Keeping the PCGS Price Guide Updated

One of the most popular and widely visited sections of our website is the PCGS Price Guide. Every month we record nearly 7 million page views on our site, and the Price Guide (also available as a mobile device app for iPhone/Android is the number one destination. Keeping the guide up-to-date and accurate is quite an undertaking and with over 310,000 current prices, we obviously cannot get to every price, every week, but we do look at all prices eventually.

The PCGS Price Guide is available as an app, too.

So what techniques and sources do we use to keep the PCGS Price Guide current?

Public auctions are a major source – particularly for rarer issues that trade infrequently. Heritage, Stacks-Bowers, Goldberg, Legend, Kagin’s, Scotsman, David Lawrence, eBay and a few others are among the companies we regularly monitor. After a major sale, we look at all the top coins and check them against our price.

We note whether a coin is also certified by an additional service, and if so, we take that fact into account when setting our price. Other factors that influence an auction realization include the eye appeal or toning of a coin, and if that coin has been off the market many years. If a coin has exceptional toning, or is offered in an old "rattler" or green-label holder, the price realized is sometimes stronger than usual and we must take care not to simply raise our price to match that particular coin as it may not reflect the typical offering. Conversely, if a coin is unattractive and brings a bargain price, we do not usually drop our price in reaction to that result.

Population also matters, and if a coin is "Pop 1" at the top of the scale we usually accept the auction result as indication of the coin’s present value. However if the population of the coin is five or ten pieces, even if at the top end, we temper our adjustment accordingly.

PCGS invests massive resources into the PCGS Price Guide, using experts from the field and hours of effort every day, and is an incredible tool for collectors and dealers alike.

Another major source is coins offered for sale on such venues as Collectors Corner or the CCE dealer trading network. Some dealers work close while others work on a higher margin. We attempt to find a happy medium – and look for dealers with a long-established reputation in the retail segment of the market for guidance. Major dealers often circulate wholesale buy/sell sheets and we use these as well to base our listings. Keep in mind that the PCGS Price Guide is a retail buying guide – what a knowledgeable dealer would ask from a knowledgeable buyer.

We of course attend many of the major shows, and take note of dealers’ comments and offerings there as well. We maintain an email address for suggestions to our Guide, and we welcome comments from both dealers and collectors.

The bottom line though, is a coin is worth what someone else will pay for it. A price guide is simply that... a guide. A certified coin with spectacular rainbow toning, at the top end of the grade will in nearly all cases bring a price above our price guide. A pedigree also helps, and if a coin is offered in a major "name" sale such as Pogue or Newman, or can be traced to one of the legendary collections such as Garrett or Eliasberg, we must factor that in. A coin with splotchy, dark or unattractive toning, one that has been kicking around the market for months, or one that has made several recent auction appearances, could likely bring a price well under our guide.

If you have any questions or comments concerning the Price Guide, we’ll be happy to answer or address them.

Please feel free to email us at: [email protected]