that will be around this house for a long time.



2. I find this book extremely helpful in listing a very large percentage of the current (1989 onwards) Hot Wheels variations. The book follows on from the earlier editions and I find it a very useful refererence source.



3. Awesome very fast shipping. Arrived in excellent condition. Will buy from again. Thanks so much.



4. If you collect variations of Hot Wheels, you have probably heard of the Godfather of Variations, Michael Zarnock. This guy is nuts about variations and has put together one of the top 3 Hot Wheels collector books ever published. I love the book and have loved it since volume 1 because it has fantastic Blue Card identification pictures and very accurate price guide. If you don't know if a variation is real or fake, just check the Grail, it will let you know if you are dealing with fraud or not. In other words, if it is not in this book you are probably not dealing with a variation. Indispensible to a serious Hot Wheel collector. Gratzi, Don Zarnock.



5. I just got got this book today and It was more than I expected there were tons and tons of pictures, mr. zarnock give yourself a pat on the back because you did one heke of a job.

5 comments about 2008 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 2001 to Date (Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001-Date).

1. Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000 (Standard Catalog of World Coins)This is a generic catalog. The price was competitive and the shipping reasonable.



2. So here we go again... The second edition of a largely unnecessary book (if Krause could drop the "patterns, pieforts etc." sections in the 20th century volume, the two volumes would fit perfectly in one) which seems quite dated the very moment it is published - only in case of some countries you get issues up to 2005. The policy of dating the catalogue "for the coming year" makes the gap even more painfully visible.
   At the same time the second edition does not fill blank spaces left in the first one. Let me give you just one example - Belarus, a country which issues only commemorative coins in moderate mintages but an impressive number. Let's look up the most popular denomination - copper-nickel 1 rouble. 2001 - 2 out of 4 are missing, 2002 - 4 out of 5, 2003 - listing complete, 2004 - 5 out of 10 missing, 2005 - 1 out of 10, and that is the end. Nothing from 2006 and 2007. You don't believe me? Don't take my word for it, check the website of the National Bank of Belarus. It is in English. The editors apparently did not.
   That's the catch - most of the information this catalog is missing is readily available on the Internet. Updating the catalogue would take a week at most and that would include looking up current coin prices on eBay. Because the prices are just as dated as the rest, they don't take into consideration the rise of silver and gold and the fall of the dollar in relation to other currencies.
   However, so far no one has done it better and that is the saddest part. So if you don't have the week to browse the Internet, and want information on recently issued coins in a reasonably handy volume, go ahead and buy it. Just remember that the editors did not have the week as well, and you, at some point, will have to do their research anyway.



3. If there is a coin started from 1980 until 2006 (this book will not mention that this coin has minted from 1980, it will show this coin's mint from 2001) so from my point view this is confusing - at least should give a note for this.
   so if I don't have books for previous years, 100% I will not know that a particular coin have previous mints.
   
   regards



4. I got two books and shipment was very good. Books arrived in good condition. Thanks.
   Cem Barlok



5. This catalog is the best one concerning the hobby of coin collecting. But the description of some coins which belong to countries not using the latin alphabet is not enough images are also needed. This countries are mainly Thailand, Belarus, Ukraine, Bangladash, Nepal and of course Islamic countries.
   Yours sincerely
   Vahe Tekartinyan