Bluesheet: CERTIFIED COIN MARKET UPDATE

This week we have updates in Morgan dollars, Buffalo nickels, gold type, Saint-Gaudens and more. Our review of Morgan dollars concludes this week starting with the year 1894 through

the end of the series. The updates are mostly all positive, especially with Deep Mirror Proof Like coins. Buffalo nickels had been quiet for some time and with all of the recent activity to begin the year an update was necessary. Plus signs outweigh negative by more than three to one. Saint-Gaudens also have been thoroughly repriced with many price increases especially in the MS66 and MS67 grades, where the numbers were overlooked for too long. Interestingly, Saint-Gaudens pricing is generally higher for most issues on the Bluesheet, but our analysis of the same series in the February Monthly Supplement will tell a different story. Especially for issues where CAC bidding is not present, the spread between sight-unseen and sight-seen issues for Saints is tightening up, so we\’ve adjusted the Bluesheet numbers higher to reflect the baseline levels of Saints. However, recent auction activity shows that the top prices paid for these coins is coming down. Informed buyers should pay careful attention to both of these markets when evaluating their purchases and sales. Gold type also continues to be updated with higher prices reported this week.

A NOTE ON BLUESHEET APPLICATION

As we have stated in past months, the philosophy and methodology as it pertains to how the Bluesheet prices are reported has evolved since CDN Publishing changed ownership last July. This is a result of our own understanding of how the Bluesheet is perceived and used by the rare coin market, and how we can make it into a more helpful and widely used tool. No longer are the prices based strictly on sight unseen bids from dealers; nor are they representative of the lowest possible price realized for a given coin – i.e. “the worst of the worst.” Rather, we aim to report prices that are in the lower and middle third of observed prices for a given coin and grade. We feel it is safe to assume that the overwhelming majority of subscribers who receive the Bluesheet also get the Greysheet, and it is essential to use both newsletters in tandem. Doing this will provide a meaningful wholesale Bid/Ask system for coins that are listed in both publications. Of course, professional coin dealers must have the skills to determine

where a given coin lands in this spread between (or above) the Bluesheet and Greysheet price. Naturally, the rarity of a given coin and the frequency with which it trades will

heavily influence the width of the Blue/Grey spread. Heavily traded types such as MS63-

MS65 common date Walking Liberty halves will have a narrow spread whereas rare date Saints have a much larger spread. Some coins (those with a population of one or two) may have the same price in both sheets, which we are not opposed to doing. As stated we are working hard to establish the Bluesheet as an equally important tool to the Greysheet when making buying decisions as a professional dealer. Important to note here is that we are referring to dealer-to-dealer transactions; buying and selling between a dealer and collector depends largely on the working relationship between the two. Possession of a

sheet does not grant license to demand to pay a certain price; buying and selling rare coins – or any collectible – is more art than science.