The Coin Dealer Newsletter (Grey Sheet and Blue Sheet)

At least one thing hasn't changed since I stopped being active in coins all those years ago: there is still a Greysheet which dealers and many buyers rely upon for pricing.  The price is a bit more than I remember and there is now a "bluesheet" that didn't exist when I last subscribed, but you'll still see it at shows and mentioned frequently on the web.

If you don't know about these publications, you might wonder why they even exist today. There is so much free information about pricing, why would you pay $127.00 a year (plus another $148 if you want the Bluesheet too)?

The answer is simple:  this is what all the dealers use. If you are going to be buying or selling coins, it's extremely useful to know what prices dealers are using.

You can find an inexpensive sample pack at http://www.greysheet.com/web_order/special_form.asp

That sample contains current issues of:

The Coin Dealer Newsletter (Greysheet)

This lists "actively traded" coins, Morgans, Peace dollars, type coins, rolls, bullion and so on. You can see the details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/GreyCovered.asp

The CDN Monthly Supplement

This covers the more commonly seen coins Lincolns, Indians, Barbers, Mercs, Walkers, $5 and $10 Indians, St. Gaudens and so on. Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/MonthlyCovered.asp

The CDN Quarterly I

Early cents, two cent , dimes and quarters, proof Indians, Lincolns, Barbers, Morgans, Peace and more. Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/Q1Covered.asp

The CDN Quarterly II

Early halves and dollars, quarter eagles and three dollar gold and the same proofs covered in Quarterly I.  Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/Q2Covered.asp 

The CDN Quarterly III

Early four dollar gold, half Eagles and Eagles and the same proofs covered in Quarterly I. Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/Q2Covered.asp

The Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter (Bluesheet)

This covers the certified market, PCGS, NGC,  ANACS, ICG, and even lesser known services like PCI, INS and SEG.  It also covers CAC stickers.  Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/BlueCovered.asp

The Currency Dealer Newsletter (Greensheet)

Paper money.  Details at http://www.greysheet.com/cdn/GreenCovered.asp

There are also online editions included with your subscription for an extra charge. These can also be bought separately; see http://www.greysheet.com/Commerce/scripts/customer_pdf_login.asp?svc=CDNi&

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

Contests and giveaways: http://coins.aplawrence.com/2014/05/contests-and-giveaways.html

Outbid again

I was awakened at 3:30 yesterday morning by cell phone beeps.  I thought it was the beeps that accompany an eBay outbid notice, but the beeps kept coming.  I was annoyed, because I usually remember to turn down the volume so that things like that won't disturb me.  I tried to ignore them, but every few minutes the beeps would sound again.

Even though I was pretty groggy, I dragged myself out of bed and found that it was actually my wife's cell phone begging for a recharge.  I plugged it in and gave it a malevolent glare to warn it against such churlish begging in the future.

Oh, well. It was only an hour earlier than I usually get up. My phone and iPad were muted, so it wasn't eBay's fault.  I did check, though, and found that yes, I had lost a good number of bids overnight.  That's fine: many were lowballs thrown out there just in case there's a massive internet outage and the four million other people bidding against me are stuck pounding on their keyboards in frustration as I snag thousands of dollars worth of coins for a pittance.

Actually, internet outage or not, doing that is kind of a kick.  Picking up a $10,000 coin for a few hundred bucks is about as likely as winning the lottery - maybe even less so - but that's not what I'm doing.  I'm bidding $30 or $40 on $100 coins or perhaps $7 on $20 coins.  That can happen and the odds aren't completely impossible.  

But sometimes I look at the total number of items I am still supposedly winning and think "Man, that would put a dent in the checkbook!" and I get a queasy feeling in my stomach.   Soon enough a few more dings tell me that more realistic bids have chopped down that exposure and I feel better.

On the other hand, I do put in more realistic bids on some things. I don't use sniping software. That will increase bids as necessary without you watching, but you can't use it with two-factor authentication and I won't turn that off.  Aside from that, I'm not trying to get the absolute lowest price. If I'm willing to pay $60 for something, that's what I'll bid right out of the gate. That is and will be my maximum - if I instantly see that someone else's secret bid has raised it to  $61, that's the end of it for me and I move on.  If I had been willing to pay $62, that's what I would have bid originally.

But the lowballs are fun, too.  I don't recall ever winning one yet - if I did, it wasn't low enough that I noticed, anyway.  Yet in idle moments I amuse myself by placing a few dozen very cheap bids.  If they should ever hit, I'll have a great deal and if not, it passed some time and helped keep me up to date on current price trends.

Note:  All my coins are in a safe deposit box.  I keep nothing in my home. 

This week's Coinweek Giveaway: http://www.coinweek.com/~cd535e2d686a500

Also multiple contests going on at http://www.moderncoinmart.com/forum/forums/contests/