What Is The Greysheet?

FYI - You can usually pick-up copies of recent GreySheets on ebay.
I did this and it was cheaper then trying to buy them directly from CDN.
But, different weeks have different coin listings, so you often need several to get all the coin listings you want. And no biggie if the greysheets are a few weeks old, since the prices usually don't change that much (except for the impact of gold and silver spot prices). But they give you an idea of what a coin dealers "base pricing" will often be. When I go to coin shows, the coin dealers will often use them to set the price for either buying or selling coins. They will usually offer to buy at a 10% or 20% below greysheet price, and will sell at greysheet bid or bid plus 10%.

But I consider that just a "starting price" for negotiations, not a definitive price.

I agree that the numismedia prices are also pretty good, but it is also helpful to look at " ebay sold prices" as well.

When I go to coin shows and have some coins in mind I want to buy, I look at all three prices and come-up with some "target prices" for the coin in a the grades I am after. If I get something close to that that also has good "eye appeal", then I consider it a "good deal".

Here are some greysheet listings that are on ebay right now.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/THIS-IS-A-...AOSwMl9aYUzH

https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-COIN-D...AOSwDkVaY8VN

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Michael

Thanks for the info on numismedia. I'm checking it out now and like it. I've been using bestcoin.com. Lots of ads on that site but the prices seem generally right and they cover proof and mint sets, as well.

I feel there is a bit of conflicting information here. I'm hoping others can also help clarify.

My understanding is the greysheet reflects wholesale pricing information. The dealer at my LCS said this is meant for dealer-to-dealer sales. My understanding is that the "Blue Book" also reflects how much coin dealers are paying on average to buy U.S. coins, but is only published once a year (not weekly like the greysheet).
https://www.whitman.com/store/Inven...r+0794845118

I certainly try to buy coins close to wholesale prices. It does seem one can often buy quality coins on ebay and elsewhere at wholesale prices. Buying at wholesale provides me with a level of comfort regarding my "investment". Meaning, unless the economy tanks, I can likely sell my coins to a local/regional dealer for wholesale (or close to it) if need be, and so I should likely break even...or if it's been some time, and the values have increased since my purchases then maybe I can even make a little. That's my perception at least.

Retail prices are what a dealer sells coins at. He/she may sell on ebay for the same prices as in his/her shop.

Retail prices are what is reflected in the Red Book (again, only published once a year), and these prices are often considered high retail by most collectors "in the know". Other source that I've used are Numismedia FMV. The "FMV" means, "Fair Market Value", which by their definition sounds to be essentially the same as Retail
http://www.coinprices.org/fmvside.shtml

If you are a Numismedia subscriber, it appears you get access to other price guides, which includes one called "Market", and I assume this means dealer wholesale prices.

Finally, I like to look at the PCGS "Auction Prices Realized". https://www.PCGS.com/auctionprices/
You can click on any coin (type, date, mintmark) and specify the grade and see various sold prices. I like to analyze mean/median prices here and if I'm considering raw coins then I'll knock off around $25, as that seems to be the general price for slabbing a coin (or thereabouts). Maybe these results fall somewhere between wholesale/retail, I can't recall.

And of course ebay completed sale prices too!

clear as mud?

I don't believe the selling of the greysheet on ebay is allowed as it is subscription and copyrighted. You can buy individual sheets from greysheet.com. The greysheet is the only valid price guide IMO. Everything else is a thinly veiled attempt to get collectors to pay more than a coin is worth to protect dealer profits. I absolutely hate that CDN has decided to issue a Collectors Price Guide which is nothing more than the greysheet with markups. People have a right to know what dealers on average are willing to pay for their coins.

Why? Do you have a right to know what a car dealer bought from the company for?

Why does wholesale dealer to dealer pricing matter? If dealers are selling to the public at those levels their buy offers are going to be MUCH lower

Let's not forget that price guides - whether Greysheet, Red Book, Numismedia or whatever - are just that: guides. Take two coins (you choose the coins) of the same year and mintmark, graded the same. Let's even put them in PCGS slabs. One is strongly struck with no dings and beautiful colour - in other words, a coin with great eye appeal. The other - again graded exactly the same - has a mushy strike, a number of minor dings and a mottled appearance. These two coins are not going to sell for the same amount and you'd be nuts to value them by some price guide alone. Price guides are a good starting place - a way to find the size of the ballpark - but then experience and judgement has to take over.