Is the PCGS price guide accurate? Here’s an example that I don’t understand. Where the PCGS guide and eBay prices are very far apart.
No price guide is absolutely accurate. However you are showing a proof Lincoln and an MS price guide. Not the same thing at all.
No. On some coins it is far too high and on others it is far too low (although this is rarer). Very few of the prices quoted are spot on IMO.
Anyone can ask whatever they want for their coins. Unless it is a sale, the listing is meaningless. Even if it is a transaction, it is best to use multiple to gauge a market.
More so than not, I have found the pcgs price guide to be on the high side of value. You can always find something less expensive.
Most price guides state they are presenting retail prices. By this, they mean prices a dealer is likely to charge a customer. Actually, the prices are usually higher than what most dealers would charge. I think this is done to keep dealers happy with the guides, most of which are produced or sponsored by publishers or TPGs. These sponsoring organizations depend on dealers for a lot of their business. It's common for a dealer to point to a price in a guide and then tell a potential customer, "I can sell it to you for less than that." Sale made; everyone happy. Average auction prices (hammer plus premium) are usually lower than prices in price guides. It does take more work and knowledge to use auction prices realized, which is one thing that keeps price guides popular. My main use of price guides is for ballpark prices. If current asking or bid price is somewhere near in the price in price guides, then it may be worthwhile to research auction prices realized to get a real-world value. And, no, you shouldn't use the average auction price to decide whether to buy or bid on a particular coin in a particular grade. Grading service, CAC status, provenance, etc. all need to be considered. And above all, the appearance of the coin compared to appearance of previously auctioned coins should be a factor. Cal
I do find the fairly new PCGS Rare Coin Market Report to be useful in tracking CHANGES to the prices in there, from issue to issue. I get to pick up an odd issue hither and yon at the close of shows I've worked.
