Antique Way

Coin Price Guides

It is July and that means to coin collectors and dealers alike that the new Price Guides are here. By far the most famous is the RedBook by R. S. Yeoman and edited by Kenneth Bressett. The new 2006 edition went on sale July 5, 2005 and is already ranked #15,594 at Amazon.com.

Since 1947 the Red Book has been the definitive guide to coin valuations for an ever growing population of coin collectors. Even the Red Book itself has become collectible with the 1st edition valued at $750 in VF condition.

The Red Book contains valuable information in addition to current coin values such as coin mintages, grading standards for each coin, coin weight and dimensions plus detailed color pictures. There are numerous other resources included with An Introduction to US Coins, Rare Coins as an Investment, and Regular Mint Issues in the forward section. And Popular Coin Hoards, the Top 250 Coin Prices Realized from Auctions and a Glossary in the afterward section to name a few.

The new RedBook is published by Whitman and comes in paperback, spiral bound (recommended) and a hardcover edition. This 59th edition is illustrated in color throughout which is a notable improvement. Since it first appeared over 21 million Red Books have been sold.

Both of the BlackBooks have new 2006 editions out as well. The Official BlackBook Price Guide to US Paper Money and the Official Blackbook Price Guide to United States Coins by Thomas E. Hudgeons Jr. were released on June 7, 2005. The BlackBooks are smaller and done entirely in black and white. But they are also cheaper than the RedBook and contain most of the information the RedBook does. At $6.99 and $7.99 respectively they are worth their money in valuing your collection.

Whether you choose the RedBook or the BlackBook or like me both, I strongly urge you to purchase at least one.

The coin market has gained in value tremendously since the US State Quarter program started in 1999. The millions of new collectors gained from the State Quarter program has driven the prices up on coins in general.

To make sure you don't sell or under value your collection it is essential that you stay up on current market prices. I also recommend that collectors subscribe to a monthly or quarterly coin magazine for this reason as well but more on this later.

About the Author of "The New Coin Price Guides are Worth the Money"

RD Lancaster is the WebMaster and principle programmer for CoinAuction.org. He has been an avid collector of both coins and Paper money for 5 years.

There are almost as many different ways of collecting coins as there are collectors. Many collectors specialize in some area of collecting, at least for a time.

Numismatics is the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms.

While numismatists are often characterized as studying coins, the discipline also includes the study of medals, medallions, and tokens.

Numismatists are sometimes differentiated from coin collectors inasmuch as the latter chiefly derive pleasure from the simple ownership of monetary devices, whereas the former are more concerned with acquiring knowledge about monetary devices and systems. In fact, many numismatists are also collectors and vice-versa.

At the very highest levels of coin collecting, it can become a highly competitive sport. Recently, this has exhibited itself in registry sets, where the most complete set of coins with the highest numerical grades assigned by grading services are published by the grading service. This can lead to astronomical prices as dedicated collectors strive for the very best examples of each date and mint mark combination.

U.S. Coin Digest

This is a new coin price guide from Krause Publications (publisher of Coins Magazine, Numismatic News, and other periodicals), with a list price of $11.95. It's much like the Red Book, but it includes coin pricing for more grades. With Morgan dollars, for example, the Red Book has prices for only six grades, while U.S. Coin Digest has prices for eleven grades (but it still ignores pricing for VF-30 grades). U.S. Coin Digest also includes a bit more background information about coins in general than the Red Book.

Greysheet

Officially called the Coin Dealer Newsletter, this is a pricey subscription periodical, costing $98 per year (you can buy the current issue for $4). It's the most commonly used price guide by dealers in setting their own prices, and though it contains wholesale prices, it's a good choice for savvy collectors too. The prices are based on coins graded according to industry standards "as exemplified by PCGS and NGC," though pricing for properly graded raw coins is considered too in the compilation of its figures.

Greysheet "bid" is the amount that dealers are typically willing to pay other dealers for a coin. Greysheet "ask" is the price dealers typically ask other dealers for a coin, which is higher. For collectors, one rule of thumb is to add 25 to 75 percent to Greysheet bid when you're buying and to subtract 10 to 40 percent from bid when selling.

The Bluesheet, officially called the Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter, includes bid prices for "sight-unseen" slabbed coins. These prices are lower than prices in the Greysheet.

