When looking up current coin values, which one of these services give the more accurate value. I don't understand how their pricing can be so far apart. Thanks
Neither. Their price lists are for amusement purposes only. Find a source with recent actual sales. Keep in mind though that the exact same coin can sell for vastly different amounts depending on the venue at which it is sold.
I use greysheet, both PCGS and NGC usually represent the highest amount that the coin has sold for in that grade in the recent past.
Do not be deceived by information absent from both the PCGS and NGC prices realized at auction. Many retail buyers purchase coins from agents and dealers who are the buyers at those auctions. The reason? Because they want to see the coin before buying it, and don't go to the auctions themselves. Thus, many of the prices realized in those auctions are more representative of wholesale levels than of prices paid by collectors.
Yeah, I agree that they're both out of whack. My recent n=1 example showed NGC to be optimistic and PCGS to be insane.
What I do is figure out what the coin is going for on auction and will buy it for the same price buy it now.
What you need to keep in mind is that none, absolutely none, of all the various price guides provide accurate, real world values ! In reality there is no such thing as a "set and/or established" value" for any coin. The closest you can get to that is what would be referred to as price range. But a price range can vary by as much as 100%, or more at times. And yes, when I say 100% that means that the low end of the price range could be $100 and the high end of the range could be $200. As Jaelus said above, the best you can do to determine any coin's value is to look actual realized auction prices, the more recent the better, and use those realized prices to establish the coin's price range. And you have to do the work yourself because there is no published price guide whether in printed form or digital form that does this. And none of them do this because coin values are constantly changing. And at times those values can change very quickly, and by very significant amounts. They can suddenly double, or just as suddenly be cut in half, or anywhere in between.
To my tastes, PCGS is a little too proud of their plastic. NGC includes wider data (esp. for world coins), but neither is a really good indicator. Honestly? I use PCGS' site as a "that's retail in a really nice coin shop, where the chairs aren't held together by duct tape, the lightbulbs don't buzz and are more than 40w, the next store in the mall isn't a thrift store, if the proprietor has a glass eye, it's at least a good glass eye" kind of place.
Greysheet is the most accurate in terms of true value. However, many coins have escalated in price in the last few years. PCGS price guide is maximum RETAIL one should ever consider paying for a PCGS certified coin.
For a quick value I use the Greysheet. But not all coins are covered. For a more serious estimate I'll spend the time looking up auction results. The problem with auction results is that there is not complete coverage. You may not find the particular coin and grade you want. Less expensive items are probably best investigated by looking in eBay. Just remember to use the Advanced option (upper right) and select the Completed option.
I use PCGS CoinFacts. It will show you recent auction results from ebay, DL, Stacks, and Heritage. The only major house it doesn't include is GC. You have to go directly to GC's website to see their results.
When there are no auction results for low to no Pop coins PCGS should refrain from making up numbers. Beyond this silly thing price guide is akin to the pirate code, more of a suggestion then the rule.
