I noticed there is no VF for Shield Nickels! Jumps from F to EF. Was this an error or was it done on purpose? This is on the 2012 redbook.
Another whopper in determining price is the fact that there are a couple different levels of VF. There's 25, 30, and 35, what the redbook provides in terms of pricing is so vague and inaccurate that it's a non factor to the seasoned pros who use the internet most frequently.
I know that a couple of world coins are showing ridiculously high completed auctions values due to their so called popularity and uneducated buyers. Couldn't this also be the case for some of the US coins?
Pull results from ebay, teletrade, heritage, stacks, etc... then average them, I think you'd get a pretty accurate figure.
Just use an average in-between value. It'd be about $45 range likely for VF. Then get more accurate prices by checking other more recent auctions and price listings. Math isn't hard, but searching auctions and online for more accuracy is even easier.
That is what I do when I am just trying to get a ballpark in my head for a coin. Since they are only generalities, there is no point trying to make it any more specific than what RC recommended. The best part about pricing in the redbook is it can give you a clue if your coin is possibly a $500 coin versus a $2 coin. The downside of redbook pricing is everything else. Chris
Yup, if you're not familiar with a particular coin or series, it can give you that quick, holy cow this is worth something compared to.. meh, it's a tosser. Red Book = Ball Park Values and ball parks can be huge variance between each other.