I get auction notices mainly for my rifle collecting but was looking at some other auctions just out of curiosity and came upon this?What am I missing the pre-bid is now almost $3500 the pictures and presentation are terrible and looked to see if 1895 was hidden in there .............impossible. https://sierra.proxibid.com/Coins-C...Silver-Morgan-Dollars/lotInformation/66215942
Sometimes shill bidding happens? You're right - it's too blurry to figure anything out, don't see any key dates or CC mints, and the price is way too high. IMO either someone who's seen the coins in hand knows something we can't see or the auctioneer (or consignor) is shill bidding the lot up prior to the auction (or maybe money laundering?) I see a 20 coin roll of common Morgan Dollars, maybe an avg of $30-35 a coin ($600-700.) Maybe I'm missing something? Of course, I've seen people at auctions pay over $70 for a $3 non-silver proof set, and seen them pay $90 for a roll of 70's-80's non-silver proof dimes...so anything is possible.
I often wonder whether or not some of these auction houses bother to check the value of some of the things they list. They certainly don't take any pains for do proper photography to represent the items up for bid when it comes to coins. Whenever you are lucky enough to find an auction that presents well you will usually return to that site time and again. I've written off more auctions than I care to name just because the photography was so poor you just can't evaluate the items. I saw the auction in question and avoided it for that very reason.
I saw that also. That was a state of Arizona auction. Couldn't find what those sold for but last I saw over $4600? They saw something. Some of the other lots went for over $800, and I thought they were all pricy. Some neat finds they said they were safety deposit boxes. The state has the contents auctioned, then the family still has 35 years to claim the money. You could view everything last Friday.
Holy smokes. I need to find the buyer and offer up my rolls of Morgan’s for half price. That would fund me a nice vacation!
"What am I Missing" Yeah, sometimes it does. But I also think that knowledgeable and semi-knowledgeable collectors either forget or fail to realize just how many people there are out there who have no idea at all of what they are doing when it comes to buying coins. And this is especially true when it comes to things like estate auctions ! Of course it also happens on pretty much daily basis with things like yard sales and flea markets. People who have no idea what they are doing pay, what we see as beyond ridiculous prices, for what is being offered. And that, well, it's not that we're missing it, we just fail to think about it because as collectors we just can't conceive of it happening. But happen it does, and on a daily basis. It happens on an hourly basis on ebay !
That's exactly why I also said: Of course, I've seen people at auctions pay over $70 for a $3 non-silver proof set, and seen them pay $90 for a roll of 70's-80's non-silver proof dimes...so anything is possible. Just being perfectly honest, I kind of miss in-person auctions like that...as a seller.
Looks like a Arizona Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property auction as far as the listing goes, and probably attracts a bunch of bidiots that get bid fever and have to win even at a huge loss in the end, add to it a couple people bidding it up because they "have to have it" and it attracts more people that think "they must see something that I don't see, bid, bid bid!". and it gets stupid. I stay away from unclaimed property auctions nowadays as a general rule, the TV shows about auctions have poisoned the well and created novices that come in thinking "win at all costs, I'm a big shot" and "drop it on someone" both which are detrimental to anyone trying to make a buck or get something cheap and maybe get lucky. those people come in and everyone is overpaying basically. The gamble and "might get lucky" goes out the window.
At least they are being up front unlike some of these ebay Morgan roll sellers who put a nice one on the end and load it with junk then say no returns if the roll is opened.
I do gun auctions have a bid in now and that's the bid no more and no emotion it's an investment you see growing 5/10 years down the road.I won two rifles one night put the bid in went an ate dinner came back won!I seldom win.
Blowing up the images the best thing I saw in there was an 1895 O. Not a bad coin but not good enough to put the lot to the level it sold for.
If you noticed almost everything in the auction had an overpriced opening bid and all the photos were poor representations. In fact several only showed one side of the coins.