Wouldn't it be great if Numista also generated a current book value for your coins? I'm sure that would be a major project, but it would also make this an even more Premier Numismatic Website than it already is.
Agreed. Like the useful information Matt gives in the above Topic, for example. I did not know certain of those coins he mentioned were more valuable than the others. I just go by the notes 'rare' or 'scarce' on the page; or the mintage figures where given.
I think that having an accurate and up-to-date database of prices is quite impossible for Numista. This requires good market knowledge, and I fear it can't work on a wiki-like manner like the other data on Numista.
However, a small step has been taken today. Silver and gold coins now have their bullion value displayed on the coin sheet, in the "Get this coin" section.
Prices in KM catalogs are the property of KM.
According to French law (which Numista is subject to), copying a database is only allowed in some resticting conditions, which are not met in this case (see French law here).
We can't steal the results of the work made by KM.
I just made a quick search on the Internet. It seemed that the US legislation is a bit confused about databases. http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/database.html http://www.iusmentis.com/databases/us/ http://www.copyright.gov/docs/regstat092303.html
One can argue that data compiled by KM are original and creative, since they are the result of research and compilation of other data, and thus they could be protected.
Both KM and Worldcoingallery are American, but I'm not an expert and I'm not able to say if there are illegal data or not.
Quote: XavierPrices in KM catalogs are the property of KM.
According to French law (which Numista is subject to), copying a database is only allowed in some resticting conditions, which are not met in this case (see French law here).
We can't steal the results of the work made by KM.
Xavier is quite correct. The prices in KM are their own copyright, and as such are protected by international law (not French, not EU, but worldwide). KM have researched and averaged these values. They are not public domain knowledge. Reproducing them would potentially impact on sales of KM publications, and I suspect KM would quite rightly pursue perpetrators.
Of course you could publish out-of-copyright data, that which is over 70 years old. But values that old should be as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Individuals recording values in the personal comments field, the contents of which are not generally available, should be okay - a bit like making a note in your own personal catalogue of your own collection, so long as you are not intending to publish it for general distribution.
That said, I need to stress that I am not a copyright lawyer, and you should always seek professional advice if in any doubt.
I still believe an indication of rarity of a coin, based on how many members have it in their collection, for swapping, and maybe mintage would be a lot of help in determain trade equality. Rarity doesn't always reflect in value, I know, but its a start.
It wouldn't help with insurance estimates, I'm affraid.
Quote: ctuckerI still believe an indication of rarity of a coin, based on how many members have it in their collection, for swapping, and maybe mintage would be a lot of help in determain trade equality. Rarity doesn't always reflect in value, I know, but its a start.
It wouldn't help with insurance estimates, I'm affraid.
For fear of muddying the waters, I have noticed no obvious corellation between mintage figures and values listed in Krause, except for different years of the same coin. That said, does book value actually matter at all? Consider the Maltese 10 cent 1972 coin KM #11. Krause lists this as having a value in VF of $4, which is presumably why so many people are trying to sell them on eBay, and yet they are not receiving even a single bid at 50p ($0.80) for VF, EF and even AUNC examples.
I've noticed the same thing. A lot of the coins that are hard to get here on numista, are worth very little according to Krause (the mid-african countries for example).
And I don't think I have ever paid Krause value for any coin. Most are over priced, some under.
