Published Price Guides

I regularly get 3 published coin price guides.

-- PCGS Rare Coin Market Report
-- Coin World Coin Values
-- The Numismatist U.S. Coin Collector's Price Guide (CPG) Values

I use them when:
-- the coin I'm interested in is low value (<$100), or
-- I need a quick estimate (no time to search online pricing/auction results), or
-- I'm at a show (I don't have a smart phone)

Opinions, please.
Which one do you feel is the best to pay attention to?
(Sometimes their pricing varies considerable from one another.)

 

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Well, we all know that none of the guides are comprehensive. I am a guy that often becomes smitten when I see a coin. Could be anything, so it does me no good to research my purchasing goals before I attend a show. So what I do is go to my dealers place. He gives me this Coin & Currency Market Review publication for free. It’s a quarterly publication. So at least I know if I am reasonably in the ballpark if I am smitten by a lovely coin under somebody’s glass display. It ain’t perfect but it works for me.

 

When I was actively buying certified UNC Morgan dollars, I found the CDN Gray Sheet quite helpful. ~ Chris

 

Yeah, I totally get it. When I purchased a boat I was told that boat was a hole in the water that I would forever throw money into. They were correct. I rather see my coins the same way. But you are right, a losing deal in my office absolutely makes me crazy and I work mighty hard to avoid that. I don’t have to worry about how much I will throw away on coins. That will be my wife’s problem once I leave this party!

 

Guys, I'm no expert with a smarpthone (or PC) but the Heritage site using PAST SALES and MOST RECENT is a damn good source of pricing. Ebay Completed Sales isn't bad, though sometimes it gives you prices on stuff similar to but not exactly what you are looking for.

You can also use Ebay's current bidding....make sure the coin or bill you are interested in has actual bids and is not just an Ask Price by someone inflated by 40%. If there's more than 1 sale going on with active bidding (i.e., the 2019-S ASE), you'll be spot-on with pricing.

 

And yet alot of the dealers I see at local coin shows have it and will pick it up for prices when I ask for a quote !

 

Good to know! ~ Chris

 

I don't buy for the prices in my quoted sources.
But I definitely know I won't pay more.
I look for about 80% of those price guides as a max.

 

That’s exactly what I do when researching a price.

 

I use a combination of NGC's online price guide (which has census data attached - a very useful feature) and a search of Heritage's archive. PCGS does have their own price and census guide on their website, and I use that sometimes.

No paper guide is going to match the ease or convenience of an internet guide, in my opinion.

 

I think PCGS (or NGC ?) also has a chart for most of the more liquid/popular coins like Saints. Sometimes I have trouble finding/manuevering towards it. I LOVE super-long time series going back 2 or even 3 decades (more if they have it).

THAT is really useful. If the recent price data is outdated (not saying it is, but often it lags), at least a price chart gives you very important TREND information. You might be off 5-10% on recent pricing if the guids is a bit lagged by weeks/months, but if you know you are buying up or down 50% from 5-7 years ago, that is important, too.

 

I went into a coin shop with the idea of selling all my modern commems, I had booked them out using the most recent grey sheet and after the shop looked over every piece (in ogp), they still offered me 30% less. When I asked, why so low, I was told they buy back 30% and sell plus 30% so they profit 60%, its the only way to cover expenses such as lease and payroll. I was so disappointed. Coins are not worth what they're worth to the seller.

 

That's ridiculous. The guy is either a liar or a lousy businessman.

I have no problem with someone making a profit -- I WANT them to make $$$ because it benefits all of us in the long-run -- but a 60% profit margin is not necessary unless the guy is doing such low volumes because he's a snake or a lousy businessman.

I'll venture to say a good coin business should be OK with 10-15% margins on average, more on some stuff, less on others.

If I'm wrong, I'll let dealers and ex-dealers correct me.....