Is My The Green Eagle Score (Parker #10) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original, 1967, carrying the Gold Medal catalog number d1861 on the cover and spine, with Robert McGinnis cover art
• Parker #10
• The true first is the wrappered Gold Medal printing; there is no printed number line, so identify it by the d1861 designation, the priced first-printing cover, and the absence of any later-printing or reissue statement

How Fawcett Gold Medal marked a first edition

• Gold Medal pioneered the PAPERBACK ORIGINAL — so the Gold Medal paperback is itself the first edition (no prior hardcover) for most of its crime/noir list. Identification centers on first-PRINTING points, not first-editi…
• First printing is identified by the Gold Medal serial number and the copyright-page printing notice: a true first usually has NO 'Second printing'/'Third printing' line; later printings explicitly state the printing and…

Full Fawcett Gold Medal first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
3. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
4. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

Paperback original; true first. No prior hardcover edition. The Gold Medal wrappered first (d1861) precedes all later paperback reissues and the later hardcover reprints.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Confirm the Gold Medal imprint and catalog number d1861 on the cover and the Robert McGinnis cover art. Later printings and reissues under other imprints exist and lack the d1861 designation.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Green Eagle Score (Parker #10) a first edition?

A first edition of The Green Eagle Score (Parker #10) by Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake) (Fawcett Gold Medal) is identified by: Fawcett Gold Medal paperback original, 1967, carrying the Gold Medal catalog number d1861 on the cover and spine, with Robert McGinnis cover art.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). Paperback original; true first.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

Confirm the Gold Medal imprint and catalog number d1861 on the cover and the Robert McGinnis cover art. Later printings and reissues under other imprints exist and lack the d1861 designation.

I have a first edition of The Green Eagle Score (Parker #10) — what should I do?

If you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.