ANA Auctions

Boosibri

The auctions thus far that have posted appear quite weak and the coins in the platinum night sales would not have made the cut for Platinum night in past years.

Are your observations the same?

Seems to me that after 3-4 years of outstanding collections coming to market that perhaps the fresh coins that were ready to come to market all have.

I do think that we will look back at the last few years and finally appreciate how great the coin auctions have been.

bidask

I agree ....which also suggest to me that the great coins bought the last few years were well worth what prices they brought at auction.

MrEureka

Rising prices attract coins to the market. Does a slowdown in supply indicate that prices have plateaued? Not for everything, of course, but overall?

pruebas

@MrEureka said:
Rising prices attract coins to the market. Does a slowdown in supply indicate that prices have plateaued? Not for everything, of course, but overall?

I don't think so. It just means prices are not yet high enough for additional good collections to come to market.

Sure there will always be uncontrollable events (deaths, divorces, forced sales, etc.), but collections in tight hands either don't feel the market is ready or the current selling climate (high auction commissions, for example) are appropriate.

bidask

@pruebas said:

@MrEureka said:
Rising prices attract coins to the market. Does a slowdown in supply indicate that prices have plateaued? Not for everything, of course, but overall?

I don't think so. It just means prices are not yet high enough for additional good collections to come to market.

Sure there will always be uncontrollable events (deaths, divorces, forced sales, etc.), but collections in tight hands either don't feel the market is ready or the current selling climate (high auction commissions, for example) are appropriate.

I agree....

pruebas

By the way @Boosibri, if you collected German or perhaps former English colonies, you might view the sales differently.

I agree with you about good Latin American material, but then again, you knew it was scarce (and popular) going in, right?

Gotta take the good with the bad.

WCC

If you are referring to Heritage, I've noticed that outside of Mexico, their Latin selection is much reduced from what I recall previously, pre-pandemic.

bidask

@pruebas said:
By the way @Boosibri, if you collected German or perhaps former English colonies, you might view the sales differently.

I agree with you about good Latin American material, but then again, you knew it was scarce (and popular) going in, right?

Gotta take the good with the bad.

Getman coins have been down so long ….maybe they are a buy 🤓

FrankH

With so many coins reaching annual income for many levels, some pause could be wise.

MrEureka

@FrankH said:
With so many coins reaching annual income for many levels, some pause could be wise.

Whatever the market is doing, there's always something worth buying. And many things that should be avoided, of course.

bidask

@MrEureka said:

@FrankH said:
With so many coins reaching annual income for many levels, some pause could be wise.

Whatever the market is doing, there's always something worth buying. And many things that should be avoided, of course.

When you mention many things should be avoided are you talking about countries , denominations, different grades ?

MrEureka

@bidask said:

@MrEureka said:

@FrankH said:
With so many coins reaching annual income for many levels, some pause could be wise.

Whatever the market is doing, there's always something worth buying. And many things that should be avoided, of course.

When you mention many things should be avoided are you talking about countries , denominations, different grades ?

No. Every coin has to be judged individually. Same as in the stock market, real estate, the art market, etc.

pruebas

I just wanted to add an important bit of information here that most people already know, but in case some don't.

Good coins usually come in bunches. These good coins (ie. the rare or otherwise special coins) are generally in the hands of collectors and tightly held in good collections. When that collector decides to sell, often the collection is sold in one or a series of highly-promoted sales (ie. Cape Coral or Pat Johnson).

That is when you can buy really good coins. And you need to be ready to buy them.

The old saying "keep your powder dry" is apt here. If there is nothing for you this month, or this year, save, save, save. Because one day, several coins will appear all at once and they will be fought over, hence expensive. That is when you buy because if you miss out, those coins will usually go into hiding for a generation until that collector decides to let go.

Boosibri

I hope to see what Dunigan, Schwimmer, Teller, Keech and a few others have put away one day.

bidask

@Boosibri said:
I hope to see what Dunigan, Schwimmer, Teller, Keech and a few others have put away one day.

No doubt 👍

numismagram

Not sure that Larry's will be crossing the auction block, as, unless something has changed, they will likely be donated and part of a museum holdings. Of course, they may still be on display, just not in the same way as if they came to market.

pruebas

@numismagram said:
Not sure that Larry's will be crossing the auction block, as, unless something has changed, they will likely be donated and part of a museum holdings. Of course, they may still be on display, just not in the same way as if they came to market.

I would hope he would reconsider when the time comes.

