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Greysheet for regular people: what that book actually is
It is a dealer wholesale sheet, not a promise. Bid is not what you pay at a show. And not every coin on earth is in there.
Someone at a show says “Greysheet bid” like it is a court order.
Greysheet (CDN) is a wholesale reference for dealers. It is useful. It is not a law. It is not a retail tag. It is not complete.
Bid vs ask, in English
Bid is closer to what a dealer might pay another dealer for a nice, problem-free example. You walking in off the street with a cleaned coin are not that example. Details grades. Appraisal vs bid.
What is missing
A lot of world. Odd tokens. Things too new, too weird, or too thin to sheet. If a lookup comes up empty, you did not break the shop. The sheet has holes. We still have a brain and a scale. World coins.
Bluebook, Red Book, “price guides”
Different jobs. Red Book is not a dealer buy list. Phone apps are a different problem. Why worth searches lie.
If a shop shows you a sheet, ask which column they are using and whether your coin matches the assumptions — grade, problem-free, actual demand today.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn
Extra pad history for Greysheet for regular people
Someone at a show says “Greysheet bid” like it is a court order. Greysheet (CDN) is a wholesale reference for dealers. It is useful. It is not a law. It is not a retail tag. It is not complete. Bid is closer to what a dealer might pay another dealer for a nice, problem-free example. You walking in off the street with a cleaned coin are not that example. Details grades. Appraisal vs bid.
A lot of world is missing. Odd tokens. Things too new, too weird, or too thin to sheet. If a lookup comes up empty, you did not break the shop. The sheet has holes. We still have a brain and a scale. World coins. Pandas and Libertads are the usual example.
What to ask if a shop shows you a sheet
Ask which column they are using and whether your coin matches the assumptions — grade, problem-free, actual demand today. Red Book is not a dealer buy list. Phone apps are a different problem. Why worth searches lie. Error hype.
Junk silver is not a Greysheet fight. 90% through 1964 is counted by face. 40% Kennedys 1965–70 and war nickels 1942–45 are their own factors. 90% vs 40%. Bullion Eagles are spot plus a spread, not a sheet of Morgan dates.
People also ask
Is Greysheet bid what I get? Not automatically. You are not a dealer-to-dealer coin unless the coin is.
Why is my Panda missing? World coverage has holes. We still look.
Is Red Book the same? No. Different job. Retail catalog, not a buy list.
Should I print the sheet and argue line by line? Bring the coin. Ask which column. Stay human.
Extra pad history for the Greysheet
The CDN Greysheet is a dealer wholesale bid/ask language for collectible US coins. It is not a retail price tag and not a melt ticket. A shop may land under or over a line because of the coin in the hand.
What the shop does
For junk silver we use metal. For keys we may glance at wholesale. Bid and ask. Red Book is not a buy price. Why apps lie.
People also ask
Can I buy the Greysheet and argue? You can subscribe. The coin still has to match the grade.
Does it list Eagles? Bullion is spot plus premium, not a Greysheet story.
Is the high number what I get? No. That is not how wholesale works.