New Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. Buy or Bid Sale, # 217

What exactly do you mean by that? Please explain. I don't think I'm being paranoid to think that it sounds like you're taking some kind of shot at me.

 

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I saw that one as well, and was very tempted!

I tried that, but more than half the time it brought me right back to page 1. Very frustrating.

 

Same doesn't matter the browser either.

 

Over the years that I have dealt with Harlan Berk, I can say that most of the purchases were at the estimate price. I did have some Roman bronzes that were won through the bidding process, back in the 80s, but they are long gone, so I don't have any specific information.

There was one instance were a Roman Republic anonymous Aes Grave was sold. I called Aaron Berk about this coin, and he told me that they others of the same type. So I purchased one at the same estimate price for that buy/bid sale, at $600 as I recall. That was back in the mid-90s. I don't know if they still offer replacements for sold lots. My very first classical owl was purchased from HJB the same way, back in antediluvian times.



I've been generally pleased with my transactions. HBJ does, for the most part, list their coins at pretty healthy estimates, and the firm has been around for decades, selling high-end coins at the same level as CNG.

I have noticed that the estimates for the Byzantine bronze coins in the current are really very high, even for fairly common types. I know that Harlan Berk is an expert in this field, so perhaps the estimates reflect actual scarcity and desirability of a given coin. Also, I guess these estimates reflect the growing demand for these coins.

Also, I have seen some coins listed at grades that seem a bit of a stretch. I know that grading is subjective, and can vary from person to person and firm to firm, but there is one coin in the current sale, a Bactrian imitation owl, that is listed as EF, but was previously listed and sold as a VF, with cleaning marks, through CNG. I am inclined to agree with the CNG grade, perhaps going a tad higher, as a good VF.

As for their photos, the images with both sides seem washed out. The enlargements of the individual sides are better. As far as the videos are concerned, it's a mixed bag. The lighting that they use when producing the video can be at variance to the light for the images. One sestertius in the sale, touted as having a blue-green patina, comes across as a much darker green, with some blue, in the video. However, I think the video is a nice feature, but both images and the video need to be taken into account when evaluating a coin for purchase or bidding.

 

If I had to pick, I'll take the one for 11Gs
But seriously, if they accidently listed the same coin twice I sure hope they give it to whomever bought it first. Even if it means it was the person that bid for 11 instead of 13,5.

 

Here's my latest HJB pickup, from BB Sale 216.

My Roman provincial collection is a real hodgepodge. Given the extensive nature of the coin types and mints, not to mention emperors, empresses and sub rulers, I have tried to assemble a type collection, a long term undertaking to be sure.

This is my Gallienus type, at tetradrachm from Alexandria, dated RY 14, 266/67, late in his reign. It is a pleasing coin and I like the style of the die work on both side, especially for this period.

Obverse: Laureate, cuirassed bust of emperor right.
Reverse: Radiate and draped bust of Helios right; palm frond before, L I? (date) across field.
Dattari-5239, Emmett-3813.
Ex CNG VI, lot 340, 1989.

10.22 grams

 

Yes navigating on Berk is very frustrating, and normally I soon lose patience and give up.

 

But then I have trouble on Cointalk as well.

 

Of course! That is why they call it a Buy OR Bid sale. All bids are considered. Ridiculous ones are ignored. The highest reasonable Bid will probably win the lot, unless of course somebody executes a Buy before the sale ends.

 

I won my New Style Athenian tetradrachm with bid well below the ‘Buy it now’
That was a year or two ago.. things have changed.
Checked the buy or bid sale last night moments after it launched and most of the highest end stuff had already sold at full price

 

I've bought three coins through HJB buy or bid sales, and on each occasion bought the coin outright. The really big advantage of buying outright is you get the coin you want, and you get it without having to wait. For someone Impatient like me, that's a real plus.

Also no buyers fee has to be taken into account. I buy all my coins at auction, fees make a big difference. I always factor that in when determining how fair their price is.

They are friendly and helpful, and the coins I've bought have been priced reasonably I believe.

 

I took an image from the current HJB BB Sale 217 and used the haze removal tool in Photoshop. The one on the left is the original and the one on the right is after haze removal, something that I often do with my own images.

Better, no?

 

Better, but I strongly suspect that better yet would be possible by taking a direct photo of the coin.

 

The junk box was $25 per coin this year and I didn’t see anything in there that grabbed my eye. I came by the table a few times and it was like I didn’t exist. They had a nice Sev Sillyon bronze that was probably 30mm or larger I wanted but I left instead.

 

I've been a Harlan J. Berk customer for over 30 years & bought many fine coins from him in the past, before his customer base expanded to what it is today . His website still posts bargains but you have to react with lightning speed to snag them. Some of my best Diocletian era nummi came from his bid/buy listings, a few are posted below along with a Byzantine solidus.

 

Why would one do that to this coin? Now it has this weird oily look, and no character. When it had this scratch it was much better!

 

Could you or someone else please explain how it's possible to import and/or download an HJB coin video? I don't see any option for doing that at the vimeo link provided for each video. Thanks!

 

Hover over the video on HJB's website, and click on the vimeo logo that shows up. That should bring you to the page on vimeo itself, where there is a download button below the video.

 

Thanks!