BOWERS AND MERENA AUCTION CATALOG

coinut1799

I just received the Bowers and Merena catalog for the upcoming auction in Baltimore. The format is the same as usual, but it certainly has a different "feel". Lacking is the usual friendly greeting from Dave Bowers. I may be way off base here but my gut feeling is after the summer ANA sale, the name "Bowers and Merena" will cease to exist.

RYK

I received mine yesterday--I do not know why, I have never purchased anything from them before. I thought that the selection of gold coins is terrific. I am very excited about it!

Sunnywood

It's a shame that all good things must come to an end. I had already placed a substantial consignment in the Baltimore auction before Dave left the organization, so I am pleased to see that the catalog still looks like a B&M catalog. I was worried about my consignment !!!! My only complaint is that B&M has never done a good job of capturing the colors on rainbow-toned silver proof coinage. So my gorgeous proof seated dollars don't really show up properly in the color plates.

I would like to show the Board members what these coins really look like !!! Here are just a few of them ... you can see the colors are not really displayed properly in the B&M catalog !!!!!


Lot 4048, Original 1862 ex: Childs


Lot 4056, Gorgeous 1865 ex: Benson II Sale


Lot 4058, Lapis lazuli 1866 ex: Benson II Sale


Lot 4062, Iridescent 1868 ex: Benson II Sale


Lot 4076, Exceptional 1873 ex: Benson Coll.

And last but not least, here's the reverse of one of the most awesome proof seated dollars in existence, an 1872 from an original proof set:


Spectacular 1872 proof seated dollar,
from an original proof set broken up at
Stack's Sale of the Vermeule Collection, Nov. 2001,
(there as Lot 484)


Now that's what the coins should like like in the Bowers catalog !!!!!!
Enjoy !!!

Sunnywood

EVillageProwler

Dammit, Sunnywood! Are you trying to get me all worked up on a Sat morning?!?



EVP

Sunnywood

EVP,

There are some great MS seated dollars in Baltimore too !!! But rainbow colors are what got me into the proofs in the first place. Of course, as we know, there are some MS seated dollars with gorgeous color. But they are incredibly few and far between, and unbelievably valuable & expensive !! I remember the Jimmy Hayes 1866, and a couple of MS gems from Childs and Pittman, to name a few ... not to mention anything & everything from Fairfield, and several others that have appeared in the last few years.

Sunnywood

originalisbest

The both of you ought not to show me such pieces if you want my eyes to stay in their sockets! Truly beautiful works of art. May they never fall into the hands of someone who thinks they can be "improved" by a dipping. (Just because someone might have the money to own such coins doesn't neccessarily mean they have the smarts to take care of them properly!)

ricardouno

Sunnywood,

I have a consigment of coins in the Baltimore sale as well. John Pack of B+M was terrific to work with and was the one who convinced me (through his kind and considerate treatment) to go with this auction firm (before Bowers dismissal was an issue).

I think they did a nice job describing and featuring my coins, but I do agree that they might want to tweek their color imaging a bit. I have an 1898-P Barber dime in PCGS MS65 and a 1883-O Morgan in PCGS MS66 which have very neat original toning but it doesn't come through completely in the scans available on the internet. In particular the 1883-O (purchased well over 25 years ago and definitely original toning in every respect) is among the most spectacularly toned Morgans I have ever encountered.

I trust that when on-site bidders in Baltimore see both our coins that they will fetch the premiums appropriate for their attactive appearence.

Best of good luck with your consignment.

hq1690

Only time will tell if the changes at B&M will affect the number of bidders. I don't know if all the publicity about QDB's ouster will bring more attention to the site, or less by turning away some that will be upset by the whole situation. I do have a half dozen coins consigned, but in my case it will not take long after the auction starts - one of my consignments is actually the first coin to go off.

Actually, I don't expect much in the way of change. I am still very pleased with both John Pack and John Kraljevich they are both a pleasure to work with.

Good luck to both bidders and consigners, and especially to QDB. His feet are talented enough to land wherever he wants them to.

09sVDB

I just recieved my copy of The Coin Collector. On the front page where Dave used to write "Greetings from Dave" it now says "Greetings from Paul Montegomery." Funny thing though, what he(Paul?) wrote sounds exactly what Dave would have written before his dismissal. Did they just change the name and photo and still print what Dave had written?

Sunnywood

What is even more, um, interesting ... is the description at the beginning of the Kingswood Meredith Sale catalog ... the Kingswood Sales are named for New Hampshire towns, which Dave lovingly and nostalgically described in earlier catalogs. Paul M. continues the tradition, but it seems so odd .... after all, how much time has he spent in N.H. during his lifetime? Hmmm.

roadrunner

I was surprised at how they quickly added in Paul Montgomery to the intro section. Cut and paste I guess.

roadrunner

Ronyahski

At the Benson II sale, I picked out what I thought were the four best proof seated dollars in the auction, and bid heavy on them. Went 0 for 4. What a small world, here are the exact same 4 coins pictured in the Sunnywood post! I'll vouch for these coins as being absolutely gorgeous.

Sunnywood

Thanks for that post Ronyahski

Now you have a chance to bid on them again, without having to bid against me !!! I am a determined (stupid??) bidder when I want something !! I don't expect to fully recoup my costs on these coins. If I do, I'll be a lucky guy. Here are the prior auction values:

The 1862 realized $15,525 at Childs
The 1865 realized $16,675 at Benson II
The 1866 realized $10,925 at Benson II (a bargain for that one !!)
The 1868 realized $18,975 at Benson II
The 1873 realized $ 7,200 at Benson II

And, the 1872 realized $24,150 at Vermeule.

I hope there are other collectors out there who are as determined as I am, and as convinced of the incredible quality of these coins !!!!!!!

Sunnywood

photoman

Hi Sunnywood,

Just curious but were the photos you posted in your reply raw or slabbed when they were photographed. Just curious since I photographed everything in the B&M catalog. I know the last one of the reverse is raw and the ones before it look possibly raw as well.

Always trying to improve quality.

Doug

kranky

Welcome to the boards, Doug.

Sunnywood

Photoman points out correctly that most of the prior photographs were taken before the coins were ever slabbed. I had not considered this point !!! It is apparently much more difficult to capture the colors of toned proof silver coins when they are encapsulated. Raw coins photograph beautifully by comparison.

So, my apologies to Photoman and the staff at B&M for being a bit too hasty in my judgment. I will still say, however, that some of the West coast auction houses do seem to have a little bit more success at capturing colorful toning in their photographs, even for slabbed coins. So anyway it is something for you to consider Photoman !!

I will also reaffirm that B&M has been in my opinion the finest numismatic auction house in the country. I extend my best wishes to all the staff there as they adjust to the recent changes. Even with Dave gone, the team he assembled continues their fine work.

Sunnywood