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Message:: [QUOTE="Al Kowsky, post: 4003607, member: 97383"]Terence, Your Larissa stater is breathtaking <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie57" alt=":jawdrop:" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! This phenomenon of putting very low estimates on coins by major auction houses has accelerated during the last 5 years & is being done to lure bidders. On very rare occasions a bidder may walk away with a "ripoff" if the auction isn't well promoted or the coin is near the end of a long auction. Serious collectors aren't fooled by absurdly low estimates into thinking that the market has gone wild. I had an unpleasant experience with a major auction house two years ago with the coin pictured below. This coin was part of a large consignment & was listed in their printed catalog with an estimate of $200.00. I was outraged when I saw the catalog & immediately called the auction house & told them to change the estimate on their online catalog to $750.00. With reluctance they did change the estimate but it was too late to do anything about the printed catalog. The coin ended up selling for $1,920.00 <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie8" alt=":D" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />! Anyone with common sense & half a brain understood that an estimate of $200.00 for this coin was absurd. [ATTACH=full]1054033[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1054034[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]