Standard Catalog of World Paper Money - Modern Issues 2013: 1961-Present (Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Vol.3: Modern Issues) [Paperback]

Well, I got the new edition in hope to see bugs and flaws from the previous editions fixed. What we have now? Smaller font, coming to microscopic, smaller pictures (albeit, quality somewhat improved), and all the same troubles we saw with the previous edition. The latest issues are often missing (funny, but Mozambique ends with 2006 issue, no hint on polymer notes of 2011, BUT: the picture for 20 meticais 2006 is that of a polymer note!!!). We now see prices for 2 grades of condition, not three. And - where is the disk with a PDF copy??? Are the guys telling me I'll have to carry this 5 lbs encyclopedia everywhere in addition to my laptop?
Prices given make wonder where they were taken from. Did anyone of the editorial ever check them at Ebay at least? Costa-Rican new notes are twice as overpriced in the book (and they are not the only ones), many are underpriced (South Sudan is the worst, unbelievable example)...
Conclusion: the book works as a beginner's level banknote identifier (and still with some really bad faults), but is nowhere near about the market prices, and definitely not as complete, accurate and up-to-date as declared. Another disappointment, year after year.

It looks as though a conscious effort has been made to improve this new edition - but there is still a very long way to go. There are still non-existent notes listed - such as Nigeria 2 naira which, to the best of my knowledge is a coin, and South Sudan 50 piastre which has not been issued yet and is intended to be a coin. Although some countries have 2011 notes listed, others have many recent and not-so-recent issues ignored. The most glaring example is the United States - nothing after 2006 listed in a catalogue which purports to be a 2012 edition.

A few more signature tables have appeared - but the listings for some countries still refer to signatures by number without a table to show what the numbers mean. Other signature tables stop short of what is required to differentiate recent notes.

Valuations are still haphazard - for example an attempt has been made to value the long series of Zimbabwean notes and bearer-cheques individually with some surprisingly low values for some of the bearer cheques. On the other hand, the higher denominations of the new South Sudan notes are valued below face - the most extreme example being the £100 which is valued at $2 for a note with a face value of $37.

On the plus side, illustrations are generally quite sharp within the limitations of their rather small size; however, it is hard to see the purpose of the colour plates towards the front of the book. These must add quite a bit to the cost - hardly justifiable if they are only for decoration.

Evidence of some effort to improve - but still a long, long way to go before it really is "The World's Authority on Paper Money" as claimed.

Simply put, the 18th edition of the SCWPM is another dog's breakfast from Krause; a few nuggests of new material mixed into a warmed-over mess of dubious content from past editions. While there are a few entries for notes dated as recently as 2011, the updates are uneven. Qatar and United Arab Emirates, just to name a few, are missing new note types which were issued four years ago. There are literally hundreds of new note types and varieties issued over the past few years which haven't made it into this new edition. Of those that have been added, very few are illustrated, and the descriptions of same are extremely bare bones, often containing erroneous information, such as incorrect dates.

The many mistakes I uncovered on a cursory examination of the new catalog leads me to believe that Krause doesn't bother verifying information submitted by contributors, and almost certainly hasn't compiled high-resolution images of notes to double-check details such as dates, signatures, and security features. How else can you explain listing substantially revised note types as varieties of older issues? For example, several of Nigeria's current polymer issues are listed as mere date and signature varieties of paper notes.

Krause continues to employ the practice of assigning Pick numbers to "expected new issues" which history has proven often aren't forthcoming and leads to vestigal listings in the catalog that take years to remove, if ever. Case in point, Nigeria's Pick 31, a non-existant 2-naira note dated 2006, which has been wrongly included in the catalog since the 15th edition. It's joined this year by South Sudan's 50-piaster note, listed as Pick 4, even though this denomination was never issued after being dropped in favor of a coin. Given its poor track record of cleaning up its past mistakes, Krause should adopt the simple rule, "When in doubt, leave it out." Much better to be incomplete or a bit late than to be flat-out wrong.

Don't get me started on the values for the other denominations from South Sudan, none of which reflects true market values, and most of which are far below face values. On the flip side there are many countries where notes are valued at large multiples of the current going rate. Don't believe me? Search for "CV" (catalog value) in eBay listings. You'll find thousands of listings where the sellers are tacitly advertising that the SCWPM valuations are grossly inflated.

The only people who should consider buying the 18th edition are banknote dealers, because like it or not, currently Pick numbers are the most common shorthand method used to track inventories. If you need to know the Pick number/letter which has been assigned to a new note, the SCWPM is the only game in town. But if you're a collector who cares about having an up-to-date catalog with beautiful notes rendered in full color, accurate valuations, complete signature tables, detailed descriptions, and so much more, I humbly suggest you try The Banknote Book instead.