Well I borrowed the 2005 Red Book from my library (Im on the first step ) and when I was looking through it for fun, i noticed that it doesnt give all the prices. Example- on page 138 for Roosie dimes. The grades jump from EF-40 to MS-63 What about the middle??????? How do u guys give my grades and prices when it doesnt show them?
Spider There are many price guides out there...that is why I say that the red book is great but you should go by the prices...see the prices change all the time... The Red Book leaves out some and some of the other guides adds the ones that are missing and leaves out some of the others.... Speedy
Hi Spider, Speedy is correct, IMO. Redbook is an excellent rough guide, but for coin pricing/valuation, CDN ("graysheet") or perhaps even better, a search of auction archives at heritage, teletrade, or ebay completed auctions will give a better idea. Remember redbook is a once a year snapshot- and is out of date even when printed. Even allowing for printing deadlines, it is very limited in utility as a price guide-great for a quick look rough estimate, bad for anything else. Even PCGS online guide is probably more useful. Lots of folks who know lots more than I do have written useful info here. A search of GDSMP's post will yield alot. If you want bid/ask prices from the CDN, I imagine folks will be happy to post specifics if asked-or you can purchase a single issue at their website. If you need specifics on how to access and search ebay or heritage, pm me, and I'll be happy to help as best I can. Don
For the reason you cite, I somewhat prefer the Coin World Guide to US Coins because it has a lot more prices for the in-between grades. But I have no idea which is more accurate and SFDukie is no doubt correct about how to establish a current price. One thing I've found useful is a 2003 Redbook. Apparently, that must have been a bad year for coins because the prices are lower than now. But I use the book to figure out what might be considered a "bargain" price, and how low the value of a coin might fall.
The three best ones have been posted many, many times. Completed auctions Completed auctions and Completed auctions. Price guides come in a distant 10th, at best, since the printed ones are inherently out-of-date by the time they are available, and both printed and internet ones are generally more the editor's opinion than hard reality. Major auctions are the absolute best determinant of value, as they pit willing buyers with knowledge of the facts against each other, until they reach a price that a willing seller will accept (it's at or over his/her reserve). The buyer's premium, if any, must be added to the hammer price for a true value. In the case of EBay-type auctions, no single auction is a valid indicator because of the volume of scam sellers and ignorant (not stupid - just lacking knowledge) buyers, but if there have been a number of those auctions their average price (including S/H) is a pretty fair indicator in the absence of any major auction history. Do a forum search on "closed auctions" and you will find many examples of how to locate such prices. BTW no one said it would be easy.