We should have (and maybe have already) a separate thread about this. But donating important coins to museums, while appearing virtuous, is generally not a good idea for most, whether or not their descendants need the money.

I feel like I have an important, and in many cases unique collection that could be useful for numismatic research. Additionally, I have no heirs, so any funds left after my demise would be donated anyway.

BUT for the life of me, I cannot justify leaving anything to ANA, ANS, Smithsonian, Bank of Mexico, or any other institution that I can think of. In my opinion, they have all made stupid decisions in the past and wasted funds and goodwill. I don't want any part of that.

WCC

@pruebas said:

The old saying "keep your powder dry" is apt here. If there is nothing for you this month, or this year, save, save, save. Because one day, several coins will appear all at once and they will be fought over, hence expensive. That is when you buy because if you miss out, those coins will usually go into hiding for a generation until that collector decides to let go.

>
Yes, I bought 10 coins (all scarce lima pillar minors) within an eight month period in varying quality though from different sources. Two from the Pat Johnson sale. A few more (excluding Johnson) I passed on or got outbid.

MrEureka

@pruebas said:

@numismagram said:
Not sure that Larry's will be crossing the auction block, as, unless something has changed, they will likely be donated and part of a museum holdings. Of course, they may still be on display, just not in the same way as if they came to market.

I would hope he would reconsider when the time comes.

We should have (and maybe have already) a separate thread about this. But donating important coins to museums, while appearing virtuous, is generally not a good idea for most, whether or not their descendants need the money.

I feel like I have an important, and in many cases unique collection that could be useful for numismatic research. Additionally, I have no heirs, so any funds left after my demise would be donated anyway.

BUT for the life of me, I cannot justify leaving anything to ANA, ANS, Smithsonian, Bank of Mexico, or any other institution that I can think of. In my opinion, they have all made stupid decisions in the past and wasted funds and goodwill. I don't want any part of that.

It would take some imagination but I’ll bet you can think of a small number of targeted donations that might make sense. I know I can. But I agree that most coins serve their highest purpose while they remain in the hands of private collectors.

tcollects

@pruebas said:

Additionally, I have no heirs, so any funds left after my demise would be donated anyway.

BUT for the life of me, I cannot justify leaving anything to ANA, ANS, Smithsonian, Bank of Mexico, or any other institution that I can think of. In my opinion, they have all made stupid decisions in the past and wasted funds and goodwill. I don't want any part of that.

even if you don't have a wife or kids, almost everyone has heirs

neildrobertson

The ANA auction is actually better than some of the other major auctions have been in my area of collecting. I agree with the overall trend though. This May-August run is pretty weak for me across the board. And I might even extend that streak back to January now.

bidask

@MrEureka said:

@pruebas said:

@numismagram said:
Not sure that Larry's will be crossing the auction block, as, unless something has changed, they will likely be donated and part of a museum holdings. Of course, they may still be on display, just not in the same way as if they came to market.

I would hope he would reconsider when the time comes.

We should have (and maybe have already) a separate thread about this. But donating important coins to museums, while appearing virtuous, is generally not a good idea for most, whether or not their descendants need the money.

I feel like I have an important, and in many cases unique collection that could be useful for numismatic research. Additionally, I have no heirs, so any funds left after my demise would be donated anyway.

BUT for the life of me, I cannot justify leaving anything to ANA, ANS, Smithsonian, Bank of Mexico, or any other institution that I can think of. In my opinion, they have all made stupid decisions in the past and wasted funds and goodwill. I don't want any part of that.

It would take some imagination but I’ll bet you can think of a small number of targeted donations that might make sense. I know I can. But I agree that most coins serve their highest purpose while they remain in the hands of private collectors.

I was one of intitial members George Heath Society ( $1000 pledge per year ) ANA.

https://www.money.org/heath-society/

coinkat

Anyone attending?

bidask

@coinkat said:
Anyone attending?

Attending the ANA ..yes !

Boosibri

Attending is still up in the air for me. Have an investor meeting in NYC during the first days and not sure if the Friday is even worth it at that point

7Jaguars

I so not see rare collector coins in my area at all - instead coins with "hype" value showing up like Una and the Lion and Gothic crowns. What I mean is look for a coin like one of the rare Vicky currency coins and there are NONE (eg 1854 sixpence, 1893 Jub head 6d, 1854 florin, 1863 florin, 1839 currency half crown, etc.).
As was said, time to keep the powder dry for many of us & the excitement is when major pieces come up that we "need".