Red Book and Coin World's Coin Values Magazine

joecheck

Which is closer to actual realized prices?

AnkurJ

I dont think either one is....

AJ

Barndog

<< <i>I dont think either one is....

AJ >>



pretty much true. Realized prices are best determined from auction results or prices realized lists.

Animalkeeper

Neither. Numismedia price guide comes closest but auction records are the real deal.

Steve

When referencing price guides you should always know whether the guide is showing RETAIL pricing or WHOLESALE pricing. There IS a difference. A fair price guide would show a RANGE of prices (low to high) or wholesale to retail so that the reader could better understand what he should pay for the coin if he is buying or what he can get for the coin if he is selling. Unfortunately, only the Heritage price guide attempts to show this on their site. Realize also that the PCGS price guide is a RETAIL guide representing full retail value of PCGS graded coins. So is the Red Book and Coin Values. There are very few wholesale price guides out there. The most well known is the Coin Dealer Newsletter (CDN). Bottom line, of course, is that the true value of YOUR coins can only be determined when you attempt to sell them and somebody offers you money for them. JMHO. Steve

DaveG

Since the Red Book is only published once a year, there's no way it can be "accurate."

I'd say, that for the common to common-ish coins, Coin Values is the most widely used retail price guide. The Grey Sheet (Coin Dealer's Newsletter) is the most widely used wholesoale price guide; however, the Blue Sheet (Certified Coin Dealer's Newsletter - used for sight-unseen transactions) prices some coins in higher MS grades, so some people used it as a frame of reference. (Just because they're the most widely used doesn't mean that they're "accurate" - you have to know which coins sell for "above sheet" and which coins sell for "below sheet.")

For higher priced (and less common) coins, I'd say that the Heritage auction archives are the mose accurate price guide.

For ultra-high-grade Moderns, I'd say that eBay is probably the best source of current prices.

Of course, the bes thing to do is specialize and be very knowledgable about what prices your favorite coins bring in the most popular venue(s) for those coins.

joecheck

Thanks everyone for some good advice!

dpoole

Trends is OK for commonly-traded stuff.

The problem is with the thinly-traded, pop top and rare/unique material. For those, Trends and the other guides are often off by thousands. The relevant info is too infrequent, and varies too much because of the individual qualities of the coin and the circumstances of the particular transaction.