We always ask how much does this coin worth, how much does that coin worth. But what does it really mean? For example, a hypertheical old colonial double-struck mule coin with extra mint mark rare variety of small mintage from some remote 3rd world country (sorry to be politically incorrect) could be well sought after by numismatists. But its face value could worth just a tiny fraction of a cent even if taken into account of inflation and exchange rate. What I'm trying to say is, go take this hypertheical coin to the bank and they'll gladly exchange you with one of the same face value. Say if it was some 1 penny coin they would give you a cent back in modern local currency. If you're trying to demand the equivalent 1000s of dollars and they'd laugh their faces off. Or take it to the foreign exchange bureau and they'll give you the equivalent in American/Canadian dollars etc PLUS you have to PAY the premium charge for the service. So, we have all these charts in guidebooks for prices. How much do these coins worth? More importantly, to whom? We can even talk about modern contemporary coins. A modern coin from some remote Pacific Island could worth much more than its face value in the AMERICAN numismatic market. But to those who live on those islands, their money is worth just what it says on them. So I guess the prices on those list are not universal like a piece of painting or sculpture. Unlike those artwork, coins have face value that is indisputable. Now back to the point of this post. Are the values listed in those various standards/guides reflect just the North American market, local or worldwide? my 2 cents (CAD)
The same even applies to commemorative coins in one country. Both the US and Canada issue coins that have a face value, but good luck finding those coins at that price. It all goes back to capitalism. Supply and demand. If there is a limited supply of a coin, its value will go up regardless of what is on the reverse (or obverse, on a few issues). Heck, that's even true for the national currency. Imagine what would happen if either nation's treasury greatly increased the number of notes printed. The supply goes up, so value drops. History is full of examples of it.
