There are a couple of coins I'm looking at in the upcoming Roma auction. Do the prices realized tend to be close to the estimate or not? I'd appreciate any tips on successfully placing a winning bid in one of their auctions.
I find auctions to be totally random ... sometimes I'll steal something with an initial opening-bid ... but obviously if two or more bidders are really interested in a coin, then I've seen it go for many multiples of the initial estimate (again, it's pretty random) I think the auction-estimators set their estimates slightly lower to entice folks to place an initial bid ... then the bidders have some skin in the game and they may increase their bid as time goes on to keep from losing the coin to another dawg sniffin' around their territory? ... on average, the hammer prices always seem higher than the initial estimates (especially if CLIO is lurking in the background!!)
Another poster to this forum observed that Roma's opening bids (80% of estimate) usually reflect retail prices and I tend to agree. However, after a quick review of e-sale 33, many opening bids appear to be slightly more reasonable. Perhaps the large percentage of lots going unsold in previous sales has forced them to adjust.
I am totally agree with @stevex6 . Several of my hektes comes from Roma and every time I was pleasured with them - some of their Good VF looks like real EF and their EF is a very strong coins. My lion at avatar comes from Roma.
People sometimes over think auction strategies. Just bid the highest you're willing to pay for a lot. If you lose, you won't have many regrets and you did your best.
Good advice from all but I think David simplified it best. I tend to compare what appears to be 'market value' for a similar type (i.e. acsearch) and then bid the maximum I'm currently prepared to go regardless of estimates and let fall what may since others will come up again month after month in any number of available future auctions.
I completely agree. Just bid what it it worth to you, not to anyone else. Everyone has a strategy (or has at least thought about it). However I understand most people wish to pay the lowest, not the highest. Auctions can be all over the place with regards to values and opening bids. Frequently I will see an auction which has very high opening bids (where the previous one had low). There are many reasons for this but when it happens I just ignore the auction. However, low opening bids often work against the auction house. Many times I have seen coins sell at the open and thus about half of what it would sell retail (that's when dealers and collectors who are watching closely step in).
By all means, use ACSEARCH, CNG, and other websites to help determine a reasonable price for the coins on which you want to bid, but ultimately you'll have to set a budget for each coin and stick to that budget (with some flexibility) regardless of whether the auction house is Roma, CNG, NAC, etc., in order to be successful.
Bid the most is you want to pay for it and add 10%. You will never regret owning a coin that you really want, but you will regret losing it. If you're only looking for a deal, clip grocery coupons.
I know this is a thread about the Roma auction, but I would like to ask a related question. I haven't tested the more formal auction waters yet; I'm just gathering information such as the info offered here in this thread. I haven't seen many folks reference auctions associated with the Dea Moneta site/app. It seems to be Italian dealers and London Ancient Coins. The various auctions have names such as "Asta Numismatica" and the like. Some unsold lots seem quite reasonable. Am I right to infer that these auctions are less popular? Or are they just less well-known? Are export laws from Italy particularly stringent, perhaps keeping some bidders away?
You are right: DeaMoneta auctions are less popular and less well-known and export laws from Italy are particularly stringent, perhaps keeping some bidders away. Mostly, from experience, the smallest Italian-based sellers (not all are Italy based btw, as the name "London" suggests) don't bother with permits for low value pieces, pop them in an envelope and hope for the best. So there's a risk. People do take risks of course. If a coin is cheap relative to its quality. Up to you. No guarantees. I've bought a fair number of these coins from sources. None got lost.
You are right: DeaMoneta auctions are less popular and less well-known and export laws from Italy are particularly stringent, perhaps keeping some bidders away. Mostly, from experience, the smallest Italian-based sellers (not all are Italy based btw, as the name "London" suggests) don't bother with permits for low value pieces, pop them in an envelope and hope for the best. So there's a risk. People do take risks of course. If a coin is cheap relative to its quality. Up to you. No guarantees. I've bought a fair number of these coins from sources. None got lost.
I find auction estimates to be consistently low. They are there to entice more bidders who might think that they are going to get a bargain. Once you get their nose in the tent, some of them might lose their heads and keep bidding.
I find the auction results at Roma quite similar to other establishments, such as CNG. Some coins are "hot" and many are not, with the majority falling somewhere in between. If you are bidding from the US or outside the UK, you need to take currency conversion rates into account, as well as the 20% buyer's fee. When figuring out the conversion rate, the actual rate that your bank or credit card company will be higher than the rate posted online, say at MarketWatch. Right now the BP is trading at roughly $1.28, which would roughly mean that the rate you will pay is in the neighborhood of $1.35 or so, perhaps a bit higher. Otherwise, bidding in one of their E-Sales is similar to other online auctions. However, if you are bidding on their floor auction this October, you can participate in the pre-floor auction, but I think you need to register with them if you wish to participate in the floor auction, and there might be a fee. I've never participated in the floor auction - for me pre-auction only. As with other auction houses, Roma's lots for their floor auctions tend to be very high end coins. In terms of finding coins of better value, you might have more luck with their E-Sale auctions. So, once you've made up your mind how you want to bid, and your bid limits, have fun!
Ignore the estimates. Roma is one of my preferred auction houses - neat, easy to use interface, nice coins, reputable, answers emails. I don't participate in auctions with auction houses that don't tick those boxes.