How accurate is NCG Price Guide?

How accurate is NCG's Price guide? This coin is going for $150 on ebay. I've been noticing that coins are selling for a decent amount lower.

With that being said, can you guys recommend any other coin value sites?

 

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It's not very accurate. You're better off searching auction hammer prices.

 

Yeah many times the price is way off the mark.

 

Like HA?

 

I have yet to identify a sure-fire always-reliable price guide. I look at PCGS, NGC and Coin World to give me an idea and then see what things are actually selling for on eBay. Past auctions are great too, but since I'm not always looking for really high-end stuff, it's not always easy to find an example of what I'm looking for.

 

Use this:

http://www.pcgs.com/auctionprices/

Heritage's entire archive is just a subset of what PCGS gathers for that site. It's not "prefect," I've seen Heritage results that are unlisted there, but not many. CoinFacts also includes auction results in their descriptions of coins, as well.

Ebay is another good resource, especially for coins you wouldn't normally find slabbed, but don't forget to apply the Bidiot Filter.

 

plus the toning factor (can add multiples to a common coin) and the rare holder/gold CAC sticker (either one can also make a very common coin quite pricey).

 

And eBay.
NGC gives auction prices, too.

 

Book values generally tend to be more than the actual value of the coin, however there are cases in which they are an accurate representation. Sometimes they can even be lower than what the coin is going for. I think the best thing to do is to check as many reputable price guides as possible, and then look at current and sold listings for the coin in question.

 

It depends on the coin and the series. IMHO, most moderns are overpriced (although the same could be said of some classic coin series as well).

 

I usually take at lease 25% off online price guide

 

True. Those filters also apply to all other auction price venues.

 

Bright line rules never work in numismatics. For generic gold, 25% below would put you below wholesale territory in some cases.

 

And sometimes a coin has such great eye appeal, you just have to pay more if you want it regardless of what the price guide says. I try to avoid paying a premium over retail like the plague, but it can't always be avoided. Unfortunately, despite attempts at standardization, there are no standard price guides that break down "Really good looking MS60" vs. "Ugly toning MS60."

 

I just use price guides (Retail Coin World, PCGS) as that and do I feel comfortable with the asking price. Is it in line with retail guides or the wholesale as the grey sheet.

 

Or even well below melt. And while dealers may be able to pay 3% under melt (and cash for gold places can pay 30-70% below melt), an average collector will rarely or never be able to get even generic gold at those levels.

 

"Rules" don't work for pricing. You're not competing against rules for that coin you want, you're competing against people. What reality and sales of record show that people are willing are willing to pay for that coin is what governs the price you pay. When that coin exceeds that price, you fall back onto the second axiom of coin buying: there will always be another. Patience is rewarded in numismatics. Haste is punished.

 

I agree that PCGS auction prices is probably the best pricing guide for medium to high-end coins. I have also found that omissions do occur in their database, but aren't numerous. Probably the worst fault is that CAC is very often omitted from the notes. If you are interested in knowing whether coins were CAC-approved, you have to look through the auction house databases. Generally, I do this only for Heritage, which is quick and easy to do. The data that is present in the PCGS database is almost always correct though.

Cal

 

I agree in general, but once you've done your homework, failure to pounce on a good deal can cause regrets later. Has happened to me more than once. Occasionally when looking over past auction results, I'll wince when see a coin that I recall letting go for the price it realized. Especially true when I later bought a similar coin at a higher price.

Cal

 

In my experience, I have found the price guide to be a bit high. Last year I bought a high grade Rosie, the NGC price guide was almost double of PCGS and Ebay sold prices.

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