Billy's Thoughts:  To start off this year's Holiday Gift Guide, I wanted to feature a wonderful gift that would be perfect for a variety of different age groups.

One of the most popular (and oldest) hobby is coin collecting. People of all ages, including kids, love collecting coins from around the world. It's also a great investment, as some older coins are worth a lot money.

The best places to find older coins is at antique stores, coin collecting shops and the internet, but please be advised on what the correct price of a coin is as you don't want to over pay.

The only way to find the current correct prices for coins is to look in The Official Red Book: A Guide Of United States Coins, which is published by Whitman. The 2016 (69th edition) is now available to buy in book stores, coin shops, hobby shops or online at www.whitman.com/store.

A few months back, I was sent The Official Red Book: A Guide Of United States Coins 69th Edition hardcover ($16.95 retail). This year's book is edited by Kenneth Bressett (Senior Editor), Q. David Bowers (Research Editor) and Jeff Garrett (Valuations Editor).


The book gives you a quick introduction the world of coins in "Welcome To Numismatics." Then it jumps right into the coin values, which are divided into the following sections:

Pre-Federal Issues - Colonial and Post-Colonial Issues.

Any coin collector will know that Whitman Publishing, LLC is the best company that makes the supplies for coin collecting. From coin books to the yearly A Guide Book of United States Coins, the company manufacturing everything you would ever need.

Available to purchase now from Whitman Publishing, LLC is the 625pc Ultimate Coin Supply Kit, featuring the 2015 Red Book Price Guide, State Series Quarters Folders Volume I & II, 300 Nickel-Quarter Mylar holders, 300 Cent-Dime Mylar holders, 4 Quarter Size Storage Tubes, 5 Cent Size Storage Tubes, a Whitman Coin Storage Box, 5 Quality Thumb-cut Pages, 6 Plastic 2x2 Quarter holders, and a 3" Round Magnifier. If purchased separately, this collection would retail at over $76, but it can currently be purchased at $29.95!

Being a coin collector myself, I was excited to review a complimentary kit in exchange for my honest thoughts. Of course the main item that pops out of the kit is the 2015 Red Book, a price guide of United States Coins, which retails at $14.95 all by itself. The guide covers the current prices of Pre-Federal Issues (colonial and post-colonial), Federal Issues (from half cents to proof and mint coin sets), Bullion, United States Pattern Pieces and other coin issues. The "Welcome To Numismatics" gives a detailed introduction to the United States Coins, starting with the Spanish Milled Dollar and ending with Sunken Treasure. The 2015 Red Book gives a coin collector the current value (well at least close to it) for every coin grade.

Included in the kit are 300 Nickel-Quarter Mylar holders (a 100 psc. set retails at $5.99) and 300 Cent-Dime Mylar holders (a 100 psc. set retails at $5.99). These are great for keeping coins dust-free. To keep each cardboard holder close, I recommend taping it shut with scotch tape. There is also a 6 pcs. State Series Quarters Plastic Holders. These polystyrene holders can be used to keep any quarter in your collection safe. Each 2" x 2" holder retails about $.89. You can store these holders in the Whitman Coin Storage Box (3 dividers; box is 9 inches long), which holds 39 - 2" x  2" holders and retails at $5.99.