The Greysheet's biggest weakness is that it ignores the current state of the grading services. It ranks some of the services in terms of how the market values coins in their slabs. But it fails to rank SEGS, ACG, and NTC, three grading services that have a significant market presence. And it ranks two grading service with virtually no market presence, INS (International Numismatic Society Authentication Bureau), which folded around 1992, and NCI (Numismatic Certification Institute), which folded around 1988. Whether deserved or not, this creates an aura of unreliability over all of its data.

Coin World's Coin Values

Formerly known as Trends, Coin Values is part of Coin World, another subscription periodical, costing $41.95 per year. You can also subscribe to an online version for the same price (you receive the information sooner), or a print and online version for $53.95 per year. Coin Values is also a stand-alone newsstand magazine available for $36.95 per year. Unlike the Greysheet, Coin Values provides retail pricing, and it's the most commonly used price guide for this purpose.

Coin Values generally does a good job, but like all price guides, it can sometimes be inconsistent, with the prices for some series above actual market prices and the prices for other series below. Coin World itself can be a good way to keep up with developments in numismatics and is a good read, as is Coin Values, the magazine.

Heritage's Value Index

You have to register to access this information, but registration is free. The prices are based on wholesale and auction transactions for PCGS and NGC certified coins, which encompasses not only Heritage auctions but other observations of the marketplace.

Impressively, pricing is given for a wide range of grades and include a range rather than a single value. With Morgan dollars, for instance, prices are included for forty different grades: P-1, FR-2, AG-3, G-4, G-6, VG-8, VG-10, F-12, F-15, VF-20, VF-25, VF-30, VF-35, XF-40, XF-45, AU-50, AU-53, AU-55, AU-58, MS-60, MS-61, MS-62, MS-63, MS-64, MS-65, MS-66, MS-67, MS-68, MS-69, MS-70, PR-61, PR-62, PR-63, PR-64, PR-65, PR-66, PR-67, PR-68, PR-69, and PR-70.

You can also use the site to search for individual auction results.

Teletrade USA Coin Price Guide

As with Heritage's Value Index, free registration provides access to this information. The prices are based on Teletrade's own auctions. Unlike Heritage's Value Index and the other price guides, the information here isn't presented in an easy-to-use grid. You search for prices realized in past auctions of coins based on parameters of your choosing, such as denomination, year, mint, grade, and slab.

Teletrade Non-USA Coin Price Guide provides pricing information for world coins, from Afghanistan to Yugoslavia.

PCGS Price Guide

Some people feel that the prices in this free online price guide are higher than in some of the printed price guides. The editor of Coin World, which has its own printed price guide and is thus a competitor, called the online price guides "dealer price sheets" in a column in the Numismatist, meaning that their prices are those that dealers would like to obtain for their coins rather than reflections of actual market prices. PCGS Price Guide can be useful, but one piece of advice that has been offered is to subtract about 25 percent to arrive at true retail prices, depending on the series.

Numismedia Price Guide

This online service is similar to PCGS Price Guide, and its prices are also said to be higher than in some of the printed price guides. But beginning in February 2003, the service began charging a subscription fee to see pricing for grades above MS-60 -- $96/year, with other subscription plans available. Compared to PCGS Price Guide, pricing is given for more grades. With Morgan dollars, for instance, while PCGS Price Guide provides grades for ten grades, Numismedia does so for twenty.

Numismatic News, Coins Magazine, Coin Prices

The price guides in these Krause Publications periodicals suffer mainly from lack of use compared with other more commonly used and quoted price guides. A subscription to Numismatic News (weekly) is $32 per year, Coins Magazine (monthly newsstand magazine) is $25.98 per year, Coin Prices (bimonthly) is $18.98 per year. Numismatic News and Coins Magazine both include articles and lots of other useful information.

COINage

This price guide has the same limitation as those in Krause Publications periodicals. An introductory subscription is $11.88 per year. COINage is a good read for the articles and columns.

Standard Catalog of World Coins

Krause Publications also publishes this guide, which is 2,304 pages and lists for $52.95. The book covers the period from 1901 to the present. Related Krause books include Standard Catalog of World Coins, 19th Century, 1801-1900; Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800; and Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700. Despite their size, these books provide overviews rather than all-inclusive lists of world coins.

Wildwinds

This free online service provides auction results for ancient coins, primarily from eBay. Included are Greek, Roman, Celtic, and Byzantine coins. Attributions are included too, but they're only as trustworthy as the sellers offering them.

CoinArchives.com

This is another free online service that provides auction results for ancient coins, but in this case primarily from European auctions, which are typically for higher-end coins than those auctioned through eBay.