Message:

<p>[QUOTE=&quot;princeofwaldo, post: 1252794, member: 24091&quot;]Richard Ponterio is a very knowledgable numistmatist for whom I have great respect. And many of the coins in my collection came from auctions he conducted as an independent auctioneer. However, I don&#039;t think anyone could possibly think that merging with Bower-Merena was some sort of life long aspiration on Ponterio&#039;s part. How could it possibly be? All auction houses have some strengths and some weaknesses. The thing to remember is this: A seller can chose who he wants to sell his coins. A buyer, if there is specific coin he really wants, must buy it from the auction house who is selling it, hence he is captive. </p><p><br /></p><p>In the case of Ponterio &amp; Associates, to be sure, there were other contributing factors that lead the firm to --for practical purposes-- cease to exist. Auction catalogs that fell apart, -and this was something that happened again and again and again, without Ponterio ever changing catalog vendors. Also settlement was WAY longer than it had to be. The firms seller contract stated that the settlement was in 60 days. Any businessman wanting to generate good will with consignors would have sent out payment sooner; instead Ponterio would send a check out so that it was postmarked 60 days to the day after the auction closed. </p><p><br /></p><p>Still, I won&#039;t disagree that he described the coins the way he saw them, and in general he wrote some great lot descriptions. But if NGC or PCGS calls a coin a certain grade, and a consignor asks the coin to be auctioned, the auctioneer has a fiduciary responsibility to the consignor to represent the coin in the best light possible, and that does not include second guessing the grading services, unless the coin is in a PCI or other off-name holder.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

Your name or email address:

Do you already have an account?

• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

Stay logged in