If you have a fairly substantial collection to sell, which auction house would you use?

Justhavingfun

American Numismatic Rarities, Bowers & Merena, Heritage, Superior, or ...?

And why?

MrEureka

I'd use Smythe.

Robgetty

Heritage would be my first choice, just because I have had the
best experiences with them. I wouldn't touch Ira & Larry Goldberg
until they get their administrative process improved. The others
I have no feelings on one way or the other.

RegistryCoin

I really liked the last B & M catalog. It seems that they have a head of steam going, and may be destined to be "on top". (I think I can, I think I can). If I were selling today, I still may use Heritage, but if I were selling tomorrow, I would entertain offers from both houses.

ColonialCoinUnion

If I were selling colonials or early federal I'd choose ANR or Stack's. I' confident ANR would offer better terms and I'm very sure they'd be more pleasant to deal with, though Stack's has its draw.

If I were selling registry level 19th or 20th centruy type I'd likely go to Heritage and would perhaps entertain offers from Bowers. I'd say Bowers would offer better terms and would be easier to deal with.

I will never consign a coin to Superior again under any circumstances. I have no real feelings about Goldberg. No one else is worth consideration in my opinion.

I do not know what Smythe is all about - perhaps Andy can enlighten us.

Barry

CCU - care to share your Superior story?

Speaking of Superior, I find their web site the most user-unfriendly of all the auction houses. Trying to browse their inventory online is laughable. Click on the Dime link in their current Internet-only auction and it brings up a Washington Quarter. Items come up out of sequence, etc.

DAM

<< <i>Click on the Dime link in their current Internet-only auction and it brings up a Washington Quarter. >>


Same thing happened to me, only I was looking at another denomination (can't remember which off hand).

fcloud

I told my wife, if I pass before her and she need to sell the collection to contact Heritage. My collection is not extensive but I had to give her an option I could trust. I have had good dealing with them on the purchasing side, and they have a great reputaion.

Sunnywood

That depends on what you are selling !!! For classic rarities, early type, patterns and high-end 19th century certified material, I woud prefer ANR with their experienced and scholarly team. For 20th century coinage, especially PCGS-certified high-grade Registry material, I would prefer Heritage, with their exceptionally wide reach via internet bidders. For early copper, Superior with their Macawley-Grellman connection. Ditto for toned Morgans, Superior has the buyers and the (albeit enhanced photography). For uncertified classic material, colonials, world coinage and exonumia, Stack's.

This list goes on ... but since you mentioned SLQ's and Jeffs, I would think Heritage would be a good venue. Of course, there is also the matter of seller's fees (you shouldn't pay any) and buyback fees (try to negotiate a zero buyback if you are selling a major collection). And if you're really lucky, you might negotiate getting a piece of the BUYER'S fee as well (i.e. getting 102 or 103% of hammer). But there's a lot of material going on the block, so I don't know how much leverage you will have in getting that ...

If you can be more specific, I would be happy to make further recommendations !!!

Best,
Sunnywood

keoj

Right now (and it changes over time), for me it would have to be ANR as first choice, followed by B&M and Heritage. I have no issues with Superior or Goldbergs or Stacks. ANR only because they are the best personally and professionally to deal with IMO.

keoj

majorbigtime

I don't there is a large difference between the leading auctioneers, and probably would go with whoever offered the best deal as they will negotiate commission and buyback terms.

mrearlygold

I have several hundred thousand dollars in 2 upcoming ANR auctions and have referred my customers to these guys in the last 12 months. I'm well pleased at the results thus far and for the time being am referring ANR exclusively.

I'm quite familiar with everyone else. ANR just does it better.

Rgrds
Tom

coinlieutenant

While not all of us have several hundred thousand dollars worth of material to consign (but thanks for letting us know Tom ), I would recommend ANR as well.

That being said, it does depend on what you are selling. Some stuff does very well consigned to Stacks, especially raw stuff. If you have some raw stuff that is in between grades or with minor problems that has kept it from being slabbed in the past and/or raw territorial gold, Stacks is the best way to go.

With ANR, you can negotiate commission agreements which is nice, while at Stacks they are pretty firm on their fees. Lots of really big collectors are tied to Stacks and I personally feel that they are still the "big boy" of auction houses.

