I suppose my experience is limited, but I've never seen a dealer pull out a Blue Book to use for someone wanting to sell. I'm not sure who would even use the Blue Book nowadays. Steve
Forgive me. You would think that a fellow that has collected coins a half decade would know this. While I have heard of the Bluebook, I have to admit I have no experience with it. Is the Bluebook supposed to be a wholesale version of the Redbook?
The Blue Book is meant to be the wholesale price guide and the Red Book the retail price guide. However, because they are published annually and put together in advance of their release...both are already outdated before they hit the shelves. They really aren't useful as a price guide.
I have only bought Red Books until 2019, when I bought the Blue Book for comparison. My opinion... Buy the Red Book.
How does the Grey Sheet generally compare with the Blue Book price-wise? I assume the Blue Book would by and large be lower?
The problem with books these days is the internet. Once these prices are published, they are obsolete the day before the book comes out. Since you can always check for the most current auction prices and sold prices. It was my understanding that the Blue Book was what you could expect to get when selling to a dealer, and that the Red Book was very close to high retail, or what the dealer was selling the coins for that he just lowballed you. I asked my old LCS one time for the current black book, and he had never heard of it.
Red Book is useful for identifying varieties of each U.S. coin, not just for a price guide. I bought it for the varieties and have many of them so far, very helpful as a collector, not seller.
Purchased primarily by libraries. I rarely see them in the book stores that sell Redbooks. Designed as wholesale prices. You very rarely see anyone buying using Redbook either. Redbooks are useful for historical mintage figures; high auction prices on rarities and location of mintmark. The closeup color photos of varieties are useful. I haven't seen a copy of the Bluebook for at least thirty years.
The Blue Book and Red Book are based on research that shows what the wholesale and retail prices for US coins were at the time of publishing. Personally, I still get the Red Book every year, but only think of it as a rule of thumb for coins that don't change much in value. Most of the dealers I have bought from or sold to use the Gray Sheet for current prices.
Absolutely they do -I use it to make offers on estates or to walk up buyers on the bourse. As it states it is based on what dealers pay. Other instances I offer 80-85 pct CDN bid. Blue book is wholesale, red book is market retail. Grey sheet is whosale but their CPG retail very fair price for collectors to pay.