What sources does everyone use for World Coins? Are there any comprehensive and accurate guides?

chromaticcoins · February 5, 2026 1:27PM

I'm a dealer who ends up with a huge variety of World coins (not huge in quantity, but huge in variety range)- most are average coins in average grades, but I often make top pops on older coins and then struggle to identify the rarity/collector demand. PCGS and NGC offer very limited information. What else is out there?

MS66 1882 Argentina 10 Centavos, solo top pop (for example)

WCC · February 5, 2026 2:07PM

If you are referring to a price guide, no. The coins just don't sell often enough particularly in a specific quality or grade for a price guide to be meaningful.

There isn't a lot of interest for most world coinage at large price spreads due to being a condition census coin or near it. So many non-US coins are either much scarcer than most US coins or much harder to buy meaning there isn't anything unusual about this type of scarcity.

The vast majority of collectors would rather buy other coins with a higher or much higher generic preference at comparable prices because it's more marketable and they find it more interesting as a collectible.

I have a Spain 1729SP NGC MS-66 1R bought in 2002 or 2003. An XF-40 is up for auction now, but I don't recall another one having not looked for it. I'm not looking to sell it now, but similar idea applies to it. The 1726 Madrid 1R has several dozen high and very high-grade coins in the TPG data, and most probably just want a nice type coin if they want it at all.

1960NYGiants · February 5, 2026 7:14PM

NGC does have a price guide but does not cover all grades. For example, your coin:
https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/argentina-10-centavos-km-26-1881-1883-cuid-1038910-duid-1212970

You could extrapolate say twice for each grade increase: MS60 = $75, MS62 = $150, MS64=$300, MS66=$600
You could also check prices realized from Heritage or Stacks.

Sapyx · February 5, 2026 9:06PM

Numista is in effect coin Wikipedia. The information you need might or might not be there, especially for rarer or higher grade coins. Here's the listing for your coin: https://en.numista.com/4569

In terms of physical books, there's not much out there now that Krause is defunct.

Modern World Coins by Yeoman covers 1850-1964 and is still being updated every few years as far as I'm aware; the companion volume for post-1964 coins is Current Coins of the World. For 1750-1850 there's the Craig book, which hasn't been updated since the 1970s, so you're better off trying to find old Krauses.

The German-made Schon Weltmünzkatalog are probably the most modern and up-to-date world coin catalogues, but they haven't printed an English-language version of it in a while, and of course prices are in euros and the grading standard is the German one.

chromaticcoins · February 6, 2026 9:18AM

@Sapyx said:
Numista is in effect coin Wikipedia. The information you need might or might not be there, especially for rarer or higher grade coins. Here's the listing for your coin: https://en.numista.com/4569

In terms of physical books, there's not much out there now that Krause is defunct.

Modern World Coins by Yeoman covers 1850-1964 and is still being updated every few years as far as I'm aware; the companion volume for post-1964 coins is Current Coins of the World. For 1750-1850 there's the Craig book, which hasn't been updated since the 1970s, so you're better off trying to find old Krauses.

The German-made Schon Weltmünzkatalog are probably the most modern and up-to-date world coin catalogues, but they haven't printed an English-language version of it in a while, and of course prices are in euros and the grading standard is the German one.

Thank you for this info! I do use Numista often, but mostly for coin specs and details. I'll look into the others.

chromaticcoins · February 6, 2026 9:19AM

@1960NYGiants said:
NGC does have a price guide but does not cover all grades. For example, your coin:
https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/argentina-10-centavos-km-26-1881-1883-cuid-1038910-duid-1212970

You could extrapolate say twice for each grade increase: MS60 = $75, MS62 = $150, MS64=$300, MS66=$600
You could also check prices realized from Heritage or Stacks.

That's a good idea, I hadn't really thought about it like that before, but it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for your thoughts!

chromaticcoins · February 6, 2026 9:21AM

@WCC said:
If you are referring to a price guide, no. The coins just don't sell often enough particularly in a specific quality or grade for a price guide to be meaningful.

