Has anyone here ever experienced a true Dutch auction for rare coins? In such an auction the auctioneer will start high and drop the price until somebody accepts it. It is often used for perishable products, or for items for which the true value is very speculative. The theory behind this format is to capture the difference in value between what the underbidder actually bids and what his competition anticipates he will bid. With what I've seen from some of my bid results, it might work well if you are looking to sell coins with special charachteristics or low populations.
I have been at coin auctions where some of the lots were auctioned in the Dutch auction fashion. I'm not really sure I would call what was auctioned "rare" coins though. Frankly they are a little unsettling, but probably only because they are unusual.
this is a fairly standard way to sell livestock or fresh tobacco, though I have rarely seen it done for coins, and never for anything rare. What usually happens is that the first winning bidder gets his choice of the items in a lot at his winning bid and then the remaining portion of the lot is opened up for bidding at the first winner's price and then decreased from there. The second winning bidder (which is sometimes the same guy as the first winner) gets his choice of the remainder at his second winning bid. This captures the premium that especially choice animals/product has without forcing the buyer to try to cost average the entire lot. It also should produce better net results for the seller because he can sell to a larger pool of buyers than if he offered the entire grouping as a lot since more people can afford to be bidders if they don't have to have the financial ability to buy the entire group at once.
