Bluesheet: A REVIEW OF MS67 CLASSIC COMMEMS

We have had a tremendous amount of sales data to review throughout the first month of the year. One series which has had a lot of movement, but remains under the radar, is MS67 classic silver commemoratives. To the non-specialist, valuations of this popular series can be confusing, with a wide spectrum of realized prices. We performed a review of MS67 commems in this issue of the Bluesheet because many observe the Greysheet prices of these coins while not being aware of and/or ignoring the Bluesheet prices, which are essential to proper valuation.

PCGS has now certified 15,338 MS67 silver commems and NGC has certified 11,638 examples in this grade. Naturally, there are fewer actual coins than this combined number because of crossovers and resubmissions. If someone was looking to build a complete 144-coin set of MS67 silver commems, one of the first steps would be to take a look at what that set might cost. The Greysheet total as it stands today is $577,355, while the totals on Bluesheet for PCGS and NGC come in at $353,935 and $308,660, respectively. Averaging the spread, we find a more than 40% difference between the two sources.

The next thing to ask is if the certification of these coins really that inconsistent to justify a 40% spread between coins of the same type and grade. This exposes the inefficiency of this market segment. When a wonderfully toned, extremely well-struck coin comes available, it can bring several times Greysheet at auction, which is understandable. However, when a coin is solid but not a monster, it can fall by the wayside, even if the coin has a CAC sticker. This is contrary to the results of virtually all other coin series, where CAC coins bring well over Greysheet. A savvy buyer taking advantage of this anomaly will yield a nice selection of coins that can be bought closer to Bluesheet levels than what would normally be possible with other coin series.

CDN INTRODUCES COLLECTORS’ PRICE GUIDE (CPG)

We are excited to announce the introduction of our new pricing category, called “Collectors’ Price Guide,” or CPG. We are formulating a CPG value for every coin in our wholesale (Greysheet family) database. Similar in concept to the old “Ask” price, the CPG is based on “Bid” but formulated specifically for each coin and with a more accurate market spread. Dealer exchanges like CCE and CDN Exchange are now publishing the CPG values electronically. Heritage Auctions will be offering these values on their web site and other dealers and auction companies will soon follow. We are offering CPG values to numismatic web sites without charge in exchange for a simple link back to the greysheet.com web site. In this way, everybody wins. Send an email to editor@greysheet.com if you would like to add these values to your web site.