The end of an era: Frank Robinson now using an auction platform

Those who have bought from Frank also know of his postage 'situation'. Yes I know you can save money by sticking twenty-five two cent stamps on an envelope but I always wondered about the attention it draws to the parcel containing coins. His new sale has an opportunity that few would be able to pass unless, of course, they have a lick of sense. He is selling a lot of 400 5 cent souvenir sheets which would enable the buyer to stick ten on each of forty envelopes were it not for the fact that the area of ten sheets would be several times any envelope that would mail at a single rate. There must be an answer that I am too dull to see. Whenever I see things like this I think about the people who 'invested' in buying thousands of sheets of stamps for investment so guys like Frank could save money on postage decades later. The post office was once a profit making operation but I wonder if part of that was all those stamps sold but never used. We called that 'service not rendered'. Even I can see value in a business system that encourages us to pay something for nothing and never expect to want anything in return. I'm not a businessperson. If I traveled back in time, I'd probably not remember to buy a roll or two of mint state EID MAR denarii. Pity.

 

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Being new - I don't know the long history. But I live in Canada and the three envelopes I have received from Mr. Robinson did have the most unique looking stamps (and A LOT of them). I have zero interest in stamps but these envelopes certainly looked unique!!!

 

The good old days, eh? No, THESE were the good old days (mid 80s)... no photos, no nuthin'!

(Did you buy any of those, @dougsmit? I see I got a VF Gratian siliqua from that sale for $36, but I no longer have it...)

Yes, that is weird... presumably we'll get a notification soon.

I'm in Canada too. Back in the 80s I used to get VERY excited when one of these showed up in my mailbox.

 

Now a bidding platform is involved, it's no use anymore to bid early, as Frank used to ask. And I wonder how he sorts out the email bids he receives with the electronic bids at Emax. Is an Emax bid a pre-auction bid and the email bids to be the real auction afterwards? Or will Frank be inserting your email bids during the auction?

 

Good questions! Juggling phone and email bids near the close would be fraught with problems. He’ll probably need to have a phone/email bid cut off at some defined time before closing in order to log the bids. If it isn’t done that way, an extraordinary level of trust will be required from his bidders.

Edited: hmm, I guess it wouldn’t be that different from how he currently operates. I don’t know... the whole thing makes me a bit uncomfortable.

 

Really? You think it's fake, but you include it with the imperitorial coins? Am I being overly critical, or does this bother anyone, too?

 

No. Frank sells Slavey copies, etc., always being honest and upfront about what they are. His starting bid reflects his belief that the coin is a copy. He's not trying to rip anyone off.

 

A friend recently told me that he buys "old stamps" at 80% face value. So cost savings appears to be the driving force. Apparently there is 20% value lost on separating perforations and licking glue. I have a small collection of plate blocks from my teenage years, mostly space exploration related. Maybe I should raid them for postage as they were certainly terrible investments.

 

Using emax for this auction may well be one-time-only. Bidding by e-mail direct to me is still fine (preferable, really). I will be sending out my customary e-mail announcing the sale in few a days. -- Frank Robinson

"How it was set up" was very simple. NO registration nonsense. You just e-mail me your bids. -- Frank

 

Hi Frank!! Welcome to CoinTalk! We hope you'll stick around.

 

Hello Frank. I'm quite happy with the coins I've been able to get in the last couple of auctions. Thank You!

 

Hi, Frank! Welcome! If you search your name on this forum, you'll see you have quite a customer base/fan club here.

 

Thank you for clarifying.

 

Welcome Frank. Yeah, I like your time-honored format. And, I do enjoy your "hidden humor" in some of your attributes... makes me read them.
Yes, read your book.
Yes, read your blog.
Hmmm... sentences: past tense, present tense.

 

Awesome that Frank is a member here now!! The auctions are awesome, I read a book he wrote that was really good, I did make the mistake of checking out his blog.. and although our politics couldn't possible be more different, I'll always be a customer. I think he's a great coin dealer.

 

I note that emax bidding ends at 0500

Oddly, I see it exactly the opposite way. It depends on which is the primary and final bid source. If the online bid platform closes 12-24 hours before the sale closes and if the bidders have no way of following the progress of the bids online, each coin would have one high bid from the online system and some of them would exceed the standing conventional leader while others would not. I was perfectly happy with the old way. Long time Frank customers will be interested in seeing he is selling a camera described as good for coins. Are the new photos better? Did he use a new camera? I'd say yes but there is more to making photos than having a better camera.

Regarding an 'extraordinary level of trust', I will continue to favor buying everything I buy from people in whom I have an 'extraordinary level of trust'. That includes the crew at my local Taco Bell. Sure, I buy coins from people I don't know well enough to say 'extraordinary level of trust' but I do not buy coins from people who publish rules that say 'If you are dumb enough to sign off on my rules, you deserve what you get.' I have held Frank in the 'extraordinary level of trust' category for thirty years. There are a half dozen other dealers in this category. I will continue to make an occasional mistake when buying a coin from someone I don't know but that is like going hunting and risking shooting yourself in the foot. We try not to do that too often. Vegetables are safer.

 

I'd like to register, but I need a VAT code? A Fiscal code? I have no idea what those things are, I don't have them, and they are required.

 

My first experience was the March auction and it was excellent. I’m excited about this one already having found a many of interest.

 

A few clarifications regarding my posts. I was not implying that FSR does not have the trust of his current customers. Clearly he has earned a loyal following and that speaks loudly.

You may be correct about me having the rest of it backwards.

I wonder if this new format will simply end up being a lot more work (for him) for little gain.

As at least one other person said though, I do prefer having the coins shown in a platform that allows bookmarking of coins of interest. One of the reasons I only bid in one FSR auction in the past is that I either forgot to make notes about the lots of interest (or took notes but lost them ) and simply forgot to bid. It’s much easier to keep track of the dozens of coins and actions when they are in a more digital-friendly format.

 

I have gotten several coins from Frank over the last several years. His auction is a fun alternative to other platforms. He is extremely fair and dead-on as to his descriptions and comment. EVERY time I have received my winnings, the coins are better than the descriptions (in MY mind's-eye) and his pics / scans. I have always been pleasantly surprised. His auction is different, but my experience has ALWAYS been good. I just ensure that I copy and paste all my coins, pics, bids, etc. into my email. I put them into a bid directory, and put them on a calendar to remind me to check back with Frank (if he has not updated me on my bids).

Here are a few cool coins I snared from him:

(My photos suck...)

RI Vespasian 69-79 CE AR Quinarius Victory seated wreath palm RIC 802 Rare


RProv Domitia Lydia Philadelphia AE 16 Grape Bunch RPC 1336


RI Julian II CE 360-363 AE1 maiorina Diademed R - SECVRITAS REIPVB 2 stars Apis Bull stg R ANT-Gamma 2 palms ANTIOCH RIC 217 LRBC 2641


Carthage AE 31mm 220-215 BCE Second Punic War Tanit Horse Palm Pumic th SNG COP 342