Thoughts on B.A.C. Numismatics latest auction/In the business of not doing much business

I don't know if I have seen an ancient coin auction sell so few of the coins up for sale as I did watching yesterday's BAC auction. I counted only 37 ancient coins sold out of 317 that were up for auction! That's nearly selling 1 in 10 coins they paid to put up!
The prices were high. But with the market being so high right now for ancients it was not prohibitivly so. On many (I won a dream coin/bucket lister that I will share when it gets to me) they were just a bit below where you would think they would sell for (I won mine at opening bid price!). None of the coins looked fake. Photos weren't great. But that often has the counterintuitive effect of getting folks to buy hoping they look better in hand. And there were some nice rarities. I couldn't find any negative reviews on the auction house.
So what gives? Has anyone purchased from BAC before? Did anyone else see this and or know, or think you know, why they sold so little?

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

I thought most of the coins were mediocre, especially for the opening prices. Probably why many went unsold.

 

I hear that, especially when it comes to their Roman coins. Though, I did like many of the Greeks they had, 80 euros on a LRB was pretty bizarre to see.

 

I agree that it's pretty weird that most of their coins go unsold, though both their starting prices and their shipping fees are indeed quite high. That being said, I bought my favourite coin from them and I'm very satisfied; even at their prices, I feel like this one was a great deal, considering the rarity:

 

I bought a coin from their very first online auction a couple of years ago. Same situation, opening bids at what should be the estimate, poor quality photography, few lots sold. I only bought a coin because it's a rare variety, wasn't too expensive, and I won it for opening bid. It doesn't look better in hand even though my photo, which I posted below, is far better than theirs. It's a good coin aside from the toning, which to me is rather unattractive.



Severus Alexander. AR denarius, Eastern, 222–3 CE; 18mm, 2.78g, 6h. BMCRE 1038–40 var (without star)., RIC 301 var (same)., RSC 559 var (same). Obv: IMP SEV ALEXAND AVG; laureate and draped bust r. Rev: VICTOR–I–A AVG; Victoria advancing r. holding wreath and palm, star in field r.

 

I do not know if this is the case here, but some auction houses really sell their own coins at auction. Therefore, they have much less desire to start coins low to generate excitement. This, plus they are looking around and seeing what replacement cost of stock will be, and are simply running "price lists" posing as auctions.

Again, not saying this is happening in this instance, since I do not know the firm, but could name some other firms who do this. Its a tricky thing, risking low priced sales to generate excitement that will drive prices up later. I am not saying I envy their decision.

 

I agree with @medoraman here. There’s something strange about BAC.

That said, I bought two coins from them in the December auction. 140€ for the Thessalian league stater and 40€ for Maximianus were good enough prices for me:





Then they fleeced me on commission and shipping, but don’t they all.

 

It seem there are three things that will guarantee failure when trying to sell something (coins included). First is overpricing mediocre coins as if they were good ones. Second is not being known to enough people who might buy coins to guarantee a market. Third is treating people badly (poor correspondence, high shipping charges, slow service). All these features have been mentioned above. The question now is whether the OP here is as happy when the coin arrives or if he joins the people who have better places to spend their money. I had not heard of BAC. After reading this thread, should I want to? I have enough mediocre coins which I would be happy to sell but experience shows that mediocre coins do not sell well unless you convince beginners that things over a thousand years old have to look 'that way'. I would make a lousy coin dealer.

 

No, you would make an excellent dealer. Advanced collectors would appreciate your honesty and knowledge. You may not get RICH being a dealer, but you would be excellent Doug. I would buy from you.

 

...blood alcohol content?!?...

 

Perhaps... sell,
BAC By Any Chance

 

Bad At Coins??

 

You all are fire!
Bankruptcy A Concern
Seriously though, they have some splendiferous Coins. Coins in the thousands.
Mine's starting price was a bit high for the type but very low for sold price. I'm over the moon about this coin
But am anxious due to circumstance.

 

Haven't heard of them.

 

Just to make an example, they had on sale a coin I’m looking for, an Aesillas tetra. 2 other auction houses had one, and BAC had the worst looking at the highest price of the three. No wonder there were no offers on it.