How to Find the Value of Old Books

Identifying Your Book

Refer to the book’s title page and copyright page for key information. Make note of the full title of the publication and the author’s name. Then look for the imprint details, namely the publisher’s name and the city and date of publication, as well the copyright registration date. Gently open the book to the first page. Pass any blank pages and the half-title page, if there is one, which contains only the name of the book. Following these, you will find the title page. Turn to the reverse or the following page for the copyright page. Don’t rely on the dust jacket or binding to find the information you need, since these elements may not be original to the pages within. Even if they are, the information they provide may be incomplete.

Determine the edition details of your copy. Many book collectors prize first editions and other rare editions. Check the title page and copyright page to see if your book is a first edition, a revised edition, or a limited edition. These details, which may impact the value of your copy, are usually printed along with the other key identifying information. Some first editions display the words "First Edition" on the title page, but many don't. You may have a first edition book if you only see a single publication date. You can identify a reprint if you see multiple publication dates listed. Reprints often include the word "Printing" (as in "Second Printing") or "Edition" (with an ordinal number other than "First"). In some cases, a book may be reprinted by a publisher other than the publisher who originally published it. It may be described as "First (publisher name) Edition" to indicate that the press is not the original publisher of the work.

Match your book’s details with a record in an online catalog. Armed with your list of key identifying information, compare what you know about your copy with the official publication history of the book. Visit an online catalog such as World Cat, the National Union Catalog (NUC), or a print or digital author/subject bibliography that has been published about your book’s author or topic. Search by the author, title, and imprint details until you find a record that precisely matches your copy. These catalogs include a different entry for each known and suspected edition of a book title. You’ll be able to see where your edition fits within the title’s overall publication history. This will help you understand how old it truly is.

Use this catalog information to determine how rare your copy is. While determining the number of private owners is difficult at best, you can look up how many copies are held in public, corporate, and collegiate libraries. Search your copy in World Cat, NUC, or another online reference and you’ll be able to see how many copies of that edition are accessible and where they’re held. As with most collectible items, the fewer copies that exist, the more valuable each individual remaining copy is. Ask a librarian to help you look up your book in an online catalog if you’re having trouble.

Assessing the Quality of Your Copy

Confirm the completeness and condition of the book’s pages and plates. Look to the catalog record that matches your book to see how many pages and illustrations (often called plates) it should contain. Gently examine your own book to see whether it contains all of the pages and plates it originally contained. Look carefully at your book to see whether the pages are stained, discolored, creased, or torn and how any edge treatment like gilding has held up. Refer to antiquarian terminology to accurately define the damage. For example, brown splotches are known as “foxing.” Condition and completeness both impact the monetary value of an old book.

Note any damage to the book’s binding. Determine how secure the binding is and whether or not the front and back boards of the cover are firmly attached to the spine. Look carefully at the condition of the binding stitches and glue. A book without its original binding is also incomplete. If your book isn’t terribly rare, a copy in worse condition will always be of less value than a similar copy in a better condition.

Examine the physical condition of the cover and dust jacket, if applicable. Check to see if the outer cover and spine are faded, ripped, or warped in any way. If you have a 20th-century book, check to see if it still has its original dust jacket. Assess the condition of the dust jacket and note any tears, creases, or discoloration. The absence of a dust jacket from a book that originally came with one may significantly decrease its value.

Summarize the book’s overall physical condition in antiquarian grading terms. Refer to antiquarian guides to confidently define your copy’s condition. Commonly-used terms include “fine” or “like new,” meaning the book is in near-perfect condition with no visible defects. Terms including “very good,” “good,” “fair,” and “poor” indicate increasing levels of defectiveness. Note the details about your book’s physical condition as it relates to the grade you’ve assigned it. Regardless of condition, refer to your book as an “ex-library copy” if it contains library markings or originated at a library. Use “binding copy” to refer to a book whose pages are in decent condition but which requires a new binding. Keep in mind that especially old or rare books may still be highly valuable even with considerable damage.

Gather evidence of your book’s provenance to increase its value. Your book’s provenance, or the history of who owned it in the past, can have an impact on its value, particularly if it belonged to a notable owner. Check for a bookplate with the owner's name, a handwritten signature, or an author's autograph mentioning the owner's name. If your book came with a compelling story, try to track down documentation proving this lineage to be true. Look into family records or consult people who knew the previous owner for confirmation.

Determining Your Book’s Market Value

Have your book formally appraised by a qualified expert. If you desire tax incentives or insurance coverage for your book, you’ll need to get a formal appraisal. Appraisals can be done by a certified book appraiser or informally by a dealer in second-hand or rare books. Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), or the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). Track down an appraiser in your area so that they can examine the physical book. Appraisals typically cost a fee, often to cover services as well as insurance, so be prepared for this investment. If you’re not able to find an appraiser in your area, send detailed photographs of the book. Snap pictures of the front and back of the title page, the first and last text pages, the outer covers, and the spine, as well as any other aspects the appraiser asks for. Librarians typically don’t provide appraisal services. If your book contains a signature, an appraiser will be able to authenticate it for you. Depending on the book and signature, the presence of a signature may significantly increase the value of your book.

Consult a recently-printed reference guide for your book’s estimated value. A number of printed references to collectible books exist. Find one related to your book’s subject or author at a library or within the collectibles section of a bookstore. Depending on how the reference guide is organized, your book may be listed by alphabetically by author or title, or chronologically by publication date. Refer to the guide’s table of contents and index to locate the listing you need. Be sure to refer to the most recent version when possible, as book values fluctuate. Refer to Allen and Patricia Ahern's "Collected Books: The Guide to Values" for details on first editions. Look to ”American Book-Prices Current" and "Book-Auction Records," 2 reference guides for prices old books fetched at auction. The semiannual "Bookman's Price Index" summarizes the information from book dealers' catalogs to produce its list of prices.

Search online book resellers to see what your book could sell for. Search your book’s details on the websites of booksellers, such as Abe Books, BookFinder, and AdALL, and auction sites like eBay to see what others are currently charging or paying for copies like yours. If you don’t see many results for your exact copy, this may either be due to its limited popularity or its scarcity. Consider consulting an antiquarian if you can’t find much online. Set up an account and try to sell or auction off your book through one of these sites if you’d like.

Remember that the book’s monetary value equals what a buyer is willing to pay. Despite what a catalog, online reference, or appraiser may tell you, the actual amount you'll get for selling an old book depends on what your buyer is willing to pay for it. Consider these estimates as educated guesses, not determinations. Know that many factors will impact the amount of cash you’ll be able to get for your copy. Buyer demand may fluctuate according to trends in the market or fluctuations in personal interests. A famous title, the work of a well-known author, or a book about a popular subject may be more valuable due to popularity or less valuable due to oversaturation in the market.

Hold onto your book if you’re not comfortable selling it. You only have one chance to cash in on the market value of your book. If you feel as though your book is worth more than what others are willing to pay for it at any given moment, just hang onto it. After a few years, the value may increase. It’s also okay to hold onto a book that has significant personal or sentimental value for you. This type of book, even if it's not worth much money, can be priceless. You may also wish to donate your book to a library or archive. Contact the acquisitions department to discuss whether or not you can make a donation.