The first book that most collectors buy is the red book, properly known as  "A Guide book of United States Coins.  You must have a red book to even begin to know what a coin is and what it is worth.  Without a red book you are not even qualified to ask an answerable question. The red book is the coin collector's bible and contains virtually all basic identification and evaluation information.
Everybody else has a red book and so should you.  Packed with color photos and statistical
information. Over 400 Pages, Hard Cover, $16.95 - Soft Cover Spiral Bound, $14.95

The ANA Grading Guide utilizes hundreds of good quality photographs to acquaint you with the nuances of coin grading.  Many collectors seriously miss-grade their coins because they have nothing to compare their coins to.  This book goes a long way towards avoiding that kind of expensive mistake. A Must Have! Soft Cover, 368 Pages, $16.95

Here is a very handy little item.  This shirt pocket size little hard cover book lists all commonly collected U.S. Coins and provides little check boxes to mark which coins that you have.  Ever stumbled upon a coin shop and couldn't remember if you had a certain coin or not? Problem Solved!!
Hardcover, 64 pages, $2.99

This is a professional quality 10x loupe.  This is the same piece that we use everyday to make a living buying and selling rare coins.  Without this valuable pocket piece, you will not be able to see well enough to intelligently evaluate a rare coin.
Largest Available, 10x loupe, $13.95