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How do I find accurate US currency & coin values

Hi, I have tried searching for the correct forum and maybe this is not the correct site, but I just paid $50 to ask a question or two with that Silver membership to CU.

I have two questions.

First, is a US currency one that is also related to my second about US coins. I have several small US notes in various denominations spanning the 20th century. they are raw ungraded and most left to me. Next, I just got into collecting coins graded by PCGS. I have looked at the Red and Blue book, bought a few books, but it seems ambiguous and does not go past MS-63 for the most part.

For both currency and PCGS coins What is the best way to know what what they are worth. I know a $50 note from 1950 or 1977 is obviously worth $50, some are star notes too. So how do I know if their is value over face value for the currency? On the currency side for all I know these FRN's should just get deposited even if they are from 1950 for example.

On the US coin side is their a formula to know what is fair to pay for a coin and I will use a 1904 Morgan for example. What is a definitive solution to make my self knowledgable when buying from a coin dealer AND when I go to sell how do I not get taken advantage of.

I went to a recent coin show and brought some of my currency with me. The dealer said he'd pay me 10% over face value but only if I turned around and bought something from him. I ended up leaving and this dealer was none to happy. It seemed like a scam to me. Why can't I just sell and buy something I want, but I am a novice and I need to research. For all I know the $60 you gave me for a $60 coin is only worth $30 (said coin)

Not a good in person experience at this recent Whitman coin show.

I will assume the dealer will buy my coin for a percentage less since they need to run a business but is this a 10% or 40% difference?

thanks

Comments

  • SteveSteve Posts: 3,313 ✭✭✭
    Since you joined here almost three years ago and you sound fairly knowledgeable about coins and paper money because you have read a number of books, attended coin shows, etc. you may find this advise valuable to you.

    For both currency and PCGS coins, what is the best way to know what they are worth?

    Ask someone whom you either want to buy from or sell to what he or she will either charge you for what you want to buy or pay you for what you want to sell. Values for numismatic items are WORTH what two people agree to exchange them for. As you already know, many books and price guides provide reasonable ESTIMATES of what that value is in various grades. So do auction records. But, for your specific transaction it comes down to your interaction with a specific buyer or seller. Obviously, like every other thing in life, KNOWLEGE and EXPERIENCE are important. Continue to read books, check price guides, etc. Enjoy the hobby. Sometimes you may pay more than you should. Sometimes you may get a real bargain. There are NO guarantees in this hobby. Good luck. Steveimage
  • AUandAGAUandAG Posts: 24,515 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I try to find similar examples that have sold at auction, like Heritage or Ebay or Great Collections for starters.

    This gives me a pretty close idea on RETAIL pricing. Now, when I sell to a dealer I have the upper end of pricing
    for a knowledge base and know that I will not likely get that price, but something less.

    Also, if I decide to sell at auction I know what the top end would be and can then calculate my end price (less
    the selling fees).

    Books are outdated when they come out, which makes them just guesstimates.

    bobimage
    Registry: CC lowballs (boblindstrom), bobinvegas1989@yahoo.com
  • Steve27Steve27 Posts: 13,267 ✭✭✭
    The best way to determine value is through completed sales information. You can find values by joining Heritage www.ha.com and ebay both for free. You can also ask here (by here I mean on this forum for coins and on the US & World Currency Forum for paper money). I aslo suggest you open a free account on www.photobucket.com so you can provide images.

    I'm not sure why you paid for a silver membership; that only entitles you to submit coins to PCGS.

    P.S. Most dealers use "the COIN DEALER newsletter" AKA the graysheet for pricing LINK and then they offer 20% back of bid.
    "It's far easier to fight for principles, than to live up to them." Adlai Stevenson
  • DrPeteDrPete Posts: 1,497 ✭✭✭
    Pricing information comes in many forms. It partly depends on what you are looking for. I don't know very much about paper money, so I won't try to give any advice that way.

    For coins, very commonly traded coins in conditions from circulated to MS 65 are covered fairly well in the CDN, as mentioned above, but in some areas the CDN is woefully inadequate for pricing. For example, nice original mid-grade Barber and seated coins can be worth 1.5 to 2 times or more than published. If you become interested in a particular series, with study, you will eventually figure out the pricing . It is a lot of work for anyone to keep track of all transactions and some coins are uncommon in some or all grades and trade seldom. For a lot of coins, like most Morgan and Peace dollars, the CDN is reasonably useful and is updated weekly for the most common series. As with any price guides, knowing when to use it and when there are limitations is important.

    For coins that are less often traded, have grades higher than most of the published price guides, auction archives are very useful. As pointed out above, you can have access to Heritage and eBay by joining their sites, for free. It can be confusing to look at auction results as sometimes the same coin in the same grade sells for significant price differences, even in the same general time-frame. Thus, how nice the coin really is for the grade comes into play. Not all MS 63 or MS 64 coins are the same, even for the same issue. Eye appeal, strike, luster, color, all play an important role. Some coins barely make a grade, others are really top-end for a grade. For a coin like an 1881-S morgan dollar in MS 63, the price differences are generally small. For a truly rare coin, the differences can be huge. If you wish to do well for yourself, it behooves you to learn to grade coins and know what you are doing. Also, some auction prices are really high and become outliers, often reflecting two or more bidders getting into a bidding war. You will sometimes see the exact same coin sell for much less later. All of these scenarios can be bewildering, or you can learn to embrace the market and enjoy the way it works.

    Finally, this is a PCGS-sponsored message board, and they have been working very hard on their electronic encyclopedia, Coin Facts, which is a maturing product that provides a wealth of information, including pricing, and links to major auction prices realized. You have to decide if the price of belonging to Coin Facts is worth it to you. They do offer brief trials so you can have a look at it and see the depth of content and information.

    Good luck and have fun. Don't think you can start out and make a lot of money buying and selling as a beginner. Chances are very much against that. It is recommended you start out slow, learn to grade, buy books to learn about coins, find a dealer or other knowledgeable people willing to mentor you. It is very easy to lose money buying and selling coins.

    Dr. Pete
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