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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;John Anthony, post: 2877597, member: 42773&quot;]Doug and lrbguy have hinted at the elephant in the room here, so I&#039;ll just come out and say it: these coins are completely undesirable to most of the market. They are damaged, corroded, lacking patinas, and there are a couple of copies thrown in to boot. I wouldn&#039;t touch this lot with a ten foot pole, and neither would 99% of bidders. The auction house knows very well that neither you nor they are going to make any money on this bunch, so they spent the minimal amount of time listing it. They kept them in the flips because they don&#039;t <i>want</i> their customers to have a good look at them, which is a piss-poor business tactic if you ask me, but that&#039;s the strategy in any case.</p><p><br /></p><p>There are many reasons to collect problem coins - a coin can captivate a collector for historical and numismatic reasons despite its lack of beauty. I should know - I collect Nabataean issues, some of which are the most poorly-struck, poorly-preserved and expensive of rarities. (If my wife knew what I spent on some of those coins, I&#039;d surely be looking at divorce papers.) But one should never expect any sort of equitable market return on problem coins, regardless of their numismatic interest - unless they&#039;re great rarities of course, which is a different ballgame.</p><p><br /></p><p>Almost all collectors of bronze are looking for attractive patinas. There is nothing wrong with preferring brassy &quot;naked&quot; coins. If that&#039;s what you like, that&#039;s what you like, each to his own! But be aware that most collectors reject this look. They find it ugly, and naked brass is also far more prone to bronze disease than coins with patinas. I&#039;m sorry to be the bearer of bad news - I&#039;m not one to judge anyone&#039;s collecting aesthetics, and this is only one man&#039;s opinion. But if selling your coins is part of your decision-making process in buying them, you need to understand that problem coins are, well...a problem. I wish you the best with your sales.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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