I'm looking at PCGS's Price Guide and I'm wondering if the info I'm viewing is current... They don't have a time stamp of the last updated time. Anyone want to shed some light on this?
I think it is updatd weekly in theory but I am sure that is not all prices. Remember it is a guide for PCGS coins only. There are some areas where it is high, there are some areas where I hope to buy at their level. It is a guide, combine it with other resources like auction records.
Todd has it correct -- PCGS changes the prices based largely on auction results. I actually think it's a good starting point but you then need to check auction results to see how timely a particular price is.
The PCGS price guide is very fair and is a great price guide. I use it to price my slabbed coins for my shop and show retail customers. If they won't pay the money they can leave.
I agree with Doug, PCGS prices are way off the mark, even for their precious graded stuff. If people are buying and selling using that guide as reference then they're seriously out of touch with the market, in my opinion and experience. Guy
Then you must not consider realized auction prices as retail prices because according to realized prices, the PCGS guide is about 30% too high on the ones I've checked.
http://www.ngccoin.com/poplookup/NGCCoinPriceGuide.asp Newly released NGC Price List I checked quite a few prices and at least 80% seem to be in line with current values. Remember, these are prices for CERTIFIED coins, not what YOU think the grade is and to assign a price, but it is a very good barometer as to where the price range should be within. Happy Collecting
Always remember, the price guides are taking auction averages for specific grades and making a price guide. It is important to remember that you should always buy the COIN and not the holder. There is a huge price difference between a lovely original surface and toned example of any coin versus a coin that "snuck" into a certain grade holder based on detail alone and not eye appeal.
I kind of look at those prices the same way I look at the appraisal value of my wife's wedding ring; it's great if I ever need to make a claim for insurance on it, but it's worthless as an indicator of liquidation value in the free market.
Auctions are not a retail setting. What I'm telling you is that there are a great number of retail outlets (i.e. dealers) of PCGS coins, to include those who attend large regional shows, where the PCGS is a very good predictor of price. Here's a list: http://www.pcgs.com/dealers/ Said a bit differently, the 30% "too high" is a pretty good gauge of average spread for retail dealers that advertise on the internet or attend the show circuit -- particularly as you get to "classic" coins (i.e. pre-1930) and the traveling circuit. In actuality, the spread may be a bit smaller, but not much. You coming to FUN? Let's do a little experiment. We'll pick out some coins and find 10 nice examples of each in PCGS holders on the bourse and write down the asking price. I think it would be a great insight into the market and absolutely worth the time of a few collectors (we could each take one coin). I know when I last did the experiment, in 2007, the guide was very accurate. I know when I look at the websites listed on the PCGS site, including some dealers from whom I get inventory updates on a regular basis, the guide is very accurate. However, I also recognize that I don't watch large parts of the market -- as you know, I'm a modern type and large cent collector and I don't attend a lot of shows. Now you can argue that it may be the tail wagging the dog here, and I would might agree with you. You could also argue that there's probably some meat left on the bone and negotiation for an additional discount is possible, and again I would agree with you. In addition, if you were to argue the closer to top-pop you get and the smaller the spread gets, and I would agree. And of course there are dealers that sell a bit more cheaply than others, and there are exceptions to the rule. That doesn't change the correlation between price guide and asking price that I have observed and I expect will hold should we undertake a more broad experiment. And it is for this reason I took issue to your "worthless" comment.
I've noticed that as I've moved into the older stuff and away from modern proofs, the PCGS guide is at least a little more in the ballpark. For example I put together a run of 1973 - 2010 Jefferson Nickel proofs, including the 1979 and 1981 Type I and II, all PCGS PR69 DCAM, and the price guide total comes out to $1,134 LOL. I'd be hard pressed to get much more than $350 - $400 for them on a good day. Now that I'm looking hard at Peace dollars, the PCGS guide is at least within 10-15% or so of obtainable prices for a retail buyer rather than 2 - 3x market value.
