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  Category: Articles » Sports & Recreation » Hobbies » Article
 

Understanding Coin Price Guides




By Robert L Taylor, JD

There are many coin price guides published; weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and annually. They come in the form of magazines, newsprint, "hot sheets", and books. All of us have referred to one of these from time to time to ascertain what a particular coin might be worth. Yet, few of us stop to think about what we are getting from any one of these Price Guides, beyond the price or value of a coin. After all, don't price guides, just give you the price? What else is there?

Basic to an understanding of price guides are two things: 1) the Grade of the Coin; and 2) the Foundation of the price guide. Knowing the Grade of the Coin is required before one can begin. Saying so seems to be obvious, but what more does it mean?

Unless the coin is Graded by an appropriate Professional Grading Company, which has designated what Grade and Identity has been assigned to the coin, most of us are making an assumption about the actual Grade. This assumption we make can be very dangerous because of: a) the difficulty in grading a coin; and, b) the different possible outcomes or results that occur. One Grade "point" or level can make the difference in hundreds or thousands of dollars in the Value of a Coin.

Price Guides assume that YOU already Know the Grade of the Coin. This is why we have the First Rule of Coin Collecting: Know the Grade of Your Coin.

Secondly, ALL Price Guides are founded on the same Principle, which is that the Coin, whose price you are looking up, has been Graded using one Grading Standard. That Grading Standard is set by the ANA – American Numismatic Association – and is entitled the Official Grading Standards For US Coins.

Therefore, ALL Price Guides have a "silent assumption" built in to their guide; which is that the Grade that YOU decide upon, is the True or Accurate, and that such Grade is based on the ANA Standards.

The first difficulty that arises is that most people never know if the Grade that they have decided upon is Accurate. Of course, this difficulty never comes into question, if the coin is Professionally Graded by an appropriate company. There are only four (4) reputable Professional Grading companies that strictly follow the Guidelines set by the ANA, and they are: PCGS, NCG, ICG, and ANACS.

The second difficulty arises because of this "silent assumption" or Foundation of all price guides is whether or not the Grade has been decided upon using the Guidelines or Standards established by the ANA. If you don't have the skills and training of a professional coin grader, the decision is probably questionable.

Even if you do have the skills and training of a professional coin grader, the decision is still probably questionable. Why? Because even professional coin graders have differing opinions. This is why the reputable professional coin grading companies require the opinions of three (3) professional coin graders to arrive at the "Grade" designation to be placed on every coin.

The obvious conclusion is that a Serious Coin Collector is going to invest in rare and modern coins that are graded by one of the Top Four reputable Grading companies. It is the only certain way to eliminate the disagreements and arguments about the Grade of Any coin being Bought or Sold! It is the only certain way one can Value their coin collection. It also eliminates "getting taken" or cheated buying raw coins.

Have fun collecting your Perfect Coins!

Robert L Taylor, JD
Copyright 2006, Robert L Taylor, JD

About the Author
Robert Taylor is a 59 year old retired Lawyer, from Denver, CO, who spent most of his career representing people who could not afford an attorney, and who has had a passion for collecting US coins. Wanting to share his Passion, he created http://www.ThePerfect-Coin.Com which features US Rare and Modern Dollars (from 1878) and Coins (from 1960), all Certified and Graded by NGC or PCGS.
For Beginning Coin Collectors, he then created http://www.Beginning-Coin-Collecting.Com with coins for less than $10.

 
 
About the Author
Robert is a 59 year old retired lawyer from Denver, CO with a passion for collection coins; and has published a web site sharing his passion, at http://www.ThePerfect-Coin.com

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  Some other articles by Robert L Taylor, JD
What is "Key" when Collecting Coins?
Key Coin: A coin that is among the toughest and Most Expensive to obtain within a series. In the Lincoln Cent series, for example, the 1909-S VDB would be considered the key, as would the 1914-D and ...

The Grade of a Coin Is Everything!
So You Are a Coin Collector! Tell me: Are You Still Collecting Raw Coins? Take any Coin in Your Collection, and Tell Me What ...

What Coins Should I Collect?
You should collect what you like and enjoy. This is Your Dream. Design it any way you want. Never-the-less, . . . decide on Foreign coins or US Coins; ...

5 Reasons to Buy and Collect Certified and Graded Coins
Why should a coin collector and investor buy and collect professionally graded and certified coins?. Commonly called "slabs", they are housed in a protective plastic holder. There are many companies – over ...

  
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