Madness at Heritage Auctions

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by Al Kowsky, Mar 25, 2021.

  1. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    I just watched in disbelief as this Owl from the Paramount Collection sold for $4080.00 :jawdrop:.

    30023.jpg
    HA Owl, 30023.jpg
     
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  3. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    that sounds a little expensive.
     
  4. cmezner

    cmezner do ut des Supporter

    Prices were mind blowing! A Dekadrachm was sold for $130,000 :jawdrop:
     
  5. happy_collector

    happy_collector Well-Known Member

    That is surely a crazy price for a relatively common AU with graffiti. Well, I guess bidders are going after the "Paramount Collection" name.
     
  6. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Was that a Syracuse dekadrachm?

    Thanks
     
  7. Al Kowsky

    Al Kowsky Well-Known Member

    The dekadrachm was a beauty :D, & signed by Kimon. I could understand someone going crazy for that coin, but $4,080 for an Owl worth $500-700 o_O?
     
  8. kazuma78

    kazuma78 Supporter! Supporter

    The deka makes some sense. The owl, not so much. I have some tulip bulbs to sell, thats what it feels like anyways.
     
  9. AncientJoe

    AncientJoe Well-Known Member

    Yes, it was a Syracuse (signed by Kimon) which opened at $130K but ultimately sold for $216K all-in. I didn't buy it but I think it was one of the only reasonably priced coins in the sale.
     
  10. kazuma78

    kazuma78 Supporter! Supporter

    I agree, that coin merited a high price. Honestly, at the estimate price, I would have happily cashed in some Roth money to buy it- would have been a steal.
     
  11. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

    One has to wonder what the buyers of these coins are planning to do with them. Perhaps the coins will be seen again in the market. Perhaps they are being destroyed. Perhaps we will never know.
     
  12. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    I've always admired the dekadrachms from afar, and it looks as if that will remain the situation for me. The prices for even remotely decent examples, without any significant issues, are just too high.

    Many years ago, at my local coin shop in San Jose, a dekadrachm came in from off the street. As I remember, it was a genuine example, but not the best example and probably in the VF-EF range grade-wise and it had some flan issues as well. I probably could have purchased it for around $2,000. However, at the time I was working at a non-profit, so my salary would not allow such a purchase at that time.
     
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  13. robinjojo

    robinjojo Well-Known Member

    Perhaps.

    I think it is reasonable to assume that people who purchased these coins recognize, even at a fundamental level, the importance of them. Economically the incentive for these buyers, new or experience, is to preserve their purchases with the expectation of monetary gain somewhere up the road.
     
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  14. kirispupis

    kirispupis Well-Known Member

    As I understand, a lot of the buyers in this price range are investors. They'll hold the coin for several years, then hope to profit at the sale. Based on other Syracuse decadrachm sales, this coin seemed to go on the low side, though I doubt I could've convinced my significant other to invest in it. :)
     
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  15. hotwheelsearl

    hotwheelsearl Well-Known Member

    Money laundering??
     
  16. Matthew Kruse

    Matthew Kruse Young Numismatist

    I think that's a very nice coin. What exactly is the "Paramount Collection?"
     
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  17. happy_collector

    happy_collector Well-Known Member

    The coin itself is quite nice. However, at that hammer price range, one can get an MS-grade example, without graffiti.

    The Paramount Collection auction is currently happening at Heritage, from 03/25 to 03/27. It's a big collection of ancient and world coins, with a lot of gold coins within. It comes with a beautiful catalog (yes, I received one). You can see the NGC label carrying "The Paramount Collection" at the last line.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2021
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  18. Restitutor

    Restitutor Well-Known Member

    I don’t want to infer anything lest this thread devolve too much, but that being said. I have definitely noticed a recent uptick in insane prices for “cheaper” coins and more often than normal now see people mentioning money laundering on this forum. Well, it looks like the US just recently passed a new law that would make money laundering far more difficult for $10k+ acquisitions in this market.

    https://en.thevalue.com/articles/us-new-law-regulate-antiquities-dealers-art-market

    It would thus follow that the cheaper coins are now bid up to an astronomical price in relation to their value but remain below that $10k threshold.

    Again I’m not saying it is happening, just pointing out coincidences...
     
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  19. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Why would they be destroyed? Sorry if I am missing the joke - but I do not understand what you mean?
     
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  20. tibor

    tibor Supporter! Supporter

    Same thing happening with sports cards. This market has gotten a lot
    of publicity lately. Jordan rookies ('86 Fleer #57) selling for $750 K
    in recent auctions. They've come back a little lately, but still multiples
    of what they were selling for pre-COVID (Mar. 2020). And that's just
    one example.
     
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  21. Orfew

    Orfew Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus

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