There isn't a lot of interest for most world coinage at large price spreads due to being a condition census coin or near it. So many non-US coins are either much scarcer than most US coins or much harder to buy meaning there isn't anything unusual about this type of scarcity.

The vast majority of collectors would rather buy other coins with a higher or much higher generic preference at comparable prices because it's more marketable and they find it more interesting as a collectible.

I have a Spain 1729SP NGC MS-66 1R bought in 2002 or 2003. An XF-40 is up for auction now, but I don't recall another one having not looked for it. I'm not looking to sell it now, but similar idea applies to it. The 1726 Madrid 1R has several dozen high and very high-grade coins in the TPG data, and most probably just want a nice type coin if they want it at all.

This is pretty much what I assumed, but you sometimes see World coins going for huge money at auction, which makes me nervous because I'd probably list the same coin online for 1% of the realized price. It seems like there should be a resource that's more comprehensive, but I get that would be a massive undertaking for a market that's not that strong already. I just didn't know if there were any out there that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for sharing!

The_Dinosaur_Man · February 6, 2026 9:21AM

I wish the Krause books were still in production. I peruse my old copies every so often for light reading.

My only gripe with Numista is the site's search function. I find it much easier to search for the coin in question on Google and adding "Numista" into the search terms, e.g. 1858 Canada 1 Cent Numista

chromaticcoins · February 6, 2026 9:24AM

@The_Dinosaur_Man said:
I wish the Krause books were still in production. I peruse my old copies every so often for light reading.

My only gripe with Numista is the site's search function. I find it much easier to search for the coin in question on Google and adding "Numista" into the search terms, e.g. 1858 Canada 1 Cent Numista

Numista is great for coin specs and details, but the price guides are very vague. I've never looked through a Krause. I probably should track one down. Thanks!

gashmios · February 6, 2026 10:22AM

I've considered the Krause to be the go to place for authentic coinage information, not prices. I don't consider anything as a price guide other than auction sales data. A coin is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

That said, its hardly perfect. I have Israel proofs from King Norton strikes I got from Stacks, and despite repeated requests from Stacks, I have no real proof the coin is a Norton collection. Only they know where it comes from AND it is not listed in Krause.

https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1IV3NC/israel-10-pruta-je-5709-1949-birmingham-kings-norton-mint-pcgs-specimen-65-brown

This one, for example, is slabbed Knings Nortons

This one is NOT identified on the Slab
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1157LW/israel-25-pruta-je-5709-1949-birmingham-kings-norton-mint-pcgs-proof-66

Nor is this one
https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1157M5/israel-10-pruta-je-5709-1949-kings-norton-mint-ngc-ms-63-brown

WCC · February 6, 2026 11:51AM

@chromaticcoins said:

@WCC said:
If you are referring to a price guide, no. The coins just don't sell often enough particularly in a specific quality or grade for a price guide to be meaningful.

There isn't a lot of interest for most world coinage at large price spreads due to being a condition census coin or near it. So many non-US coins are either much scarcer than most US coins or much harder to buy meaning there isn't anything unusual about this type of scarcity.

The vast majority of collectors would rather buy other coins with a higher or much higher generic preference at comparable prices because it's more marketable and they find it more interesting as a collectible.

I have a Spain 1729SP NGC MS-66 1R bought in 2002 or 2003. An XF-40 is up for auction now, but I don't recall another one having not looked for it. I'm not looking to sell it now, but similar idea applies to it. The 1726 Madrid 1R has several dozen high and very high-grade coins in the TPG data, and most probably just want a nice type coin if they want it at all.

This is pretty much what I assumed, but you sometimes see World coins going for huge money at auction, which makes me nervous because I'd probably list the same coin online for 1% of the realized price. It seems like there should be a resource that's more comprehensive, but I get that would be a massive undertaking for a market that's not that strong already. I just didn't know if there were any out there that I wasn't aware of. Thanks for sharing!

