Coin Books, did you see some of the prices in the last CNG auction?

I was a bit surprised by some of the book prices in CNG's auction this week. The two copies of RRC by Crawford sold for $1600 & $1800. I thought the price for the Aes Grave by Haeberlin of $400 was low by comparison.

My book from the auction:

Fava, Anna Serena. I Simboli Nelle Monete Argentee Repubblicane e La Vita Dei Romani. (Torino, 1969). 199 pages, 55 plates, 26 tables of symbols. Card covers. A study of the various symbols that appear on the issues of L. Papius, Roscius Fabatus, L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi and others. 724 coins cataloged. Fine condition.
Unfortunately when I googled the book, I found it for half the price, oops.

I am hoping to see a few plumb bobs on the coin pictures like the one below. This one is near the top my wish list.

L. PAPIUS, 79 BC, Cr.384/1

 

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Very cool book-score, rrdenarius ....... I didn't bid on any books, but I was outbid on one of those sweet scarabs that were up for sale!! (I merely bid on the initial estimate, so I wasn't too sad when I was outbid)

congrats again on scoring a neat book (oh, and I'm pretty sure that auction trigger-finger plays a part in the book prices) ... coin dudes probably aren't too savvy when it comes to books, eh? (there are some pretty sweet-n-cheap used books out there, if you know the right book-sites)

 

I saw those Crawford books as they closed and was baffled!

I put off reviewing the book lots until the morning of the auction. That was a mistake! I ran out of time and didn't check for current availability and prices. As a result I overpaid to an embarrassing degree for one lot (three general numismatic books).

Looks like I wasn't alone. For some books whose values and availability I did know, I saw many close for more than they cost elsewhere in the market, not even considering the buyer's premium.

One group I underestimated and which sold for a very reasonable amount was a set of SNG ANS volumes, 1-6. My last-3-seconds bid held for 2 seconds but was topped by Clio. He did not overpay. I was just hoping to pick them up rather cheaply since I rarely use the one SNG volume I already have.

A reasonable win did come for a group of books on Roman Egypt coinage. I have one of the books already but even counting that the lot sold for less than they would cost individually. Speaking of... I'll soon have a spare copy of Emmett if anyone is interested.

As for scarabs, when the auction was first published I picked out one tiny and modestly estimated piece but it saw exuberant bidding from the beginning and closed for many multiples of estimate. I didn't bid.

 

I also looked at this auction and found the realized prices for many books well above the market price. The original edition of the Crawford can be found for approx. EUR 500, i.e. 3 times less than the above mentioned prices!

There were several monographies from my wishlist like those of Jenkins on Gela and of Holloway on Terina... but... the bids outreached (by far!) my fixed limits!

I have the SNG ANS vol. 2 to 5 and I am still looking for the vol. 1 and therefore hesitated to bid on one of the offered sets. For the rest, I have no regrets!

PS: Who is Clio? On Half or more of the coins I didn't win during cng auctions I was topped by this bidder on the very last second... very frustrating (except for my partner who' s happy that I spend less money on coins but it is another story )

 

Welcome to the club . "Clio" is an enthusiastic collector who buys huge numbers of coins. You will only see his name when the lot closes since he bids at the last second.

 

It is somewhat comforting to see that I am not the only 'victim'.

 

"Clio" mentions on CoinTalk. You are most definitely not alone

It is such a common occurrence that his name has become verb, noun, curse, and epithet.

"Grrr! I was Clio'd!"

"I'm going Clio that coin."

"CLIOOOOOOOOO!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------​

Note: This cartoon is not accurate. The time should read " :01" on the second panel I now generally wait until the final four or five seconds to bid in timed-close auctions but it really doesn't help if Clio has the lot in his sights.

 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: CNG is NOT the place to shop for bargains, particularly when it comes to common coins (or books). They have far too many customers that are very well-heeled, that are willing to pay way over fair value for items, simply because money is no object and they are accustomed to shopping at CNG. Caveat emptor applies to CNG as much as anywhere else in the market.

 

Arrrrggghhh ... CLIO!!

 

Great pictures! It depicts exactly the way I feel when I'm Clio'd (please note I've added this expression to my English dictionnay).
Hopefully with so many purchases at each auction he/she'll get tired of collecting ancient coins soon... You can always dream

 

On the bright-side, if CLIO sadly passes-away, then the CLIO auction will be legendary!! (it would be like a Greatest Hits Tribute Album)

... ummm, but I hope that you're in great health, CLIO (I was just sayin')

 

I don't mind that he wins so much but I wish he would have an online archive of his collection!

Dear Clio,

Please please please start a website for your coins. We want to see all of them!

My archiving, database, and website creation services are available. It would be a full-time job and I may have to hire assistants. I will gladly quit my job for this position. You can pay me in ancient coins.

Kisses,

TIF

 

Thank you for the advice! Personally I try to look elsewhere as much as I can but I find it difficult not to participate at CNG auctions as they offer auctions every two weeks with quality coins with nice pictures...

 

Yeah, I bid on I believe 14 book lots and won one. Silly bidding in many cases. One was for a book CNG sells, and the bid price for a used one plus buyer fees was higher than what CNG charges new. I did learn of one new book of interest for me, so that was great and I will pick it up elsewhere.

Anyone interested in books I would suggest getting on Kolbe and Fanning email list, (though David Fanning outbid me on a couple of lots yesterday ).

 

In such a case I will stop buying coins well in advance in anticipation of the auction...

 

And thats why I only use ebay or on occasion, Agora and so on.

 

I'm not suggesting people shouldn't bid at CNG! I bid all the time. I don't win very often, but I bid. All I'm saying is be market savvy. CNG is the place to go for all sorts of rare, beautiful, and sometimes exotic coins, as long as you're willing to pay the money. CNG sometimes has coins you'll never find anywhere else.

But because of their overhead, they typically don't offer starting bids of less than $60 on any coin, no matter how common or worn. (The most common and worn go into mixed lots.) After the high opening bids and buyer's fee and insured shipping, you can easily pay three times as much for a common coin as you would if you bought it elsewhere. I don't believe CNG even makes any money off these low-end coins. 15% of $60 is $9, so...well, I guess that buys Ardy lunch, which is good. Wouldn't want him to go hungry.

 

One of the oddest examples I saw was the CNG Macdonald book on coins of Bosporus, which is available new in CNG's coin shop for $65. It hammered at $150 . I guess someone wanted the ex-Adams pedigree for the book?

 

That was my understanding and I totally agree with you
For common coins, often, you'll pay more than on other platforms, partly due to the 'packaging' (friendly user website, attractive pictures, etc.) that attract more bidders. Furthermore, I find that the regularity of the auctions (every 2 weeks) create a kind of addictive effect... On wednesday evening (European time) after they close their esale, the first thing I do when I switch on my computer is to look at the following esale...

 

There's still plenty of deals, but they probably won't happen on the more common/saleable stuff. I mean, CNG auctions do often bring higher prices – we call it 'the CNG effect' – but I think this is amplified by people's perceptions. CNG is usually fairly conservative on the grading, and extremely strict with describing flaws. A "Good VF" at another firm might be described at CNG as "VF, flan flaws, some porosity, small scratch on reverse." So is it any wonder that a CNG Good VF brings 1.5x theirs?

Some of the book prices were absurd. So many of them could have been bought for retail cheaper, and there were definitely examples that cost less ON THE CNG SITE!