Hi, I went to a Canadian coin show today with the hopes of finding some more decently priced US Lincolns, for my collection. I presently am only collecting BU/MS grades, and the 43s mentioned above caught my eye. Now, I took a spread sheet in with me, in which I have within the cells the present retail value of the coins I need, based on the 2009 Red Book. I had noted MS63-$2.50, and MS65-$8.00 for this particular coin. This is American funds. The Canadian dealer from NW Ontario, (North of the Minnesota boarder) had a $20.00 notation on the flip, with a grade of MS64. The coin is very clean and blemish free so I agree with the grade, but its the price I initially struggled with. I told him to check out the Red Book, and I quoted my price and he says he is using a magazine called Coin World, for his US values, as he doesn;t trust the Red Book. To be honest with you, I have read in here that the Red Book's prices may not be a true reflection of whats happening in the market. To make a long story short, I ended up buying something else so I got him down to 10 bucks Canadian for that coin. My question is, does his original asking price seem within line of this coins' true value? Is the Red Book that far out of wack? Your answers will help me decide if I will do business with him ever again, as this was the 1st time I met him. As a dealer one would think there would be no dishonesty thrown at a 1st time buyer with a potential opportunity for other purchases down the road. One wouldnt want to burn their bridges. Thanks for any advise.
It could go either way with a 1st time customer.May try to peel you or may not. You should get better prices as you deal with him more. I have heard that the 2010 redbook prices are morein line with reality.
okay, here goes. The coin market has been pretty volatile as of late, lots of ups and downs. That being said, Coin World's Coin Values magazine should only be used as a general reference and never to price coins because the prices are grossly overinflated IMO. I only use coin values magazine when declaring insured values on my coins. Most reputable dealer have a copy of and use the grey sheet to price/buy/sell coins. All of that goes to the point that $20 is high for a MS64 1943 cent...even if it is slabbed.
I would not worry about any published price list - some a little, some a lot and some may even be close. As for a $20 MS64, that is just way out. I have paid less than that for a MS66 slabbed recently (12/08), but the going price for a SLABBED 66 is probably in the mid $20's. Look at Mesacoin.com. They have a MS68 coin (PCI) for <$20.
Dump the Red Book for pricing. By the time it's printed it's a year out of date. If the '43-S was truly a -64, then I'd say $10 would be fair.
I think $20 is high for an MS64. I agree that Red Book is pretty useless for prices...but $20 is too high.
Thanks guys...my gut check was right...20 bucks would have been too much..its a shame The Red Book cant be taken as gospil...Canadian collectors have the Charlton which collectors seem to abide by alot more than the US Red Book counter part.
Well, any annually issued book can't possibly be accurate. Prices change daily for some coins so a book that comes out once a year just simply can't keep up with that. I think Red Book is fine for general price ideas and trends...but no more than that.
