How do you get the best price for a coin?

I can understand the auction houses wanting to avoid non-paying bidders. But if their system turns off people like me, who are good for the money, it's a strange business model.

Not to worry though - I'm bidding in the auction houses that make things easy for the customer.

 

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=> I'm fairly sure that the house always wins

... c'mon lucky seven!!

 

Lol do you know of any auction houses that have lost, ie gone out of business?

 

Oh yes, many over the years. I collect old auction catalogues and my shelves are filled with firms that had glorious auctions filled with wonderful delights, only to no longer offer auctions or otherwise to be lost to history. Names such as Ars Classica (1922 ~ mid 1930's), Bank Leu, Bourgey (I think they are out of the auction business), Adolph Cahn, Bruder Egger, Glendining, Leo Hamburger, Munzen & Medaillen Basel, etc. Some of the firms merged, the principal died, or just fell on hard times I guess. More recent examples might be Helios which was associated with Freeman and Sear and only did a handful of auctions before going out of business. They sold the A. Lynn Collection of Roman Coins which was really a great collection and one I have several coins from. So yes, just like any business, they fail.

It's not an easy business either, always having to come up with new material to meet an ongoing schedule and dealing with deadbeat bidders. Baldwins' with their Prospero Collection of Greek coins that was sold a few years ago had to go to court to enforce the bids from "The Sheik" who failed to make good on (I think) well over a million USD in bids.

 

Wow, you weren't kidding: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-trail-unpaid-debt-worlds-auction-houses.html . Looks like he racked up a $19.7 million bill and then refused to pay.

 

So this is why the auction houses are so risk adverse.

Someone needs to come up with a site where you register one time, have your credit & references checked, and then you get access to all auctions. Isn't that what the customer wants?

Instead for each auction house, you have to register, approach the troll guarding the bridge, answer his riddles three, go on various quests ... And only then do you earn the right to bid lol

 

Yeah, made the news. Guess I was a bit off on my estimate!

It's my understanding they got paid, then The Sheik died. A mess

 

What, is your favorite color?

 

The sheikh who failed to pay for the Prospero lots he won (and possibly other artworks) died at age 48 in suspicious circumstances:

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30001716

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-e...-al-thani-of-qatar-dies-suddenly-9854656.html

 

The sheik is now dead, of "undisclosed" causes at his London home. Some of us suspect that his uncle the Qatar ruler was tired of being embarrassed by his profligate nephew and took steps...

 

Yup, maybe 95% of the fun. I shop mostly auctions.......look at hundreds of thousands, bid on dozens and win the occasional gem (IMO)

 

Most of the fun may be the search, but I also get a lot of fun from the research. I have a library with the major references and many sale catalogs. After I get a coin there can be hours of fun and education looking it up, seeing what other examples look like and cost, reading about the issue and series, and writing up "coin cards" with identifying information including the date, dealer, and cost when I got it, photograph, diameter, weight, die axis, denomination, legends and types, citations to the major reference works, short historical notes, and notes on comparable coins from catalogs.

If you watch (US) football, there are so many periods of inaction that you can take a pile of catalogs and books and flip them open during commercials to research coin types.

I admit that the search occupies most of most collectors time, but it correlates with spending money. However, research (once you have a library) correlates with appreciating what you have, which is a good thing. Also, it prepares you to be a more-informed buyer when you search.

 

Or, I should add, I visit a chap in Chicago, who sells me some well priced souvenirs and then wins me this at NAC as a proxy bidder....for which I am most grateful.

If he had not confirmed that the shade on the cheek was only a photographic artifact, I probably wouldn't have bid on the coin. But his opinion and bidding got me this for a steal (IMO again.) I couldn't get a photo that does it justice, so I go with the NAC catalog photo.



Aeolis, Myrina
Tetradrachm circa 165-150, 32mm, AR 16.55 g. Laureate head of Apollo r. Rev. Apollo of Grynium standing r., holding phiale and laurel branch. All within laurel wreath. Sacks 71a (this coin).Lovely iridescent tone and extremely fine Ex Naville X, 1925 fmr. Baron Alexandre De Petrowicz lot 667; Hess 207, 1931, 402 and Auctiones 20, 1992, 402. Ex NAC Auction 84 Part II Lot 1532 May 21, 2015

 

Awesome coin 4to2