I've never been to an auction and was wondering if anyone had any advice? I'm only going because its local and they have coins I collect *Morgan/Peace/Wheat*. Should I bring a notepad ? Will they allow me to buy from the auction, seeing as I'm only 20?:hammer:
Sure, here's some condensed advice that's short but sweet.. Bid only an amount that you can afford to pay and please, I can't stress this enough, do not get into a bidding war. Oh yeah, also, don't just bid to bid either. There will be other times to get that coin you like, but if you MUST get it, make sure you know how much that coin will not only resell for, but how much it is truly worth to you.. Read my signature.. It's HUGE to know what you want ahead of time and even get the catalogue if that auction house offers one so you know what is coming up in what lot. Then when you've decided on your buy, research its true market value by seeing how much ebay, heritage, grey sheet has it listed for and that's it. Save this or print it out as a reference, it's good to have. Oh, and yes, you can bid on the auction because you're 20 and yes bring your notepad! BNB
BNB fantastic advice, very much appreciated. I have print out of prices from http://numismedia.com/fmv/fmv.shtml that im going to bring with me in my notebook.
Two words of advice... #1 - View as many coins as you can in-hand. #2 - Don't bid unless you a) know the true value of the coin you're bidding on (i.e. both grade AND price), and b) are comfortable in losing money in your first few auctions. Good luck & please keep us posted on your experience...Mike
one question: What is the meaning of your picture? Are these the items that you want to bid on? [okay, that is 2.]
I bring a red book, note pad, pen, and small magnifying glass with light. I get to the auction at least 30 minutes early and look at the coins and write the year, mint mark, denomination, rough grade, etc. in the notebook. While the auction is going on, I check the value of the coin in the redbook. I never bid higher than 80% of the redbook value. If you're lucky, you can get coins at 10-50% of redbook value. I have a few cases of real luck such as when I bought an entire IHC set for $62.50. And loving it!!!!
Good stuff so far. Read the terms of the auction beforehand. Sure alot of it will seem like boilerplate nonsense, but it is important. Most importantly know the payment methods accepted (some won't take credit cards), know the return policy (usually none unless there is a catalog error) and know the buyer's premium that YOU will have to pay in addition to your bids. But most importantly remember to have fun
If it's a local auction, small, figure the coins are overgraded. The coins have been graded by the seller looking for his best price. Take more then one price guide, Red Book is over a year behind the other guides.
Alright, I was pretty mad and left the auction. Waited around 2.5 hours for the coins to finally come up and they decided to sell all the $1's in a lot. I didn't have enough money to purchase the 12 coins at $17 a piece. The only two coins I wanted were a 1922 Peace and a 1903 Morgan . I ended up getting 50 1943 Mercury dimes for $58 which is barely under melt. *I collect circulated dimes*
Well you did get something. If you go to more auctions, don't take the Red Book. It's OK for info but for prices it is way, way off. If you can find a copy of the Grey Sheet to take with. At any auction look around for someone that bids on almost everything. Usually those are ringers hired by the auction house to boost up prices and if they win, it just goes up again next time.
I find that the red book isn't too bad a reference if you multiply it by about 0.8. You are absolutely right about the ringers. I don't go to auction houses that use it regularly. The good ones don't use such a devious tactic and will even state that fact at the beginning of the auction.
