Online Price Guides

Numismedia isn't straight-up wack like PCGS pricing, but there's enough real-time data on actual sales available online that published guides aren't as relevant as they used to be.

Heritage, Stack's archives; search their "most recent sales".
ebay sold auctions: go to "advanced search" (to the right of any search bar on any page...) make sure your search is in "all categories", check the "sold" box (about 4 down on the advanced search page). All prices will appear in green. A slash will be through those that took a lesser than asking price amount (in buy it now mode). A good rule of thumb for "most" simple pricing. I get the grey sheet, and other periodicals all of which seem to some degree, out of touch w/ current reality as far as what coins really sell for.

"I have a large collection of old, but unspectacular, coins. Will I be able to find values at the places you mentioned?"

If that's the case; ebay's advanced "sold" search is your new best friend.

If you go on PCGS's Collector's Corner they give you their prices and actual auction results for many of the coins available. I've noticed that many times PCGS's price guides are sometimes $100's above any actual auction result.

Personally, when I go to a show, I'll print out Numismedia guides for the series I'm interested in. This gives me a ballpark idea of what I should pay. I may pay more or less, depending on the dealer or coin itself. Just remember, any guide is just that, a guide, not a written in stone valuation of any coin.

If you are looking for U.S. coin values I really like (207) Not Allowed - Auto-Removed .com. Not sure how well known they are but it seems like they don't over inflate the pries as much as other places do.

Best to just go to ebay and see what things are selling for. A price guide is a guide and no one has to follow it for selling or buying. Remember that prices listed on the PCGS web site are there to help you think your coin is worth sending in to them for slabbing. All their prices are sort of inflated for that reason.

From the urban "wack" - (From hip-hop slang) bad (as in not good), inauthentic, of an inferior quality, contemptible, lacking integrity, inauthentic, lame, or strange.

And the urban "straight-up": To be right or for real

So, ssuperdave is stating that he strongly feels that the PCGS price guide is a poor representation of actual prices