Standard Guide To Small Size U.s. Paper Money: 1928 To Date (Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money)

Rating:
Summary: Missing Chuck O'Donnell
Review: Dean Oakes has made a great effort here, basically tries to find the info that the late Chuck O'Donnell already had. All interested should understand how difficult gathering info. is. My contribution is noted, and at least I have my name on the "contributors" page.

Rating:
Summary: A complete WASTE of good Money!
Review: Disappointing is too kind a word to describe this book. The number of glaring errors and omissions in this book make it a complete waste of money. Do yourself a favor and do not buy this book even though it will most likely be heavily discounted as sellers try to unload their stock. Oakes and Schwartz should be wholly ashamed of themselves and the editor, Edler, should never work again in that capacity. What a shame!

Rating:
Summary: A valuable guide, but...
Review: This long awaited 5th edition is, in my opinion, a great disappointment. Firstly, the photographs are of a very poor quality. Many are dull, out of focus and just plain worn out. After being continually recycled through five successive editions is it any wonder? To give you an idea, imagine photocopying a picture, then copying the copy and copying that copy and so on and so on. Do that five times and that's the kind of quality we're talking about. Also, the entire Two Dollar bill section has NO protographs what-so-ever. Obviously in their rush to get this edition out somebody forgot about the two dollar photos. There are also numerous typographical errors, information in the wrong columns and in some cases information missing altogether. The values quoted are another matter entirely. While most have shown a modest increase, a large number have remained static while an equally large number have gone backwards. While values can indeed go backwards in the real world it is hard to tell if this is a true reflection of a somewhat overheated note market stabilizing itself or if it is just another error. In addition, some of the "expanded" and "updated" sections are identical to the previous edition. Don't get me wrong, this is still a valuable reference for all small size note collectors, and one of the few devoted entirely to small size notes, but it seems quality control went out the window in the rush to get this edition out. It could have, and indeed should have, been a heck of a lot better.

Rating:
Summary: A valuable guide, but...
Review: This long awaited 5th edition is, in my opinion, a great disappointment. Firstly, the photographs are of a very poor quality. Many are dull, out of focus and just plain worn out. After being continually recycled through five successive editions is it any wonder? To give you an idea, imagine photocopying a picture, then copying the copy and copying that copy and so on and so on. Do that five times and that's the kind of quality we're talking about. Also, the entire Two Dollar bill section has NO protographs what-so-ever. Obviously in their rush to get this edition out somebody forgot about the two dollar photos. There are also numerous typographical errors, information in the wrong columns and in some cases information missing altogether. The values quoted are another matter entirely. While most have shown a modest increase, a large number have remained static while an equally large number have gone backwards. While values can indeed go backwards in the real world it is hard to tell if this is a true reflection of a somewhat overheated note market stabilizing itself or if it is just another error. In addition, some of the "expanded" and "updated" sections are identical to the previous edition. Don't get me wrong, this is still a valuable reference for all small size note collectors, and one of the few devoted entirely to small size notes, but it seems quality control went out the window in the rush to get this edition out. It could have, and indeed should have, been a heck of a lot better.