Could someone please explain: 1) the difference between the two 2) how they are determined 3) how I would use them (or which one I would reference the most) when buying or selling coins. I'm reading about them in Scott Travers "The coin Collector's survival manual" and have looked online, but I'm still not quite getting the whole picture. Thanks.
I have noticed that some prices for the same coin are less in the Bluesheet (Certified Coin Dealer) than in the Greysheet. When it seems the opposite should be true (slabbed should be greater than raw). Can someone explain why? For instance, I noticed a 1917-S Buffalo in PCGS MS-63 is shown as $690 in the Bluesheet while the Greysheet shows $810-$885. This confuses me since both should represent wholesale values.
No. Greysheet is sight seen, meaning you can hold the coin in your hand, look at it with your own eyes and loupe and make your determination. Bluesheet is for sight unseen, meaning all you have is either a written description, who slabbed it and the grade listed on the slab. Or a picture. What you are confusing is that the Greysheet assumes that the coin may be raw or slabbed.
It's because of something I have said more times than I can count. A slabbed coin is not worth 1 cent more than if the exact same coin were raw - to a knowledgable collector. This is because the Greysheet only list values, yes wholesale values, of coins that you can see, in hand, with your own eyes, and determine what it is worth. This is because the Bluesheet assumes values of a coin that you cannot see in hand to make your own determination on value or grade. This is because knowledgeable collectors and knowledgeable dealers ( I say this because not all dealers are knowledgeable), KNOW that the TPG's screw up and over-grade coins. They also know that the TPG's sometimes miss things, like putty, AT, tooling, or other alterations. Thus if you agree to buy it, you are taking a bigger chance by buying it sight unseen. So the sellers agree to take less for the coin because of the risk you are taking by buying the coin sight unseen. This is why, almost without exception, those who are experienced will always tell you to never buy a coin sight unseen. And remember - looking at a picture, is still sight unseen.
Doug: Nope, I am not confused, notice that I never mentioned that 'sight seen' or sight unseen'. The greysheet is for either coin, sight seen, but the blue is sight unseen slab only.
Fair enough, but your statement - " Greysheet is for raw. Bluesheet is for slabbed." - can easily mislead those who do not understand. And I believe that both Grey and Blue reflect slabbed and raw. The key is sight seen vs sight unseen. Raw or slabbed has nothing to do with it.
Yes, I'm glad you said that - site seen of a coin in your hand - whether it is in a slab or not. Now I understand. Thank you.
Sorry, just so I am clear: Greysheet = sight seen (in your hand) - slabbed or raw Bluesheet = sight unseen (not in your hand) - slabbed or raw Correct? tx
Yes. On this 1 part I was mistaken, it is only for slabbed coins. And they must be slabbed by NGC, PCGS, ANACS, ICG, PCI, INS, NCI, or SEGS. But the key point is that the coins are sight unseen.
Bluesheet prices are meant to represent sight-unseen prices for certified coins. After all, it is the Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter. However, in some cases, even the Bluesheet prices are unrealistically high, compared to the actual sight-unseen bids for various coins.
No worries, I'd rather have it corrected twice than somebody get bad info. Thanks for lookin out for me ,)
Thanks for all the input. I read the fine print at the bottom of the first page of the Greysheet and the Bluesheet and it basically confirms what Doug and Mark have already stated. But the discussion here has been a lot more helpful than reading said "fine print".
