Coin Prices

Many first time coin collectors in India and around the world often ask, why do old coins cost less and new coins cost more? If one stops to think, most people expect second-hand goods to be cheaper than new ones. So when it comes to coins, why expect old coins to be worth more than the new? One of the most important things for people who are looking to buy or sell a coin is to look at rough estimates which are made available from various sources.

Two of the most important sources are:

1. Printed price guides: Every year, many paperback and hardback books are printed which list the different varieties of coins that are available and also their current market prices. The best option would be to go for a paperback edition, since market prices fluctuate. It’s also important that you should get a new edition every couple of years. The advantages of price guides are that they’re cheap and convenient and resourceful. It also saves money and the time of going to several different dealers. However a certain drawback is that it requires some work on your part to find the book, identify, and look up each coin. It’s also important for you to know the grade of your coin. Once that is acquired you can get a range of prices for different coins.

In India these coin books can be found in a local bookstore, or through an online bookstore. By browsing through the internet you can look up e-Bay as they offer these books at cheap prices. You can even find older editions.

2. Online price guides: You know the type of coin you have and if you are not aware of the grade of the coin, then you’ll be able to find the range of possible prices online. The biggest advantage of online price guides is that they are updated constantly and are free so you don’t have to worry about buying or having the current edition of the price guides.

Coin prices are mainly a function of demand and supply in the coin market. To put it simply, market prices decline when investments cannot be moved at current levels and eventually rise when insufficient quantities are available to meet the urgent current demand. However there is always a possibility that if the buyer or seller is unaware of current trends, a transaction can take place which is outside the normal range of the prices, in this case coins.