I finally got an owl. It's from the most recent CNG auction. I haven't photographed it yet, but here's CNG's photo: It arrived in a flip with the usual CNG tag describing the coin and listing the auction and lot numbers (471, lot 38). It also contained two other auction tags, so for fun I decided to trace its history. It was sold back in 2007 for about 3x what I paid for it. I think this is probably due to the effect of the huge hoard of owls that have recently entered the market. (See https://www.cointalk.com/threads/athenian-owl-hoard.348230/) It's also right before the Great Recession, when a lot of collectors were still flush with money. I feel bad for whoever sold this, but I'm also happy to acquire such a nice coin at an affordable (by my standards) price. My question concerns the the other additional tag that came with it, identifying it at Auction 448, Lot 92. Nothing shows up when I research this. When I search the auction, I find a gap between Lots 91 and 93. I assume this coin was pulled from the auction, and now I'm curious why.
I know this answer is likely not helpful but I’ve contacted CNG a few times about lots removed from auctions I’ve had bids on and the reason is basically - it could be any reason. The seller could have simply decided he/she didn’t want to sell it anymore. I’ve never received a point blank reason why on my inquires, and I doubt I ever will on any going forward.
Thank you for clearing up this question. By tracking this down for me, you also helped me learn the date of this auction, which was my other question. Nothing showed up whenever I entered 448 for auction and 92 for lot under "Research" on the CNG website. How did you find it?
The recent hoard had many very nice owls. As a result, the market for 'acceptable but nothing special' coins took a real hit. Many of us wanted an owl but settled for one with small flan, poor style and even test cuts. Today, people who don't want the finest can get a hoard coin that is far from the best but still better than the old 'settle for' coins. Most of us who had owls purchased before the hoard will take a loss when selling unless the coin had something going for it besides being an owl. Specialists will still want the coins with earlier or later styles but the coins like your (small flan) and mine below (wide flan but not fully struck) just don't have appeal to people who want just one owl. I suspect there will be people trying to sell their old owls for what they paid and finding out that it just will not happen. Below is my first owl. It dates to a time in my life that the only owl I could afford was a worn one with a test cut. I paid Frank Robinson $111 in 1994. I would expect no more after 25 years.
I agree. It can happen. Some people do not like this part of the hobby. They feel nervous a new hoard could be found and they "lose money". Eh, it can happen, but long term the market will recover. It always does as the hoard gets absorbed. Sometime, even, a hoard like this will make prices go UP over time as more people get into collecting them by varieties. This is the reason Morgans are so popular, BECAUSE hundreds of millions were released from Treasury vaults. As long as you use hobby money for your hobby, and you are not trying to short term speculate in coins, hoards will not bother you. I flip it around and LOVE when hoards are found and you can buy a coin cheaper than ever before. Enjoy the good fortune.
I think you got a good deal on that one. (The next lot, the double strike, went for a lot!) It's kinda nice that it has a recent history unlike the hoard coins. I upgraded this year, to one of the hoard coins: and gave away my old one: Being overly analytic, I made a graph of coin scores (based on my preferences) and the cheapest recent sales records for coins of that score. Then I placed many, many bids a little below that cheapest level until I finally scored one. (My winning bid for that one was 340 GBP back in Feb. I wonder if prices have dropped further.)
I think you caught the low sir. 340 GBP is about the rock bottom for that grade, and have been going up IMHO.
