They pretty much all offer this option if you have over $5K or $10K in coins you want to consign. Has anyone here have knowledge of how this works? Is it basically a matter of ceding a certain amount of extra control to the auction company with a possible extra charge for the loaned money? Thanks for anyone knowledgable about this.
Yes the auction houses will most definitely give you a cash advance once you consigned your coins to them for sale in one of their auctions. The minimums and the advance percentage usually vary by company. But to my knowledge there is no charge (interest) to you for the advance. Advances are looked upon as being an incentive to get you to agree let the house sell your coins.
So it isn't really like this corporation which will essentially let you take out a mortgage on your coins and precious metals? http://www.cfccoinloans.com/
I don't recommend accepting a cash advance for items you consign to an auction house to sell for you unless you have a written consignment contract detailing what the advance is for. I'm not a big fan of consigning anyway because there's too much temptation for the seller to take advantage of people, and it has happened.
No, it isn't like that at all. That company is purely for loans. An advance is money that is to be deducted from the proceeds of sale. That's your choice. But in order to sell your coins at any of the big auctions, you have to consign them to one of the big auction houses. And yes there are contracts that spell everything out.
It depends on what you have to sell. Example; I saw a fellow today who was wondering what the market for PR67 Cameo Morgans is, he had one that he was researching. We checked out the HA site. Their Signiture Auctions bring more than most of the others for high end material. But you have to wait a minimum of four months from when you ship the coin to when you get a check. Great Collections it is under a month; Teletrade, about six weeks. Advances involve obligations; the auction company may have legal language permitting them to change the reserves based on market conditions or whatever.
Doug you forget that I collect for the pleasure of it and not the value or potential value of my collection. I was also speaking in general terms and not specifically numismatic items.