Well I must say that attending the ANA Chicago WFOM earlier this month was certainly a blast. Having entered into the hobby in late September of 2012 this was undoubtedly the largest show I have ever been to, with the Central States show (also in Chicago) earlier this year coming in 2nd. I must admit, shows of such size, with vendors galore, and the sheer number of people everywhere one turns, it is difficult for me to really put myself in the necessary mindset to make purchases (or make money via selling). I am happy to say that my proximity to Chicago allowed me the rare opportunity to attend Stacks & Bowers lotFor viewing, and was able to do so on a relatively quite Sunday afternoon before the main American Coin Auctions proceeded on Wednesday (14th) and Thursday (15th). I will simply say that attending a lot viewing, for someone like myself, is like being in heaven... I will never forget holding in my hand Lot #4043 - 1792 Half Disme PCGS OGH - First Generation, or lot #4374 - 1889-CC MS-68 (PCGS) Ex: Mills, Clapp, Eliasberg, Jack Lee 2. Another total jaw dropping moment was when the box containing the majority of the Bently Shores Collection was brought over to the table for my viewing. I will always rember holding lots 4523 & 4524. Lot #4523 - 1907 Indian $10 Gold Piece. Judd-1901, Pollock-1995. R-3. Wire Rim, Periods, MS-67 PCGS Secure. An ABSOLUTE STUNNING semi-pattern with the closest original incarnation of the Lady Liberty with Indian War Bonnet. Lot #4524 - 1907 Indian $10 Gold Piece. Judd-1903, Pollock-1997. R-5. Rolled Rim, Periods. MS-67 PCGS Secure. On Sunday the 11th while I was viewing these lots they were bid up to $130,000 and $255,000, respectively. Good God! But I digress, I really went to the viewing to examine coins that I could maybe actually afford. I was so glad that I did as I found a wonderful 1915 Matte Proof Buffalo up for action. While I tend to look for examples in 66 or higher I was totally blown away by this PR-65 coin, it was just everything a buffalo collector loves. Needle sharp definition on both obverse and reverse is, for all intents and purposes, as close to a "full detail" strike as one could expect. Another HUGE aspect that is not at all apparent to someone who is simply viewing the HD res pictures of the coins is how incredibly beautifully toned and fully original this coin is. What appears as simply a golden hue is really a rainbow of colors that is masked during the photography process. I am generally quite impressed with the high level of picture quality S&B goes thru so I think this is just one of those coins that cant be imaged to its true fullest most beautiful degree. Well the viewing was truly key in determining the "hidden" gems that sit along side the other lots. Prior to going to viewing, I anticipated looking a particular lot and I had done myself the disservice of telling myself that this particular lot was going to be the best. I am not sure why my brain immediately went to that place, where it knows what is best despite the fact that the eyes will see whats best in just a short time. I dont know if anyone else is guilty of letting their brain get away with this but I am getting much better at calling mine out for such behavior. So I guess the moral of the story is, go, look, learn, view lots, lots of lots.... till your heart's content. YOU will be the one benefits in the end. I have no way of knowing what the numbers are but I would not be shocked if many bidders never see the item they are bidding on in person, or have a representative doing so for them. If you are buying coins at auction do yourself a huge solid and work with a reputable dealer, there are many here and feel free to ask if unsure. I am far from knowing everything. I had a total of 7 lots I was there to look at in contemplation of an actual purchase. I carefully looked at all 7, writing down notes in my notebook. Some lots had multiple sentences and went into some depth. 2 of the 7 lots I immediately discarded from possible purchasing contention as they were simply inferior examples. Then there is the case of lot #1670. This was a brief entry in my notebook, simply reading: "STUNNING! ABSOLUTE MONSTER! UNDER $4K = NO BRAINER, BUY!" This particular Buff was a 1915 Matte Proof in PR-65 in its OGH PCGS with Gold CAC. The Gold CAC thing didnt really (and still really) doesnt mean anything as far as I am concerned. No offense CAC but Hellen Keller could see that this "PR-65" is superior to any 66 or 67. I left lot viewing Sunday evening with some great info and some things to track down before the auction on Wednesday. I successfully completed my due diligence and attended the WFOM on Wednesday and say many a cool thing. At 6 pm, the US Medals and Coins Auction began. Not being much of a medal fan, I left after lot #1080 brought $210,000 or more I forget (1801 Thomas Jeffereson Indian Peace Medal as distributed by Lewis & Clark). I drove home with plenty of time to log on and watch the live streaming auction. When the lot I was interested in finally came up to bat at 12:30 am Central Time