I've seen the Spanish coins like the one I own sell for low 4-figures in MS-65. A few, all but the 1726M 1R. I paid $220 for mine. In theory if the recent prices are "market", it should be a $3K to $4K coin but finding the unicorn buyer is another thing entirely. I'd probably consign it to Spanish auction houses Tauler Fau or Aureo & Calico. I'd never pay this type of price to buy one though because I just don't like this coinage enough. I'd rather use it on my Lima and Potosi pillar collection.

For the coin you pictured, you could consider consigning it to Rio De La Plata auctions. I bought from them recently and they shipped the coin from Miami though their website says located in Buenos Aires. A US or Argentina buyer is the only likely to pay a large premium for it, though I've never heard locals in that country caring about TPG holders.

MasonG · February 6, 2026 2:15PM

Another place to look is sold items on eBay. If you're a seller or you know someone who is, you can get sold prices going back two years. For the older sales that are no longer visible on eBay, you get the sale price & date, shipping cost, format (auction or fixed price) and the primary image from the listing, you can't see the description or any additional pictures that were originally included.

horseyride · February 6, 2026 4:21PM

For those doing more modern foreign coins, Colnect.com has many more coins then numista does for any search I've ever done.

1960NYGiants · February 6, 2026 5:52PM

There are some countries that have yearly published coin price guides.

US has the Red Book
Canada has Charlton's
UK has Spinks
France has Goudury
Australia has Rennicks

Values are typically a year behind but should be close enough for estimating.

Try Google searches for countries of interest.

syl · February 7, 2026 6:44AM

I'd recommend he pick up some old Krause from the 17th century on with Ebay. They were very good at ID'ing coins from the 1600's on. The earlier ones that had the 18th century on to modern used to have some countries with extra extra coverage, like the German, Indian or Austrian States

WCC · February 7, 2026 10:08AM

@1960NYGiants said:
There are some countries that have yearly published coin price guides.

US has the Red Book
Canada has Charlton's
UK has Spinks
France has Goudury
Australia has Rennicks

Values are typically a year behind but should be close enough for estimating.

Try Google searches for countries of interest.

I've never seen a foreign guide list by TPG grade. It's not even relevant in hardly any country.

JohnnyCache · February 7, 2026 11:37AM

@chromaticcoins said:
.....PCGS and NGC offer very limited information. What else is out there?

MS66 1882 Argentina 10 Centavos, solo top pop (for example)

You could try coinvarieties.com (Coin varieties wiki) in combination with the above suggestions.

Here is what they say regarding your coin in the OP Argentina 1882 Ten Centavos

Göttinger · February 9, 2026 12:43PM

Sixbid offers a pretty good auction archive, covering most of the major auction houses worldwide and reaching back about 20 years (free version) or even up to 50 years (pro-version, costs a pretty penny to use).

angelo43 · February 9, 2026 3:15PM

http://www.mcsearch.info/search.html? priced at about $150 a year I think. Ha.com and Ebay sold items have been helpful along with the others mentioned above

The_Dinosaur_Man · February 12, 2026 6:41PM

I was flipping through my Krause 1801-1900 catalog the other day researching German coins. Most of the Empire issues have decent mintages and fair values. My attention was caught by the 1896-G 5 Pfennig issue, whose mintage is "included with the 1897-G" coins, and just the low end coins go for a few thousand dollars. On the same two pages is the 1873-E 20 Pfennig with a mintage of only 100 pieces and yet those coins are less expensive. I can't find anything online that explains the rarity and valuation of the 5 Pfennig, if it was a U.S. coin there would be countless articles about it.

This is just one reason why I promote physical books, even if the pricing information is outdated. It is far easier and more enjoyable to happen upon random and cool coin facts and numismatic mysteries.

angelo43 · February 13, 2026 3:20PM

Italian Gigante and Montenegro Older Montenegro has Papal Medals values.

What sources does everyone use for World Coins? Are there any comprehensive and accurate guides?

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