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What a bid is and what an ask is
Bid is what a buyer will pay. Ask is what a seller wants. A shop’s buy price is a bid. A shop’s sell price is an ask. The space between them is the spread.
Bid means “I will pay this.”
Ask means “I will sell at this.”
Those are opposite sides of the same trade. There is no single “the price” until two people agree.
In a shop
When you sell gold to the shop, you are looking at their bid. When you buy gold from the shop, you are looking at their ask. The space between those numbers pays rent, cash in the safe, testing, and risk. Why they differ. Premiums and spreads.
If the board says they buy eagles at one number and sell at another, that is not a typing error. That is the store.
On a screen
Stock quotes and metal quotes show bid and ask too. The last trade sits between them. “Spot” is a wholesale reference built from that world. COMEX and LBMA. Spot for normal people.
Greysheet and price guides
“Greysheet bid” is a wholesale dealer number for a nice, problem-free coin. It is not an offer to you until a person writes a ticket. A Red Book number is not a bid at all. Greysheet. Red Book. Appraisal vs cash bid.
A simple check
Ask: “Is this what you will pay me today, or what you would charge me if I were buying?” If they cannot answer that in one sentence, leave.
More on the coin and money library.