CNG Auction Pickups?

I like bargain hunting of course, but sometimes it feels good to just whallop your competition with Thor's hammer and the bank account be damned.

 

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I didn't bid on anything today. With having to buy Christmas presents for ~40+ people and looking ahead to Triton and the other January auctions, I'm trying to be good. It is hard.

 

As I told Phil in a PM earlier. I saw this coin when it was listed and I looked at it several hundred times as I researched it and comps. I was prepared to jump into the fray................. and had what I thought was a big bid ready..... but I never stood a chance.

Congratulations. What a perfect example. It shows every little bit of the engravers skill. The obverse has that Greek quality to the engraving and the details on the reverse are remarkable.

My frustration lies in the fact that you lay out breadcrumbs in the forest with all the RR you post. When I finally decide to take a serious swing for one of them, it has to be the coin you are determined to win.

My only solace is that the competing bidders had me trounced also. Better that it ended up in your hands.

 

Really? I did not know you collected things other people understood or wanted. If we had one of TIF's quizzes on pick the JA's favorite Nabataean or Ardatirion's favorite lead mot of us would score poorly. I prefer when you place a snipe bid for $100 and get the coin for $30 because no one else could tell it from the stuff nobody wants. In auctions I lose more as 1st underbidder than I win with my full bid being used.

A question on auctions: Lots are presented in an order by place or date. When there are two examples of substantially the same coin, what determines which is sold first. If there are three examples fairly estimated at $80, $100 and $200 should the best go first or last? Obviously auction houses don't care who buys as long as they pay more but, unless the buyer is planning on quick resale, you would expect the underbidder on the first sold might be in the market for the second while the buyer of the first might not. I always thought it would be best to sell the best first but I have seen the opposite technique used. Perhaps the answer here is different for an eBay sale and Triton. Perhaps the answer is different if the three are $800, $1000 and $2000. I realize this is not a simple question. I recall seeing a catalog with a 'name' specialized collection placed at the front of the catalog followed by the regular lots which included some of the same items with lesser provenance but not lesser condition. These are decisions for people with business sense and not for me!

 

Well for one thing, Nabataean silver isn't that obscure - there are many that understand and want it. Good pieces command high premiums. I could have had myself a nice chunk of gold for what I paid for this year-one drachm of Aretas IV. Sometimes, as in Mr. Davis' case, nothing but Thor's hammer will do for a "necessity."

 

I agree with Doug that when an auction house has two or more comparable coins the best ought to be offered first. Potential bidders who want the type all want the best and will all bid for it if the price is right. If the best is offered first and it goes too high, some of us who did not win the best would then try for the second best for less. But, if the second best is offered before the best, we might not try for it because we don't yet know if our bid would win the best. We would have to wait and skip the second best. If the best is last and goes too high, it is too late to compete for the second best. So, to get maximum competition for each, offer the best first.

 

I know Nabataean silver is desirable but not how to tell a relatively common one from a relatively rare one or a type never before seen. N. bronzes are a better example. You can go to a pot of 1000 N. bronzes and find some worth $1 and some worth a lot more. If I went to that pot, I would buy the pretty ones but not know the unique type from the common one. I suspect the situation is different in lead tokens since all are rare (aren't they?).

 

Well, I do have a fair number of coins, so I pass on a lot of really 1st rate pieces because I've no reason to acquire another example of the type. You'll have plenty of chances!

This obverse of this MAT victoriatus really does have a Greek feel to it. Probably it in fact was produced by a Greek engraver. I don't know of a finer victoriatus die of any type.

 

That's what I encountered when I was collecting RR silver imitations. They're all individually rare, but only the visually cool ones were relatively expensive.

 

A beautiful coin - congrats! It does look very Greek, with the obverse being a dead ringer for the Zeus depicted on many Epirus drachms. It would have been minted at the same time as Epirus was minting their drachms - perhaps an argument could be made for them sharing an artist.

 

Yes but if only two people came to the sale looking for the type, the third would not sell or be bought by a dealer for opening and resold to someone who was not at the sale. The question is which technique returns the best result for the total of the three.

I certainly agree with this. The coin is beyond gorgeous. I see this as a problem for a collector like Volodya since anyone who saw this coin would recognize it was a nice item and a fair number would want it. If one of them happened to be a
sheik or Internet billionaire things could get tense.

I'm surprised at that statement considering the desire to correct the loss years ago. I know a couple collectors who have coins bought sixty years ago. If a collector of that ilk bought the treasured item, you might not have even one more chance. I go on that theory a lot and buy coins I want when I see them rather than waiting for the FDC example that may or may not exist. Below are three coins I wanted. No one here, save possibly Martin, would want any of them or know which of them is going to be hard to replace, let alone upgrade. When no one cares, money is not a consideration. If anyone reading this far is into this hobby for the money, I am filled with surprise and pity. My style of collecting does not fear shieks but I am terrified of Martin.

 

I meant more that there will be ample chances for really attractive and choice RR silver in general. You're right about this exact type and this die in particular. It's legitimately rare. There won't be a lot of chances to get one.

 

I thought the estimates for most of the RR silver were pretty laughable. There were a lot of quality quality pieces with $100-$200 estimates.

 

Yup ... ummm, am I allowed to toss this sweetie in this thread as well?

=> look at me go, eh? ... ya fancy freaks!!

 

Fantastic scores on the recent CNG auction.

 

I bought nothing in the auction today, though Volodya's Victoriatus was THE one I had every intention of pursuing but ended up not bidding this morning. It was the nicest coin in the auction. I would be perfectly happy with the 2011 one too!

Congrats!

 

In some instances, laughable estimates are made by clever marketers.

I had a dozen coins on my bid list, but came away with only two. They're modest examples but I like them.

This one was unloved in the original NAC sale, but found a home today.


The second was billed as one of RBW's early acquisitions, picked up in 1967 with toning to show for it.


Of course, it's never a real CNG auction for me without my getting rolled over by the Clio machine at least once. Of the coins I was underbidder on, this one hurt most.

 

Sweet pickups Z! 'dat clio always causing trouble...

 

Few would understand but Steve's prize is the coin in the sale I admired the most. All I have to do now is outlive him and attend his sale. Steve is one I will be disappointed in if he starts selling. There were a few other lots I liked but figured each would sell over my head so did not bother. Flipping through the realizations, only one failed to make double estimate.