the coin was already bid up to $2800 by internet bidders. I was hopping that there were no other interested parties who were going to be bidding live from the floor. Consequently, I cut the bid, meaning I raised the bid to $2900 (Cutting the bid is when you raise the bid by half the bid increment, and it can only be done once per bidder. In this case, between $2,000-$3,000 the bid increment is $200). Unfortunately, indeed there was a floor bidder who was interested in the lot and he immediately raised, putting the high bid at $3000, asking $3250. And it was at this very moment the whole auction interface program began to lag, and video and sound were gone but for intermitten words which could be heard. When this happened I had know idea what was going on but I push the bid button on my console in order to raise the bid to $3250. However the program and the auctioneer never acknowledged my bid and it was showing that the lot sold to the person on the floor for only $3k!!!! I immediately called Stacks 1-800 number which they thankfully had someone answering (that is their policy during all auctions I guess) and I explained exactly what happened. She said she was in California but contact someone at the auction to check and confirm the bid logic. I woke up the next morning and it still showed that I had loss the auction but that I had the highest bid. A little later that morning I received a call from someone at Stacks who informed me that I had indeed registered the highest bid prior to the item being hammered and therefore I was the winning bidder. Hooray (this is going to be expensive)! So I have for now the pictures from Stacks of the coin. When I finally receive it I will see about getting it imaged properly.
Ya I am still kind of in shock at the whole viewing process. Its totally laid back and calm which is kind of opposite how you think it would be given the extreme value of the items but indeed it is a wonderful opportunity to see coins most of us can only read about, and have the opportunity to for a brief moment see the beauty in something so special. Its really something everyone should give a try.
I don't quite understand why on earth, if you had serious intent to bid on a high-value coin, you would so so on a mobile device. The ping times on mobile networks can be as high as 2 seconds, which means by the time you press the button on your mobile, it can be too late.
It's a laid back process until someone drops a coin or the person helping you isn't certain all the coins are in the box. I have had each happen to me and they pretty much lockdown the room and stop everything until the coin in question is found. I am happy you won the lot you were after, but in the future do not rely on live bidding via the net; it is fraught with danger.
Very True in respect to both of your points. I briefly lost track of one of the lot coins (it was underneath my auction catalog). But you are right as soon as there is the slightest issue security is there before you know it. Granted it was no big deal just too much paper on the table but it is still an eye opener. And as far as in person vs. online bidding,,, I WILL NEVER LEAVE EARLY AGAIN. I would have been kicking myself for so so so so long had the floor bidder won for 3k. I am also super proud of myself for actually taking the time to write down that if I could buy the coin for 4k (including B.P.) or less, then I would go ahead and do it. After you add the BP of 17.5% I am at $3815 or so. I feel like I may have had some beginners luck fortune on my side... Ill take what I can get!
It wasnt a "Mobile" device. I was plugged into a T3 line (hardwired). Either way, hindsight being 2020 I should have just stayed but if you have never been to an auction before, while they do move fast, it still takes A LONG time to cover 500 lots which is how long I had to wait.
no worry, ya console was the best term I could use to describe the online auction and the way it takes place. You basically watch a live feed and the program displays a console which has various buttons like to bid and other fields where info like the lot number are displayed.
True, depending on the auction house I have seen 500 lots go in as little as three hours to as long as six hours. I only sat in on on auction session (Ford sale of tokens Fri afternoon) and my impression was that it was a little slow but tolerable. Maybe a little over 100 lots an hour.
How does S/B know that the floor bidder wasn't willing to outbid your $3250? If i was him, I would think some monkey business was going on if the hammer fell at my bid, and I was there in person.
It's not all that uncommon for the hammer to fall in a live auction setting at a certain bid only to have the person sitting next to the auctioneer tell him that a late bid arrived and that the lot has to be reopened. It stinks, but with current technology and the eagerness to allow online bidding, it will happen. In this case, it may have been that WF's bid was executed and won the lot in real time on the floor, but that the system did not reflect it electronically.
