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Trends v. Grey Sheet


Whizzer

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I know a gent that has some nice Lincolns for sale. He's getting old and wants to sell at this time, I guess. I'd like to buy his stuff.

 

But he thinks that Trends is an accurate reflection of his coins' market value. I'm trying to convince him that Grey Sheet is the more accurate source.

 

I seem to recall that dealers usually will pay '10% back of bid' for coins. That means, 10% less than the bid price on the Grey Sheet. Is that accurate?

 

If yu were buying a coin with an eye to re-sale somewhere down the line, would you expect to pay LESS than Grey Sheet bid? How about the fulll bid price? How about the 'Ask' price? What do savvy buyers usually pay for decent coins? (His coins are an S-VDB, '22P and '14D in carious conditions.)

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Kind of left out an important factor. Just how well do you know this person. If a close friend of the family, for instance, it becomes difficult. If he charges to much, the entire family will think he is a crook. If you pay to little, the family will think your a crook. If a family member, even worse. If just an aquaintance, then all is far in love and war. In other words I'd go as cheap as humanly possible for the coins and if he doesn't like it, let him try a coin store or on line sales such as ebay. He would find you are the better choice in the long run. Also, you mentioned coins that are rather on the rare side and nowadays most people would want them authenticated prior to a sale of such large amounts of money and I'm sure he will not be just selling for a minor amount. This is already noticable by attempting to figure out which is better for him with Trends versus the Grey Sheet. Why not throw in the price guide on PCGS, The Red Book, etc?

My opinion is unless those types of coins were substantially reasonable in price, I'd shy away from such dealings. If one or all turned out to be fakes, then what?

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Here's an example for ya to use as a comparison to show the gentleman.

 

1914-D Lincoln cent

Grade - VF20

 

Coin World (Trends) - $450

 

Numismedia Retail - $384

 

Numismedia Wholesale - $320

 

Numismedia NGC (nmn) - $300

 

Numismedia PCGS (nmp) - $300

 

PCGS Price Guide - $420

 

Now here's what the coin actually sold for - $345. That was for a problem free coin.

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I can live with the grey sheet but stray far far away from trends. My dealer buys and sells strictly by the grey sheet so I have followed suit for years and years. Lets just ask a simple question and when you find the answer please let me know? Who sets the prices in all the price guides? And, who benefits the most from them?

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Good points. It's not a person I know other than over the phone. I responded to a Coin WOrld ad for some cents he had for sale. I would like the coins, but I can buy them for Trends' prices any time. They're keys, but not 1873CC dimes.

What? You don't even know the person? This means you haven't seen the coins either? Hey just to many scams out there. Could I sell you the Golden Gate Bridge? It's all Gold you know. If I were you I'd pass on this situation. Go to a coin show.

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Lets just ask a simple question and when you find the answer please let me know? Who sets the prices in all the price guides? And, who benefits the most from them?

 

 

It depends on which guide, specifically, you are asking about. But the answers are there to be seen in each guide, you just have to look for them. Possible exceptions would PCGS and Numismedia. PCGS uses the highest price ever realized for a given coin. Numismedia, I'm not sure about.

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If I ask the price of a coin at a show and the seller picks up his copy of "Trends", I politely listen to his price, then thank him for his time and walk away. I have found that sellers who use "Trends" have grossly overpriced merchandise. Same with that magazine that I think is called "Coin Values". Both are usually way out of line.

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