My maximum buy price versus prices realized - Goldberg Sale

gsaguy

Here's just a sampling of the prices I was willing to pay versus the final hammer price. I've added an F (floor) or a B (book) next to the hammer price for those interested. As you'll quickly note, many opened at double, or more than my max bid!! Keep in mind that I buy a lot of high grade toned Morgans and while I didn't expect to win most of these, I certainly thought I'd be competitive on some. Basically, I never raised my paddle.

Lot 573/$400/$1700/B

Lot 581/$800/$2000/F

Lot 582/$800/$2800/B

Lot 583/$800/$1500/B

Lot 584/$1000/$2750/B

Lot 585/$750/$1200/B

Lot 586/$750/$1425/B

Lot 587/$500/$1000/B

Lot 601/$3500/$4300/B

Lot 602/$3500/$4300/B

Lot 604/$1000/$1500/B

Lot 606/$1200/$1800/B

I think this should give you a good idea of what I've been talking about when it comes to the floor bids versus mail bids. These were coins in which I had an interest listed in numerical order. In other words, I didn't select only those that went to mail bidders.

GSAGUY

PQpeace

Sorry you didn't win any.
Maybe better luck in Long Beach,
Larry

Placid

What did you base your bid's on?

gsaguy

Placid,

My max bids were based on two factors: 1) did I want to buy the coin for my collection and 2) did I want to buy the coin for inventory/resale.

Obviously, if buying for my collection I can be a lot more aggressive because I'm going to hold the coin for the long term.

If I'm buying for inventory/resale, I'll want to be in the coin (including juice) at a price that will allow me to make 10-20% profit upon resale.

GSAGUY

Edited to add: I looked at each of the lots carefully before bidding. I found that the photographs generally depicted the coins better than they appeared in person.

wondercoin

GSAGUY: I was quite pleased with the prices on the coins I picked up in the sale. For example, I picked up the 1862 Three Cent Silver in PCGS-PR66DCAM. An incredible rarity in DCAM and it cost around the same price as one of those colorful MS65 common date Morgans Wondercoin.

RGL

Strong prices, no doubt ... I thought I would be in the ballpark with a bid on a coin I wanted, but was not even close. Hammer fell at nearly 30 percent more than my bid! Given the market's deep turn south -- NASDAQ at lowest in six years -- I think there are many people who do not feel as guilty about laying out some coin on some coins as they used to ... You could not do worse, right?

gmarguli

I just checked out a bunch of coins I was interested in. I think most sold cheap with several selling extremely cheap. I wish I had actually placed some bids.

Unless the photos were tweaked some people got some good deals.

wondercoin

Greg: I was real happy to pick up the 1862 Three Cent piece in PCGS-PR66DCAM I mentioned earlier along with the 1862 Quarter in PCGS-PR66DCAM. I fully expected to pay for 1 coin what I paid for both

No doubt many folks were focused on the neat Morgans. Wondercoin

coingame2000

Hi Mitch,

Neither the 1862 3CS PR66 DCAM or the 1862 PR66 DCAM to which you refer were not offered in the Goldberg or Superior auctions (unless I somehow missed 'em) ... what's the story?????

Best Regards,

Mike

wondercoin

Mike: I won lots 862 and 865 in the Goldberg sale. Now, I did view those cool MS66 Roosies, but they cost nearly as much as the DCAM Civil War coin!! Wondercoin

Trime

Wondercoin,
Congratulations on the two pieces of the proof set in the Goldberg sale.

dorkkarl

dude, i was about to say, "did you LOOK a the coins in person 1st", sounds like you did. wise move. i would not bid on goldberg's coins sight-unseen.

K S

mrdq

It sounds like just the morgans were going HIGH. Did anyone else notice higher than expected prices?

Elcontador

This is fairly typical. Popular high end material - RD IH Cents, RD early Lincoln Cents & Morgans always bring astronomical prices at the Goldberg auctions. I have no idea who buys this stuff, but your experience is the rule, not the exception.

The only stuff that seems to go cheaply are odd lot high end type coins, like, say, the afore-mentioned 2 Cent & 3 Cent pieces, for which there is not much of a collector base.

jom

You think that's bad? You should have been at that Rarities Sale. The Buffalo nickels went for big-time dough. My "max" bids were useless....

jom

CalGold

I looked at a couple of toned proof halves that I was thinking of bidding on but did not because early reports on this board were that many of the toned coins did not look nearly as good in real life than they did in the photos. People were qeustioning whether the photos were enhanced. The ones I did not bid on sold for shockingly low prices for the grade. It could be that there was no floor bid interest because the coins were too dark. Or it could be that the "hot" market that the dealers have been hyping on their websites has turned cold, at least for more thinly collected series. There were also a lot of "did not sells" in the B&M Rarities sale.

gsaguy

CalGold,

I can't speak for the coins you referenced but I did look at all of the toned Morgans. And while I would not say that the scans were dramatically enhanced in any way, to me they definitely looked better than the coins in hand. The colors were fairly accurately represented but, for the most part, the bagmarks just don't show up in the scans as they do when viewed in person.

I think it's always a risk to bid on coins viewing only a scan, regardless of who is selling them, and would recommend that any mail bid be submitted only when there is a return privilege. Alternately, if you can't view the coins personally, you should have someone you trust take a look at them and give you a verbal report of the coin's appearance.

Having said all of the above, the Goldberg boys run a very classy operation.

Good luck!

GSAGUY