I was delighted to receive the new Feb. 6 auction email. I've already bid on 10 coins. This time I hope I don't fall asleep at the switch! Zzzz...
How do his estimates compare to typical prices realized in his auctions? I know this is a broad question, but for example, I think the average CNG e-auction coin goes to 2-3x the estimate in most cases for interesting coins. Clearly, some coins get overlooked and go for the opening bid and some go for 10x. What are people's gut feel for Frank's auctions? Does he tell you if you are the high bidder or if you get outbid partway through? John
Yes. You can ask your status at any time until the last when it gets a bit busy. Later in the sale period he will publish a list of coins going cheaply (many with no bids) to encourage bargain hunters. Still, there is no reason not to just bid what you will pay and see if anyone else wants it more. It is not unusual for a coin to sell for half of the high bid when one person really wanted it.
FWIW, I don't do ancients much anymore, but I've bid in Frank's auctions and purchased from his fixed price lists for at least 25+ years and have always been pleased
The prices realized from his last sale are still up but he does not retain back lists so they will do no good unless you kept the paper listing. You need to study this sale's results as soon as he posts results or look at the paper copy he will send with the coins you won. For many years Frank had no minimums and said he could not be offended by low bids. Some would place dozens of bids at 1/4 reasonable and occasionally win a coin or two. As his sales got more popular, I imagine keeping track of the low bids became tedious so he started the minimums. Bid the minimum on every lot and you may win a few but very few. Frank's material has upgraded in the last 30 years so I can see why it might get tiring to get a pile of $5 bids on his Julian of Pannonia. Also, long ago it was harder to bid by mail while today email allows non serious bidders easy access without even a stamp so I imagine the number of ridiculous bids pickup up. Frank's sales also point out that you need to understand the rules for every sale and not expect them all to be the same from seller to seller. Frank has no buyers' fee but does charge extra for credit cards or PayPal (he prefers checks). A generation ago there were many mail sale dealers but most have retired (or died). I paid Frank $29.50 for the Ptolemy III AE36 below in my first of his sales (1987). His current sale has one with better obverse but not as nice on the reverse starting at $20. You can bid on this one or wait for mine to reenter the market and see if it is cheaper. I did not clean mine but someone probably tried to remove something like that red deposit on the current coin which is what ruined my obverse. Why do you think Frank says, "And do not delude yourself you can clean this."???? 34 Ptolemy III, Æ35, Zeus hd r/Eagle l., Chi-Rho monogram betw legs; F-VF/VG, obv quite nice with good green-brown patina, much detail; rev right half covered with a roughish maroon deposit. And do not delude yourself you can clean this. Ex my 11/16 sale where it realized $51. Minimum Bid $20
That is a really nice reverse on your Ptolemy Doug, and I could easily live with the obverse. I like Zeus' almost wistful expression. I was told by an experienced conserver that red corrosion on bronze coins usually indicated a lot of corrosion underneath the deposit. Raised red metallic warts on bronze coins are supposed to be a very bad sign for what is underneath. Best to leave these kind of deposits alone.