Best price Guide Reference
 

I am a relatively new collector. I subscribe to CDN and have a trusty
2008 Red Book. PCGS and Numismedia offer online price information.
What is the best reference source to use to get the best obtainable
prices. CDN is not always accepted at coin shows. Also, does one coin price
reference do a better job than another with different coin types? Any
response will be appreciated. Thanks

Best price Guide Reference
 

" Barron" wrote in message
...
I am a relatively new collector. I subscribe to CDN and have a trusty
2008 Red Book. PCGS and Numismedia offer online price information.
What is the best reference source to use to get the best obtainable
prices. CDN is not always accepted at coin shows. Also, does one coin
price reference do a better job than another with different coin types?
Any response will be appreciated. Thanks

It is not clear what you mean by "get" the best obtainable prices. In
general, you will find that no price guide fits all situations. While each
of us on this newsgroup may have his favorite, I recommend that you get as
many price guides as you can find, learn how the prices are derived, and
make sure you know how to grade the coins. Then go to shows, pore over
price lists and ads, search auction results, and you will get some notion of
what coins are worth. But just as soon as you think you've got it all
figured out, an anomaly will present itself, and you will feel adrift once
again.

Some will point out that the Redbook is out of date the moment it hits the
street, but that argument falls apart when you realize that other price
guides, supposedly updated monthly, weekly, or even daily, have shown the
same, unchanged prices for scarce, high-demand coins even over a period of
several years. For example, while the price guides fight their wars over
the value of an 1804 dime, the market places it at 2X, 3X, 4X any price
guide you care to scan. With some things, you just have to keep your ear to
the ground.

Specialty price guides, for example, Penny Prices and Copper Quotes by
Robinson, deal with U.S. half cents and large cents. Even though the two
publications are written by experts, there are often wide disparities
between prices quoted for a given coin.

The bottom line is that numismatics is not the stock market with its
trackable market quotes.

Good luck in your quest for knowledge!

James

Best price Guide Reference
 

On Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:44:07 GMT, " Barron" wrote:

I am a relatively new collector. I subscribe to CDN and have a trusty
2008 Red Book. PCGS and Numismedia offer online price information.
What is the best reference source to use to get the best obtainable
prices. CDN is not always accepted at coin shows. Also, does one coin price
reference do a better job than another with different coin types? Any
response will be appreciated. Thanks


Any price guide is just that: a price guide. When it says the
"price" is $100, it means that the coin should command *about* $100.

From who, though? A private collector may pay you about $100 if he
wants the coin. A dealer isn't going to pay you that amount since he
intends to resell it a profit; that's his business.

For the $100 to mean anything, you have to find a person who collects
or deals in that type and grade of coin, and that person has to want
your coin. He may already have that coin and not want it at all.

When I list coins on eBay, I set an opening price of about 75% of the
Numismedia collector's price. The coin may sell for that amount, for
twice that amount, or it might not receive any bids at all. Depends
on how many willing buyers see the ad and want the coin.

One way to determine the "going price" of a coin is to search eBay
completed sales for that specific coin and see what other buyers have
paid. That doesn't mean that this is what you'll get, though.

Show prices might be higher or lower. If your coin is shown in PCGS's
guide or the Numismedia guide at $100, offer it at $100. If you get a
counter-offer, haggle. It's usually better to make an offer to sell
at a price rather than asking for an offer to buy. The offer to buy
is usually a low-ball and you'll get offended and walk away.

I'm not ducking your question. Your question doesn't have a specific
answer. l
--


Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Best price Guide Reference
 

In article ,
" Barron" wrote:

I am a relatively new collector. I subscribe to CDN and have a trusty
2008 Red Book. PCGS and Numismedia offer online price information.
What is the best reference source to use to get the best obtainable
prices. CDN is not always accepted at coin shows. Also, does one coin price
reference do a better job than another with different coin types? Any
response will be appreciated. Thanks

Does "CDN is not always accepted at coin shows" mean that dealers aren't
always willing to sell you coins at CDN prices? You can certainly bring
it to and consult it at coin shows. As noted at the bottom of page 1,
prices in the Greysheet are supposed to be representative of what
dealers are paying each other, and collectors should generally expect to
pay more. That said, it's still the best price guide in print to bring
to shows and coin shops.

I suggest you ask a dealer something like "what's the best you can do on
that coin?" and compare the response to the CDN price. If it's more
than 10-20% over ask, you may be able to find a better deal elsewhere
(depending on exactly what sort of coin, how nice it is for the grade,
etc.). If you're attending shows that usually have many of the same
dealers, use these interactions to determine which ones are likely to
quote you the best prices and which you might as well avoid.

Of course, it's critically important that the coin is properly graded.
An overgraded or problem coin at bid is usually no bargain. Work on
your ability to grade coins and identify problems and, if you don't yet
feel comfortable doing that, stick to coins certified by one of the top
tier grading services and/or graded by someone whose ability you trust.

When you established yourself as a serious coin buyer by spending
several hundred if not thousands of dollars with the same dealers on
multiple occasions, you'll find that some of them will be more willing
to quote you prices at or close to the sheet.

--

Chuck D'Ambra, Telesphere Numismatics
web site address: www.telecoins.com
remove the upper case letters if replying by e-mail