That being said, ANR is awesome with good picture taking and presentation of the coin and there staff is friendly and organized. Better web site too.

Hope that helps,
John

MFH

Just Having Fun: Does this mean that you're thinking of selling off your duplicate Standing Liberty Quarters ? Please let us know which auction house you're planning on consigning them to !

Looks like I have to get a second mortgage on the house...his collection is unbelievable !

alergar

Give the resistry set people a chance at them !!!

Make a list of the coins and post it on the BST board.

Anything that doesn't sell on the BST's you can consign to an auction house !!!

roadrunner

ANR, Stack's, and Heritage all offer something different. The deal makes a big difference too as does the venue/location/time of year.
I'm not a big fan of auctions in Montana, though nothing against that state.

I still like New York City, FUN (Orlando), and Long Beach (LA) as the 3 best sites. You also want to sell when money is available. Having your coins sold at a major show when everyone is about out of money is not the best thing.

There are so many factors to consider you can't just pick one auction house and leave it at that.

roadrunner

Catch22

I recently consigned 43 coins to Heritage for their upcoming sale at the Pittsburgh ANA convention. I've never consigned to any of the auction houses before, but have made numerous purchases. So far, on the customer service front, Heritage gets a big thumbs down and I'm a pretty easy to deal with guy. We'll see how the results come out.

caitlin

ANRarities.

gemtone65

Heritage has improved their photo's significantly in the past year. ANR is excellent as well. Bowers is surprisingly poor at this important function. The Goldbergs have fallen behind.

As for Superior, I can't agree with Sunnywood regarding their deficiency on toned dollars. They had an extensive such offering in January, which Sunnywood and I discussed here following that sale. Having viewed the lots in person, and after winning 7 gem toned dollars, I concluded that their pictures were quite accurate for most of the toned pieces.

Justhavingfun

First, thanks to everyone for their good input.

And Mike Hayes, yes, I am going to selling off most of my doubles, and some of my collections of singles (which go to 21 other series beyond the Jeffersons and Standing Liberty Quarters).

Like Mr. Cloud, I'm aging and so much of the money I've managed to save over the years is tied up in my hobby that if I died soon, estate taxes would screw up my family's finances. So I figure that better I should handle the sale of my coins than my wife (or kids), who know nothing about them. So, I intend to sell off enough to be able to handle estate taxes comfortably.

Like several people here, I've been leaning towards American Numismatic Rarities because their cataloging is far better than the other firms.

But two dealers with whom I've been working have both been strongly urging me towards Heritage -- because of their "vast customer base," "on-line presence" and "tie-in deal with eBay." And indeed, these reasons to go to Heritage command respect.

On the other hand, however, my experiences with buying coins from Heritage left me with a feeling of slime. I didn't like the coins. I didn't like the dealings.

I haven't bought any coins from ANR yet, but my preliminary correspondence with John Pack has been very positive. And I owe him a letter, but I've been putting it off because the vehemence of the two dealers in favor of Heritage has given me whim-whams.

So I really, really appreciate the input. As they say: "This is not a test." This is the real thing.

Warm regards,



Just Having Fun!

Justhavingfun

<<Make a list of the coins and post it on the BST board.>>

Thank you, Alergar! A very interesting suggestion and I'm tempted by it. I do have a lot of duplicates that would be interesting to registry set people. I've actually been working on 23 series of coins (counting, for instance, my 2 cent piece business strikes and proofs as two separate series). My doubles in half of those series would probably make the top ten registry sets.

But the problem is that I'm not in the United States very much any more and pretty much live and work in Asia. So I'm not quite sure I'd know how to handle the physical aspects of the job.

Lemme mull it over.

Thanks again.

Just Having Fun!
Text

Coinosaurus

The ANR folks are first class. Good luck, it's a big decision to make.

MFH

JHF: I was led to believe that you have had numerous dealings with RCNH. What was their advice ? ANR isn't too far from RCNH, and where you have a good working relationship with RCNH, they could broker the deal for you.

I have been patiently waiting for you to sell off your duplicate Standing Liberty Quarters. Your introduction preface to your registry set of SLQ's gave me goose bumps when I first read it.

