Our Methodology
How we compile prices and key-date data · last reviewed 2026-06-19
Coin values turn on small details, one date, one mintmark, or a single point on the grading scale can move a price by orders of magnitude. Because collectors make real buying decisions on what we publish, this page explains exactly how Coin Curator researches and maintains its catalog, series guides, and blog. If something here is wrong, we want to fix it.
Who writes this
Articles are produced by the Coin Curator Editorial Team, an independent group of collectors who research US numismatics full-time. We are not a coin dealer, an auction house, or a grading service, and we have no inventory to move. Our only job is to help a buyer understand what a coin is and what it should cost before they spend money.
Where our key-date and mintage data comes from
Mintages, key-date designations, varieties, and strike designations (Full Bands, Full Steps, Full Bell Lines, and the like) are compiled from the long-established primary references collectors already trust, and cross-checked against more than one before we publish:
- The Official Red Book (R.S. Yeoman / Whitman) for mintages and historical context.
- The PCGS and NGC online coin facts, population reports, and price guides.
- The PCGS CoinFacts and NGC Census figures for relative rarity by grade.
- Specialist references and attribution guides (e.g. VAM for Morgan/Peace dollars, Cherrypickers' for varieties).
How we arrive at prices
We treat realized auction prices as the most honest signal of what a coin is worth, not asking prices. Value ranges in our guides are anchored to recent sold results and published price guides, then framed by grade because that is where most of the money lives:
- Recent sold/realized prices from major venues (Heritage, Stack's Bowers, GreatCollections) and eBay sold listings.
- The PCGS and NGC published price guides as a sanity-check baseline.
- Grade-by-grade comparison, because the gap between, say, MS-63 and MS-65 is often the entire decision. See MS-63 vs MS-65 vs MS-67.
Prices in numismatics move. We publish ranges rather than false-precision single numbers, and we tell you the grade and any sticker (such as CAC) the range assumes. Always verify a specific coin's current market before you buy.
How we keep guides current
Every guide carries a visible "Last updated" date, and the same date is written into each article's structured data so search and answer engines can see how fresh the content is. Our most recent site-wide review was 2026-06-19. When mintage figures, price ranges, or grading-service practices change, we revise the affected guides and bump that date.
Editorial independence
Coin Curator is reader- and affiliate-supported, but affiliate status never decides which coins, dates, dealers, or grading services we recommend. We link to non-affiliate sources (PCGS, NGC, Heritage, Stack's Bowers) whenever they help a collector, and we flag affiliate links plainly. Full details are on our affiliate disclosure page.
Corrections
Found a mintage, price, or attribution that looks off? Tell us via the contact link in the footer. We correct errors quickly and update the "Last updated" date when we do.