So local auction house had some coin lots in their most recent estate auction. One lot contained 8 pieces....a 3 cent silver piece (maybe 1861 I forget), 3 gold $1 pieces one in "high grade" two indian princess, one liberty head 1889, 1854, and I forget the other date. And 4 gold fractional tokens 3 with holes and one not. Here is a link... estimate was $400-$600 which seemed incredibly accurate to me as the gold $1s didn't seem like any spectacular rare dates. This lot went for like $4250 plus the buyer's premium...what did I miss??? I don't think there is any way these coins are worth $664 each....My bid was pretty conservative at around $750 http://www.ragoarts.com/lot/566614 PS I did look at these coins in person, though I don't remember how "high grade" the 1889 was, but I guess if it was MS+ it could go for $500-1000 but still...
Well, in the words of a famous CT member: "I'm throwing in the towel. IMO, coin auctions are stupid. Why waste all that time and money, when you can go on eBay, and get coins cheaper, and the farthest you have to go, is your mail box."
And you can buy problem coins fake Chinese coins fake slabs and good luck finding much of the higher grade or earlier stuff that I buy I do much better buying from the major coin auctions and the local estate auctions granted at the auctions I've see many people pay way too much but they do it on ebay too for the record none of the coins I own came from ebay
I know how you feel..........at an auction last year every Antoninianus in a sale with several thousand in it, sold for about $50, which was about double what they are worth! it was a joke..... two rich bidders , one from the US and one from Russia competing for the whole sale. I haven't bothered since.
I find for a lot of what I collect I need the bigger coin auctions such as ha and stacks not that many other places have early silver dollars early type coins etc that I collect wanting a chain cent bad sometime in the fairly near future not that easy to find even there
I understand how that goes an auction I was at a while back with a few coins I ran someone to $750 on 5 1883 no cents liberty nickels and 225 on a 1875-s 20 cent in f-vf both double what they were worth was a grudge war tho against someone who has no clue what they are doing as far as coins (and other items too) but was bidding off me as they knew I did I hope they learned their lesson but I doubt it
I can understand the hammer prices being high due to the occasional bidding war. What I cannot understand is the starting bid, or estimate being higher than the coins worth, as has been seen here recently on a thread. Dealers stay away, theres no money to be made, and there should be on lots of 100 plus almost identical coins. CNG have large lots available in early Jan.......some of the starting bids required are way too high in my opinion and can only be aimed at the collector, not the dealer.
