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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;CamaroDMD, post: 746203, member: 5233&quot;]I don&#039;t think there is anything wrong with trying to get as much for something as possible.&nbsp; Most coin dealers have sole proprietor businesses and they deal with the customers directly...so you can often haggle.&nbsp; Also, there is that old saying &quot;it&#039;s worth what someone is willing to pay.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>However, the truth is...no price guide is 100% accurate.&nbsp; I&#039;ll give you an example.&nbsp; Let&#039;s say we are talking about 1892-O Morgan Dollars graded MS63.&nbsp; The gray sheet will list the ask price for this coin...lets say that price is $275 (I don&#039;t have a gray sheet handy so this number could be way off).&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Now, imagine you see 3 1892-O Morgan&#039;s in a dealer&#039;s case.&nbsp; One is very poorly struck, one has a great strike and the other has a decent strike (not good but not poor) but has attractive rainbow toning.&nbsp; Clearly, these coins are not equal...yet they would all have the same value according to the gray sheet.&nbsp; You look at these 3 coins and they have the following prices (assuming $275 is the gray sheet ask price).</p><p><br /></p><p>Poor Strike: $270</p><p>Great Strike: $615</p><p>Toned: $450</p><p><br /></p><p>You might think those prices are crazy.&nbsp; How could a poorly struck coin be listed for the &quot;ask&quot; price.&nbsp; The toning makes sense (these coins often have large premiums)...but an excellent strike carrying that kind of premium!&nbsp; You might never return to that shop because the dealer appears to be a crook.&nbsp; However, you would be very wrong.&nbsp; The 1892-O is probably the worst struck coin in the Morgan series.&nbsp; Fully struck examples are very rare and carry huge premiums...none of this factor&#039;s into the gray sheet numbers.&nbsp; They account for the &quot;average&quot; coin of the grade...with this coin, that&#039;s a poorly struck example.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, my point is...price guides are useful up to a point, but each coin must be individually analyzed to determine it&#039;s actual value.&nbsp; Although the gray sheet is probably the best there is...it&#039;s not the &quot;end all&quot; of value.&nbsp; You must know the coin you are purchasing well to make sure the price you are paying is fair...you can&#039;t just rely on the gray sheet because it doesn&#039;t have all the information.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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