Kirk Menczer's collection at Stack's
Abuelo
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I know few are watching the auction live. I never imagine there were so many people collecting decimal minors from Mexico, but I clearly was mistaken. The prices are to the roof. Coins that were about 100 dollars a couple of years ago are going for well over 500, and others are reaching outstanding prices. As @Pruebas told me I guess will have to collect something else...
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Don't forget, the USD is headed toward worthless (as evidenced by the "price" of gold in USD).
Not really my collecting area, but I tuned in for a bit and even I could tell prices were high! Really cool collection.
One bidder won almost all of the Un Centavos.
edited to add an image... the coin was not part of the auction and is not for sale. It is merely being shared to illustrate the points.
I had other things going on today so I missed the auction.
What is sort of interesting is how certain coin series can basically be ignored for years and then interest develops leading to drastic escalation in prices. Perhaps seeking rarity and condition rarity is a concept that ultimately bites the hardest the longer it is ignored...
We have seen this with multiple countries.
Experience the World through Numismatics...it's more than you can imagine.
It's not so much that minors were ignored and now they aren't.
We have always known how rare most Mexican coins are, particularly minors which were actually used by the people as opposed to 8 Reales which were not. UNC minors even more so. UNC decimal minors particularly more so.
So adding even a few new collectors, particularly well-healed collectors, adds a significant amount of fuel to the fire.
These coins are finally demanding the values that they so rightly deserve.
I managed to buy 3 coins in today's auction. And I may sound like a broken record, but I paid dearly for them. On the few I lost, the winner paid much more dearly for them!
Only got one, but I hope my luck will be better tomorrow...
You want the secret to value increases let me tell you....Once I get out (I am as you guys know) prices rise. Every time I stop collecting something and sell right before major increases in value. As you guys know I collected 1 reales for years and prices were stable just watch once I have sold my coins they will go up in value....just watch.
Once I sell a major rarity like my 1732 milled Mexico graded NGC VG-10 just sit back and look the price will increase by a lot....such is life in my case.
Member here for 5 years
Unfortunately Kirk Menczer (RIP) is not alive to see how well his collection was received among collectors. Kirk was a great guy and I have a coin from his collection that I bought years ago while he was alive.
It makes me think I should sell my collection while I’m still alive to see it sell (and give info on the coins to potential bidders).
What do you folks think?
@pruebas - I agree. I'm sure everone here has seen coins that were cataloged with the best intentions, but there are inadvertent errors, or important context or info is missing. Plus I'll bet you would get to see people say nice things about your collection and see their appreciation for it as well.
I think you should write the standard reference on Mexican patterns and let your heirs worry about selling the collection.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Selling the collection while alive will give you the satisfaction on seeing how well it does. At the same time, you can be involved in the cataloging so you can pas the information. It will save a lots of headaches to your estate. But, do oyu really want to get rid of the coins? Do as @MrEureka said and write the book...
Day 2 starts...
I discovered the estimates were so low, it is laughable...
I’m not suggesting I’m selling imminently. Just before I die.
And my collection is much more than patterns at this point.
But interested to hear other opinions on this topic.
Congrats to the dearly departed seller on the great results. I am sure his stories on how he got these coins involved quite a bit!
Not exactly directly related but I by mistake about 3 years ago got a slabbed ??1878 Mo One Centavo that I think was an MS64RB, so maybe will see how these do....
Well, just Love coins, period.
Some things I noticed about the sale.
Buyers are buying the slab grades. Many of the coins seem overgraded to me based solely on the photos (I did not view in person).
Buyers don’t seem to know the tough/rare DAMs. For example, I picked up a 1899-CnQ 20c in AU58 for a mere $125. The coin has a NGC pop of 7, only 3 of which are UNC with 63 being the top (and I own both the 62 and 63). This is a very tough coin. Yet other common dates 20c in 65+ (not a high grade for a 20c) sell for over $1000. Go figure!
And adding an additional comment. The auctioneer notes "Highest graded at NGC" on many lots. First off, they ignore PCGS pops. And second, the last time a large collection of Mexican minors was sold (March 2011), many of the coins were too cheap to bother slabbing, so they were batched up in multiple coin lots. Very misleading comment all around, but it influences bidders.
@pruebas I hope then nobody notices the low grade 50C form 1888
Well, the auction is over. SOme big guns were present. No question. Prices were very strong. I can only hope that will happen when my coins are sold...
I managed to miss the prize of the auction, a Mexico City 50C 1888 MGV VF35. I was the underbid and sold for crazy money. It would have been the coin for which I would have paid the most in my life (not the same as the most expensive). I had to pass, my limits at Stack's did not let me pursue it, but likely my wife would have been in the news if I have bought it.
All in all, I managed to get 17 coins. Funny thing, few of the coins I got were "only one in either NGC or PCGS" yet they sold for nearly nothing, and the 1888 coin who has few specimens encapsulated sold for the price of a car.
Looking at the auction right after the Meczer's coins, the prices are a bit more close to reality. Of course are not concentrated in a single theme as Meczer's was.
It was a lot of fun.
Congrats on your new additions, Abuelo!
8 Reales Madness Collection
Instagram: 8 Reales Numis
@Abuelo you can’t get much of a car for $10,800 these days. You need to update your pricing!
¡Felicidades! though for what you got.
Indeed, why would you force your heirs to sell your collection. Who knows how badly that might go?
@pruebas you could get a Porsche 986, automatic (or stick but likely with very high mileage) for that amount.
Perhaps, but you’d need another $10k in tools and lots of free time to maintain it every weekend. Or else a partnership share of a mechanic to do it for you.
I’d rather my Japanese cars and spend my money on (appreciating) Mexican coins!
I attribute your observation primarily due to a lack of price discovery. This happened with the South Africa Union series with the sale of the Remick British Commonwealth collection by Spinks in November 2006. (It subsequently experienced a price bubble, peaked in 2012 and has since cratered.)
When a series or market contains disproportionate scarcity as most or all Latin America countries do, it's not often that a substantial collection hits the market. You have to really like a coin or series to pay up at prices most others won't with limited price discovery.
That's what I've had to do with my primary area of interest. I've accumulated presumably one of the largest and possibly one of the best recent collections, but I mostly had to buy the coins individually or a few at a time from multiple sources over many years. When I'm bidding, I just bid the maximum I'm willing to pay without really knowing how much the coin is worth. I now have over 100 in grades up to MS-65. A low proportion with "details" grades or surface issues and some more in lower circulated grades, but not even one I consider "dreck". Almost no one notices or cares because they are collecting something else.