New PS Interesting story 1836 Argentina

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Buying coins can be an experience. Wanted to share this story.

Starts with a focus on collecting Argentina 8 Reales. Hard to find locally in person, resulting in largely relying on auctions. Heritage had a number of Argentina 8 Reales for auction in November, including one that would fit the set nicely, 1836 in AU58. Strategy was to bid early and place a bid that was very competitive and close to my top end of what I was willing to pay. Strategy allowed to bid on other coins and not go crazy in total. Ok done.

Next, discover Sedwick coins also has an 1836 Argentina 8 Reales in MS61 up for auction in November. Problem was I was already committed to the AU58 in the Heritage auction. Did a compare and contrast of the two coins with a collector friend. The AU58 had some color based on the photos. The MS61 had some light toning and was struck on slightly rusted dies. Both coins were nice and close in comparison. Decided to stick with original strategy.

November auction results. Sedwick auction closed first, MS61 closed for approximately, $2K. Heritage auction closed the next week, AU58, gets heavy live auction action and closes for $4K. I get beat out during the live auction. We have all been there. So now, I regret the early bidding strategy and missed out on both coins. Plus get crushed on my other bids as well. Net zero.

But wait there is more to the story. Quick flip, the MS61 example comes up for auction again in January, this time at Heritage. End up winning this time, for about the price I was willing to pay for the AU58. Couple of lessons learned. One, winning auctions is hard and strategy has to be flexible. Two, watching the smaller auction houses can lead to good deals.

Coins are below

1836 MS61

1836 AU58