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Finding the value of a coin - your opinions needed?

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I have seen many websites that give you the $$ value of this coin or that coin. You know the ones I am talking about, they appear on Google when you search for "What is the value of coin X" or something like that. I know the 2015 Red Book, I know e-bay, I know Heritage Auction Site, I know PCGS, I know NGC has a Coin Value list which seems to be based on demand and is in near real-time. A local coin dealer also can give you a value on a coin. But, a coin dealer (sort of like a pawn shop) in a brick & mortar store seems more interested in giving the value in Silver (on a silver or partially silver coin for example) and does not seem interested in the perceived value (meaning the value a particular coin is to a collector silver or no silver based on the market).

 

All the above resources allow you to get an idea of which coins you possess have value and which do not from the $$ standpoint. They all seem to have a different price from $2 to $700 for any one coin, for example.

 

My question is this:

 

In your opinion, what is the best resource(s) you use to get an idea of how valuable a particular coin is? Which one(s) do you think are the most reliable?

 

thanks.

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Heritage auction records are probably best.

 

However, the problem is sometimes you need to see the coin in hand and know how to grade to get a reasonably accurate value. It depends on the coin series. If there are a lot of them around (such as Morgan dollars) it is easier and the price spreads aren't too difficult to understand. When you have a coin in a grade you don't see often it gets a LOT harder to value.

 

jom

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I would add Ebay because you have a wide audience, very liquid market, and large number of buyers/sellers. It's real-time information and if you have a particular coin that is common, you can easily check the market on Ebay at any time.

 

You're unlikely to see a wide variance between Ebay and other online auctions/coin dealers/coin shows unless it's an item that is infrequently up for bid.

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Assuming you know how to grade a coin properly, the question is what sort of price for what sort of coin are you attempting to determine.

 

Are you trying to find a price for a coin that trades regularly or one that trades infrequently?

 

Are you trying to find a price for a coin that trades for a large amount of money or for a coin that trades for a small amount of money?

 

Are you trying to find out what you should pay?

 

Are you trying to find out what you could sell the coin for?

 

Are you trying to find out what a specific buyer will pay for a coin today?

 

If you're looking for a general retail (what a buyer would pay) price guide, then you could certainly start with the PCGS price guide or the Coin World price guide (known as "Trends") or some of the other retail price guides.

 

The Heritage (or other auction house) archives are excellent sources of information, especially for coins that sell for a lot of money. You get real, accurate information on what a coin sold for - the only part missing is you can't see the coin in-hand, so you don't know if the buyer missed a flaw or hoped for an upgrade when he bought the coin.

 

There's also eBay, another excellent source of prices. Again, you can't see the coins in-hand.

 

If you're looking for a general wholesale (what a dealer would pay) price guide, there's the "Grey Sheet" (Coin Dealer's Newsletter) and its brother, the Blue Sheet. The Grey Sheet is for sight-seen transactions and the Blue Sheet is for sight-unseen transactions. A lot of dealers use the Grey Sheet and Blue Sheets to calculate their buy prices, so they're good sources of information. However, a lot of coins trade at premiums or discounts to the Grey Sheet, so you need to be familiar with the current market.

 

Finally, if you want to know what a specific buyer will pay, you need to know about the buyer. If, for example, you want to sell to a local dealer, you need to know if he has customers for what you want to sell or if he'll have to wholesale them to a larger dealer. This will make a big difference in the price he can offer you. For another example, if you want to sell to a dealer at a large coin show, you need to look at his current inventory: is it the type of coins you want to sell or not? If yes, he may offer higher prices; if not, he may have to sell the coin to another dealer and will, therefore, offer you a lower price.

 

So, essentially, you need to identify your purpose and then use the right mix of pricing sources to achieve your purpose.

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I agree with both the above posts. I would also add Greatcollections. I would also say the site you use can be dependent on what coin(s) you are buying. Certain coins show up on sites in higher volumes than others. For the coins I currently collect Ebay by far is the best indicator of market price. In many cases I have found coins on other sites under priced with respect to what you would expect to buy the coin on Ebay. Another way I look at is I want to have a sense of value on the auction site I would sell my coins on, which is more important to me than where I buy my coins. Once I get a sense what price range I can sell a particular coin for I can then make buys where ever I find the coin and have an understanding if I am buying at a seller price or a buyers price. The last comment is the only good thing I have found out from looking at NGC or PCGS price guides is what I wished I could sell my US coins for and what I wish I could buy my Mexico coins for....... lol .......IMHO

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The only accurate resource is recent sold prices from the sites referenced above (HA, Ebay, etc.). However - nearly every coin will be unique in terms of eye appeal and it's much harder to assign a value to this.

 

For example, there are MS62 Saint Gaudens that are junk gold paperweights and some that are stunning. Even with the same grade there can be a significant difference in collector demand and selling price.

 

 

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I agree with all the above. I do believe that if I am selling a coin that I would reference the individual auction site that I plan to sell it on. I think that each auction site has their market of specific collectors.

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Lots of good advice there.

 

Also, be careful which "sheet" you use --- so you can avoid being taken to the laundry.

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Many people like PCGS coin facts, not a free resource but sometimes the cheapest things end up being the most expensive.

 

Look at the price guide HA has on the 1922 $20 in MS65:

 

http://coins.ha.com/itm/saint-gaudens-double-eagles/1922-20-ms65-ngc/a/1216-7814.s?ic3=ViewItem-Inventory-BuyNowFromOwner-PreviousPricesHeritage-081514

 

They have Numismedia wholesale at $3275 and all the other price guides higher with the Heritage value index at $6,750-$8,250. Funny thing is all the recent sales of that coin are under $3000 or just over, including the buyer premium. So unless you were checking out current auction records you could be easily burned if you needed one to complete a set or something. So recent auctions are the best guide.

 

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Heritage auction records are probably best.

 

However, the problem is sometimes you need to see the coin in hand and know how to grade to get a reasonably accurate value. It depends on the coin series. If there are a lot of them around (such as Morgan dollars) it is easier and the price spreads aren't too difficult to understand. When you have a coin in a grade you don't see often it gets a LOT harder to value.

 

jom

 

+1

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