Recently, I participated in the Kuenker Spring Auction. Lots of wonderful looking coins were for sale. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been watching the live bidding on auctions to witness the state of the market; especially to compare pre-covid vs covid realized prices. I only watch the early Roman Imperial coins in particular. Take a look at some of these prices! I wonder if this is a bubble, or if this is the beginning of a larger worldwide trend due to inflation of currencies. I think it’s safe to say that quality coins are in demand now more than ever Feel free to share any recent prices realized that surprised you, whether it be from the Kuenker sale or another auction. Or, you can share your winnings!
Wow I didn’t know you could snag an Augustus coin of that quality for only 9 euros! Time to grab a stiff drink and wait for this all to blow over.
Unfortunately, I have to generally agree that auction prices for ancient coins have risen drastically over the course of the last year. I am not sure, though, whether the coins you've shown are indicative of the current market situation. All of these are very rare and/or in an exceptional state of preservation. It just takes two bidders to whom $10,000 amount to nothing more than a nice tip to drive bidding on such coins up to insane amounts. This is something we have seen already before the pandemic. What I find noteworthy is that prices for more common ancients coins are equally on the rise. For example, I participated in the Tauler and Fau auction yesterday, and I once more won exactly nihil, τίποτα, rien, nada, niente, nichts, ничего, nothing. I didn't bid on exclusively rare one-of-a-kind Julius Caesar portraits but on an "about VF" Tarentum nomos with some mentionable flaws as well as some reasonably attractive Republican denarii. Yet, the former still hammered for €250, and the latter were not to be had for less than €100. That would have been insanely high in 2019, and to me is more worrying than the results on the Kuenker coins you posted above. I wonder what the reasons for this are. Are more people at home and bored? Do they rediscover collecting hobbies because traveling and fine dining have become less feasible and attrative due to Covid? Is buying collectables as assets, an idea that I always thought stupid, becoming more attractive due to low interest rates and fear of inflation? Is interest in ancient history for some reason increasing again? Or is this simply a bubble about to burst?
Well this year is the 45th anniversary of I, Claudius so maybe that’s driving renewed interest in Roman history
Yup, discussed many times already, but it seems there's no end in sight. I believe there was a topic recently with some graphs and so on. Can't find it. The e-live auction of Kunker was disappointing as well. Stronger prices then ever, and I've been participating at these e-live auctions since 2015. For me, with less deeper pockets then needed for the other auctions of Kunker, there were always good deals to be made at their e-live auctions. I got my Caesar elephant denarius, and my only Claudius denarius from their e-live auctions. Good times... Did you win anything?
