capincus' point is a difficult one for people to understand at first.

with coins and postage stamps, an error is very valuable. but it is ONLY valuable because they notice the error, stop the manufacturing or print process, and then physically destroy all known copies. very few ever get out to the public.

truth is, if the error on a coin or stamp were simply printed over and over, it would add no value.

with books, it is a little similar, but, well, 'different'.

mistakes also usually get noticed and corrected. and when is that most likely to happen? in the initial print run.

in capincus' example, they printed only a few books before noticing the error and correcting it in the same first edition run.

they are all first editions, but which are the earliest? the ones with the error.

but let's say an error or misbinding happens much later. it doesn't add value because no one is actually collecting the error itself. they are collecting the earliest known state of the book, which only sometimes is indicated by an error.

the true first edition of a "Christmas Carol" is still unknown. there were different colored endpapers, broken die stamps, typos, etc.

no one is sure which combination was the first one out of the gate. but prices can vary by factors of ten depending on which 'errors' (more correctly 'states') you have.

pretty esoteric stuff to be sure.

but again, no one (in the standard scheme of things) is collecting the error itself, they collect the earliest version of the first edition they can, sometimes indicated by errors.

a misbound or miscollated book it still pretty generally thought of as defective. even in a first edition it would cause the value to take a hit.