There's no definite answer. It varies a lot. And which editions are the most worth having varies a lot. Lemme pick one as an example. (Reddit won't let me tell you what the book is). This search site lets you sort books by asking price, either cheapest or most expensive first. A first edition will often be at the pricy end.

https://www.addall.com/SuperRare/UsedPage.html?id=221018064217113313

Other search sites let you specify if you want a first edition.

Remember that most books never get a second edition because they flop. That doesn't make them valuable to anybody.

r/rarebooks will happily answer your specific questions about stuff like this.

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There's no easy way. You need to know the order of publication, which tends to be, but not always, based on the author's nationality.

Then you need to find the original year published. Then check the book itself to see which printing it is (though it's not always indicated).

The further back you go, the harder it is to establish these things because publishers hadn't yet standardized the publication details page.

/r/BookCollecting as well.

Each territory can have its own first edition. A true first will state either First Edition on its copyright page, or a number line which should feature the number 1. A second impression (or printing) of a popular title will have a number line 'starting' from 2, or it may state that it's a second impression/printing.

A new cover will be considered a second edition by collectors, although many publishers count it as a further 'printing'.

Thanks man, I’m gonna check this website out. Also I am assuming most first edition books would be used right?

Oh I’ll check these two subs out then, thanks a lot

I’ll definitely check them out thanks

Ohh, thanks a lot for the info 😊

The 2 instead of 1 is definitely confusing. The book with earlier publication date would be worth collecting more right? Or the authors country one?

So like if a book was first published in 1940s or something, it would be kinda impossible to determine its first edition?

Hi! The places like /r/BookCollecting or /r/rarebooks are better equipped to help you out. Please make sure to check their rules before posting. Good luck!

Thank you so much, will check those out

Well, there's first edition, then there's first printing of the first edition. You can generally determine if a book is a first edition by matching the publication year and publisher (found online) to the publication year marked in the book. Determining the printing could be tougher for older books. Sometimes you need to know specific things, like typos in the dust jacket, colour of the end boards etc.

It really depends on the publisher. Some are more detailed than others. Tracking of printings was not common before the middle of the 20th century. Then the Printer's Key or Number Line became popular and made things easier.

So you need to know when the book was first published, where it was first published, by whom it was first published, even before looking at the book itself to determine what printing it is.

Luckily having the internet as a resource really helps.

Oh thanks a lot, that was very informative, I have one more question, Do different publishers in different countries write first edition in their respective prints?

Also, one of my books has printers key going like 51 53 55 57 58 60 58 56 54 52, so this would mean its the 51st print of the edition?

While the numbers line tends to indicate printings, I think it's also been used to indicate year. It could mean 1951.

If it's a really popular book, then it's most likely the print run number.

That I can't answer unfortunately. My experience is with English books.

Its definitely the print run then, this was first published in 1996

Oh okay, thanks anyways