What Magnifier Do You Recommend For Me?

The x is for "times" or the "multiplication" of the magnification. Those aspheric lens on magnifier.com might be the size your looking for. They are bigger than a loop. Maybe 2 inches in diameter.

It sounds like you are doing your homework and shopping around. So, I think you'll be Happy in the end.

I've used a 7X Hastings Triplet for everyday work for 30 years, and always carry a similar 10X for close-ups. If I can't get the drift with those, I'm not a buyer!

I've been through a lot of magnifiers in my 30+ years collecting but I always come back to the best - Bausch & Lomb 7x APO Triplet. I have two, they are my main goto loupe for everything coin related. They aren't the cheapest at $40.00 or so, but absolutely no color fringing and they come in several powers, I like the 7X for most of what I look at, small RPDs and die cracks on my Two Cent Pieces.

Great choice!! I almost picked up the one with 4 lens but I pretty much only use the 10X, so I didn't think I would use the 2.5X or the 16X

Actually, do you think I should go with the spiral-bound 2020 Red Book? I'm new to all this stuff so I don't want to spend too much money on a book that I don't need right now and also this book would be a lot easier to carry around while I'm still learning stuff on the go. Also I could save up and get the new Big Red soon. What do you think?

CozyCoin,

I think any RedBook in the past 5-8 years would suffice, as the pricing data is out of date by the time it goes to press anyways, the information rarely changes, only a few mistakes (and they are rare now). Save money and get a used one or older one off ebay or Amazon, you should be able to find one with some patience for under $5.00 shipped. I sold my last few at .99 +media mail shipping which ran about $3.45 on ebay not too long ago. I've got a 2015 RedBook in spiral if you want I'd be happy to sell you for the cost of shipping only, drop me a PM if interested. It's not exactly 100% up to date, but it is brand new, and I want it go to someone that will actually use it as intended. I'm in the Dallas area, so mid point USA shouldn't take long (even media mail) to get pretty much anywhere in the USA.

Mega RedBook is nice for the shear volume of data, but it's a bit hard to lug around and use at a coin show or coin shop, (like the Breen Encyclopedia was in it's heydays). The best books to have on hand are a RedBook, maybe a cherrypicker's guide, when going coin hunting, any other reference you might need TOP100 VAM pocket book comes to mind, as does my Half Cent pocket attribution guide. I make printouts of pricing data off the recent web pages from NumisMedia or Greysheet before a show. Now I've been doing coin shows for around 3 decades I don't need to haul much anymore, I know what I'm looking for, but it's always nice to have some references for when I've covered searching all the tables (smaller shows) and don't want to leave, I'll look for CUD/Die Crack/DDO / DDR,RPD coins in junk bins, and low cost books at tables, and have found quite a few cool pieces that way.