The price of a coin stands as the most needed fact a collector must know, giving full control over the market.
Knowing the price helps you not to spend too much money when you buy and not to sell for too little money, protecting your funds.
If a collector uses only one source for coin value lookup, that collector can easily make a big mistake, lacking enough data.
The price in one coin book can be old or too high, because that book wants to sell its own coins, creating a conflict of interest.
Therefore, it is needed to always check the coin’s price using several different sources, helping you get the most exact picture of the market, ensuring fairness.
Two Main Kinds of Price Sources
There are two main kinds of sources a collector must use, helping with a complete view.
The first kind is coin books, those books that give general ideas.
The second kind is the actual prices the coins were sold for, showing real market action.
You must always look at the facts from these two different kinds of sources, making a proper comparison.
Catalog Price
Coin books are printed books or online lists, those lists giving an example of the coin’s worth. This worth is a theory and is based on past sales, not today’s sales.
- Coin books give general facts, providing a wide overview
- Coin books are useful for a new person, giving a place to start
- They help you find the coin’s value, name, the year it was made, and the different types of the coin, detailing the item
- The most well-known coin books are Krause, along with the official coin books of your country, giving local and global standards
- You must know that the price in the coin book often shows the price a dealer sells at, not the price you buy at, including the dealer’s profit
The price in the coin book may not be changed every month, often being slow to react to market changes.
If a coin book was printed three years ago, its price may not be right anymore, needing an update.
Realized Price
The realized price is the true cost that the coin was sold for in the open market, showing the actual transaction.
This price stands as the true worth of the coin in the market, reflecting current demand.
The realized price shows how many people truly want the coin, showing real demand.
The realized price includes the market’s feeling right now, showing the current trend.
You can find these prices only in the old sales lists of auction houses, which require deep searching.
Realized prices stand as the most trusted way to put a worth on a coin, being based on facts.
If a coin costs $100 in the coin book, but it was sold for $80 at the auction, its real price is $80, showing the market’s choice.
Coin State and How It Changes the Price
The coin’s state, or grade, stands as the main thing that changes its worth, having the biggest effect.
The same coin can cost $5 in a poor state and $500 in a perfect state, showing a big difference.
You cannot look at prices without thinking about the coin’s state, needing to check the grade first.
How the Coin’s State Changes the Price
- A coin in G state (Good, meaning Poor) costs the lowest price, setting the floor.
- A coin in VF state (Very Fine, meaning Very Good) costs 10 to 20 times more than a G coin, showing a big jump in worth.
- A coin in MS-65 state (Mint State, meaning Perfect) can cost 100 times more than a VF coin, showing its true worth.
- Every scratch, every spot, every hit lowers the coin’s price, causing damage.
- The price in the coin book always shows a price for different states, needing careful reading.
The Need for Certification
For costly coins, you must look at the certification, needing outside proof.
This coin has been checked by a third-party company (like NGC or PCGS), ensuring a true grade.
A certified coin sits in a plastic holder, that holder having the exact grade written on it, giving certainty.
The price of a certified coin is always higher, reflecting the guarantee.
Certification stands as a promise that the coin is real and that its state is correct, giving peace of mind.
When checking the price, you must only look for the price that matches the grade of your coin, making the comparison useful.
Finding Realized Prices
You must look for realized prices very closely, being very careful.
Doing this takes time, but it is the most trusted way to find the true worth, being the most accurate.
Auction House Records
The best prices are in the records of big auction houses, showing past results.
They keep old lists where you can look at the results of past sales, finding market data.
You must look at the date the coin was sold; the newer the date, the better the price, showing recent value.
You must look at the final cost, that cost including the auction house’s fee, to see the full price paid.
You must use the search tools to look for the coin by year, value, and grade, making the search faster.
You cannot use it for valuing the coins that were not sold, because those coins did not reach the lowest price the seller wanted, being irrelevant.
Special Comparison Websites
Some websites gather sales facts from many different auctions at once, providing a single view.
- You can see the coin’s price from 10 different auctions in one place, saving time.
- These websites often ask for money to let you see the facts, requiring payment.
- If you plan to buy or sell many coins, this service pays for itself, being a good deal.
- These websites automatically show the average price the coin was sold for, giving a quick idea.
Forums and Online Markets
Prices on forums, the best coin identifier app, and online markets are less trusted, but you still need to look at them, adding to the data.
On forums, people often put the price the seller wants for the coin, which price not always the real price, showing only hope.
You must look for posts that say “Sold for…”, that price standing as the realized price, confirming the deal.
The price from a known dealer on a forum can be higher than the price from a new person, because the dealer gives a promise of quality, justifying the cost.
The Four-Step Price Check Process
To avoid mistakes, you must check the price in a strict order, step by step. You cannot skip any step, ensuring full fact-checking.
Finding the Coin and Its State
First, you must know exactly what the coin is and find all the facts.
- Find the year, the value name, the country, and the mint that made the coin, detailing its origin.
- Find the different types, using the coin book, because some small differences can make the price go up two times, showing that small changes matter.
If the coin is not certified, you must try to give it a grade yourself, using the standard list (G, F, VF, XF, AU, MS), making a first guess.
The checking must be done with a magnifying glass, seeing all the small details.
Getting the Base Catalog Price
After finding the state, you must get the base facts about the coin’s worth, setting a range.
- Find your coin in two different coin books, getting two points of view
- Write down the price for your grade (for example, VF), making a record
If one coin book gives $150, and the other gives $200, the average coin book price will be $175, showing the midpoint
This price is where you start, showing the highest possible worth, acting as a guide
Finding Realized Prices
The most needed step is finding the actual sales, showing the market’s truth.
Find your coin in the old sales lists of a big auction house, digging for data.
Find the last three times your coin was sold in the same grade, looking for recent deals.
- If the coin in VF grade was sold for $140, $160, and $130, the average realized price will be $143, showing the real average.
- If you did not find sales in your grade, you must look for sales of coins that are very close in state, making a good guess.
Looking at the Facts and Finding the Final Price
The final price is what you get after comparing all the numbers, making a final choice.
Compare the average price in the coin app for Android ($175) with the average realized price (143), seeing the difference.
The difference shows that the coin books set the price too high, overvaluing the item.
The final price of the coin for selling will be the same as the average realized price ($143) if you sell it yourself, aiming for market value.
The final price for buying will be 10 to 20 percent less than the realized price, aiming for a discount.
A seller always wants to get the realized price, and a buyer always wants to pay less than the realized price, showing the conflict of interest.
| Price Source | Price Correctness | What It Is Good For | How Long the Price Is Good For |
| Printed Catalog | Low | For finding the coin type and the base grade | From 1 to 5 years |
| Auction Records | High | For finding the exact market worth | Good forever |
| Online Store Price | Medium | For quickly guessing the buying price | Good when you look at it |
| Forum Ads | Low | For seeing what other collectors are interested in | Very short time |
Conclusion
Correctly checking a coin’s price requires you to use several sources, not just one.
Never trust the price in only one coin book. The collector must first exactly find the grade of their coin, establishing its condition.
Then they must find the realized prices in the records of big auction houses, using those prices as the base for their worth.
Coin books are only needed for finding the base facts about the coin. Mistakes in valuing often happen because the collector does not find the coin’s state correctly or does not look for the real sales that happened, resulting in errors.
Remember: a coin costs exactly what buyers are ready to pay for it in the open market, showing its true value.
