World Famous Comics: Photograde: Official Photographic Grading Guide for United States Coins, 19th Edition
Photograde: Official Photographic Grading Guide for United States Coins, 19th Edition
By: James F. Ruddy Publisher: Zyrus Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Zyrus Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 294 Publication Date: February 28, 2005
Product Description: Considered the most highly acclaimed and preferred of its kind, the newest edition of the universal coin-grading encyclopedia by James F. Ruddy showcases over 1000 enhanced coin-grading pictures and adjectival descriptions of regular issue U.S. coin types from 1793 to date. Designated in 1972 as an Official Grading Guide of the American Numismatic Association, Photograde is widely accepted as the most complete grading book ever printed. In fact, over 500,000 copies have been sold to date.
The Lasting Staqndard This publication has and is always the most up-to-date, universally-accepted and accurate representation of present grading standards for rare and common US coins. Very useful in anticipating future values.
Disappointed **NOT AN UPDATE** Don't waste your money There is nothing new in this book except the 19th on the edge of the cover. It doesn't even cover the state quarters or presidential dollars. I am very disappointed in the quality of the photographs. I would have expected quality Color photos in this day but these photos are of 1970 B&W quality and not the quality of todays digital photos. It's just a poor and lazy update of prior versions to give the author a boost in money. If the author wants a good book then completely redo it with high quality color photos and add the new coins for more accurate grading. Do not waste your money on this book. Buy an older used one for less money.
Poor photos and printing I am extremely disappointed in the photographs. They are not large enough and not clear enough to really see detail being discussed. With the state of art of photography and printing, the quality of the book is inexcusable, especially since having photos of the various grades is the `niche' the book is trying to fill. I realize that using glossy paper would make this book significantly more expensive, but they could have done a much better job with the existing paper stock. The photos make this book unusable. Instead consider `AMA Grading Standards' or `Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection.'
Easy to understand Persoanlly, I really like this book and use it all the time. It is easy to understand and helps me feel more confident with my personal grading practice. The only thing I don't like is that the pictures are not the greatest but this hasn't really been a problem for me. In short, if you want to grade better then get the book. The sub-par pictures aren't enough to detract too much.
Photograde While the book is unique and helpful with the pictures depicting the grade of most coins, it is outdated! I was very disappointed to not find grading guides for the new state quarters (1999,ff). I read on the title page that it was last revised in 1995! Yet, the book was copyrighted in 2005. I thought I was buying a current book to aid me in grading my coins. Wrong!
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