Please keep us informed what venue you decide on. And if you would, a PM from you with which SLQ's you intend on selling, would be greatly appreciated.

Hope your decision on selling isn't health related.

Lakesammman

I know this wasn't the intent of the question but how about selling through a trusted dealer and/or to collectors direct?? Who here would prefer that route as opposed to selling via auction??

Justhavingfun

Dear MFH:

I'd like to give the Registry Set people first whack at these coins -- they're the ones who would tend to most appreciate them. But there are physical limitations on what I can do. And the number of doubles is huge and my time in the states is extremely limited.


To my surprise, RCNH -- one of the two dealers referred to -- is passionately arguing for Heritage.

Best wishes,


Just Having Fun!

RegistryCoin

Seriously, not just having fun fishing, Mitch is the best to handle any sale, whether it is decided to use abc, or xyz auction company, the "most professional" and most lucrative way to deal with the situation is through Mitch, as you probably know.

Justhavingfun

Mitch is great and with Jon and Warren at RNCH, he's one of the few dealers I really, really trust. And I know he'd do a great job.

But this is a large job and Mitch is a one man band. He has his normal coin business selling to collectors like me ... his new Proof 70 Deep Cameo business ... and two lovely young kids to take care of and help grow.

I don't know where Mitch could possibly find time to do all this. Ask him: He recommends Heritage.

Warm regards,


Just Having Fun

RegistryCoin

If it were me, I'd consider his "resignation" to Heritage as a test. I would proffer to Mitch another "chance", then see if he has enough time. He has an incredible ability to take care of all of us, his family, and still, I bet, has the where-withall to spend more than enough time to correctly direct your marketing of your coins, at least, or handle the entire sale solely. jmho, JHF,
Steve
ps I may, too, go to Heritage, or another auction co., but I would never do it solo. It would ALL have to go through Mitch, to give me "peace of mind".

lordmarcovan

Ebay. I'd sell them myself. T'hell with the middleman- I wants my money!

PS- I'd probably do quite a bit here, on BST, too... "free" is a beautiful word.

merz2

When you say substantial,do you mean # of coins or grade of coins ? That would make a difference to me.

Justhavingfun

<<When you say substantial,do you mean # of coins or grade of coins ? That would make a difference to me. >>

Hello Mr. Merz:

I mean both. My dupes include large numbers of coins and key dates in ace whiz condition, non-keys in superb condition, and lots and lots of middle-of-the-road.

Among the Standing Liberties, for instance, I have a duplicate 1916 in MS67 Full Head. And my 1918/7-S is MS65. Same, same in the Jefferson nickels.

Enjoy!


Just Having Fun!

wondercoin

Thanks JHF and Registrycoin for the kind words, which are greatly appreciated.

"Ask him: He recommends Heritage."

I have sold a ton of coins through Heritage this year for myself and for collectors, like Registrycoin (his 50 piece Silver Commem Set), and, overall, was very pleased with the results. I expect to continue to give them coins. Just recently, however, a collector I work with opted to place a "big time" coin (1867 Rays Nickel in PCGS-PR66CAM) in the upcoming pre-ANA Bowers sale. It has been smooth sailing with Bowers thus far as well and I do plan to monitor just how well they do with that sale. Additionally, I recently placed a few sizeable consignments of sub-$1,500 coins with Teletrade and they have also done well thus far and have been easy to work with. I have heard good things about ANR as well, although have not yet done much business with them. Other auction houses are also out there as well.

It does appear collectors really have quite a few choices right now on how to dispose of their prized collections. And, IMHO, it really doesn't hurt a collector to coordinate such sales with the dealer(s) of one's choice. Even if the dealer stands to earn a few bucks assisting a collector with the sale, what one often gets by utilizing a dealer is: (a) a better sell through % as the dealer often lumps a variety of consignments into a larger one which often pays a significantly higher rate at auction; (b) assistance with reserving the coins for the "right amount", free from bias the owner of a coin often has for his coins; (c) possible assistance with "upgrading" any obvious coins (including neat variety spot check) before they go off to auction, if that is what the collector desires.

Best of luck JHF with your future sales and you better give yourself a full hour or two with your (2) 1916 SLQ's in PCGS-MS67FH before deciding which treasure you want to say "bye-bye" to!

Wondercoin