I understand that The Grey Sheets are the most accurate and widely used price guide but what are some other options? I know published books can become a little out dated because prices change all the time. what do you guys use as an alternative to the grey sheets?
Yep, recent auction results are the best. The greysheet is sort of a listing of the average dealer-to-dealer prices (similar to wholesale prices). If you are offered coins at those prices by a dealer look very carefully at them. We ordinary collectors rarely get to buy at those levels.
An online resource I use to get a general idea of fair market value is Numismedia.com. Another web site is Collectors Corner which is a web site that dealers nationwide list their coins for sale. Here one can get a feel for what approximate level one could expect to have to pay within a price range. Seldom do two dealers have the same coin from the same grading service priced the same so you really have to look at the coin rather than go by the grade on the label. The Grey Sheet is a dealer to dealer wholesale price guide with dealer retail prices at from 10 to 20% over the ask price. Exceptional coins for the grade taking into account eye appeal and strike will command premiums that can far exceed that.
It's not that the values listed in books and magazines, or even web sites, are out dated. Nor is it that prices have changed since the book/mag was published. It's that the values listed in them was no good to begin with, even when it was new and current info.
