In this study I take a number of popular coins and compare the price in the Red Book, which is considered the value of the coin, vs the Blue Book, which is considered the wholesale price or the price a dealer would pay. Now I am aware that many people disregard the Red Book and Blue Book, but I still consider there to be room to compare each books prices. All coins are around MS 60 price So let's get started.... 1909 VDB MS-60 1972-S $5 Gold MS-60 1889 Morgan MS-60 1900 Lafeyette Dollar MS 60 1896-O Barber MS-60 Feedback appreciated. Should I do more?
I did say that, however I included that these may be dealer prices becuase I quote "This book contains prices many dealers will pay" Pg 6 BlueBook 2018
As far as the real world coin prices go. No I don't believe you would be reaching much in the way of any valuable conclusions...... However the act itself I believe would go a long way in arming you with general numismatic knowledge that may be of great value to you should you choose to pursue a career in the field as per your other thread.
because I found it interesting how different coin types have different value margins. Before hand I always assumed that the Blue prices was just a percentage of the red. But after comparing, some coins have a 30% price diff and others have 5% difference
I think it’s a good thing to use all the tools you have at your disposal. Red book, blue book, internet. Grey sheet if you can afford it. I like to buy a red and blue once every 2-3 years. I also use the price guide in my numismatic news and I use the online sold prices.
Has to do with demand and how quickly the dealer will be able to move the coin. A common coin is easy to get overstocked on and they are slow movers so the dealer has to pay a greater percentage back of the retail value than they do for rarer in demand items that he will be able to move quickly. For those item they can pay a smaller percentage back of retail value. That's why there is no good answer when newbies ask "What percentage back of graysheet do dealers pay for coins?" (Haven't seen that asked lately but it used to be a VERY common question.) They expect dealers to be paying a set percentage back of sheet no matter what the coin is and that just isn't the case.
