The Heritage Signature Sale: Gem Toned Morgan Dollars
gemtone65
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Undoubtedly the best auction offering of gem toned Morgan dollars in Pittsburgh this week occurred as part of the JFS collection. And probably the most interesting aspect of that offering, which consisted of 33 pieces, was that 18 of them derived from the "Toned Dollar Collection," offered in a sale held by the Goldbergs in September 2002. Curiously, this affiliation was not mentioned by Heritage.
That Goldberg sale was a little unusual, because most of the pieces from the Toned Dollar Collection sold to the book at very strong prices. There was very little bidding from the floor. The most likely explanation is that the consignor placed very strong reserves, which were met for many of the coins by a single bidder: presumably JFS.
Thus, if my hypothesis is correct, the resulting prices from the Goldberg sale do not represent competitive market prices in the sense they can be used to judge the prevailing value of other similar coins that might have been placed on the market at that time. Moreover, for the same reason, that is, the diverse manner in which the same coins were sold in the two different auctions, an otherwise valuable comparison of prices realized has, in this case, very limited value.
Nonetheless, the data sets are there for the asking, so here they are and use it at your own risk. The 18 coins "realized" (with the juice) $34,528 at the Goldberg sale, compared to $23, 668 in the Heritage sale, resulting in a 30% decline. Upon reoffering, fourteen of the coins generated lower prices, 2 produced the same prices, and 2 had higher prices. The same coin, a common date PCGS65, that was rainbow toned -- perhaps from being at the end of a roll or maybe from a bag, it was difficult to tell, received the highest price in each sale: close to $5000.
I've always thought the Toned Dollar Collection had a fascinating cachet, especially since I knew more about its history them most other collectors. I acquired one coin from this collection directly in the Goldberg sale (lot 582 as I recall), and subsequently acquired another from Laura after, I believe, she purchased it out of last year's ANA sale (lot 616 in the Goldberg sale).
In the Heritage sale, I bid on 8 of these pieces. I always considered the prices realized on these pieces in the Goldberg sale as out of line, but until the JFS offering, couldn't quite figure out the circumstances. Anyway, my bids in the JFS offering tended to reflect my own valuations, but knowing what the prices realized were in the Goldberg sale was helpful as well. I probably would not have come as close as I did to winning the best coin if I didn't know what it previously brought in auction. My guess is the high bidder knew this information as well.
As an aside, I was the high internet bidder on this top piece when internet bidding closed. However, when I looked the next day, I was no longer listed as the bidder holding the highest current bid. I suppose I was outbid by a mail or phone bid, or an absentee bid submitted by someone who was there in person but could not attend the sale. I found this situation a little strange and coincidental, i.e., that I could be outbid in this way, in part because my maximum bid was nowhere near my listed high bid when the internet bidding closed, yet I was just outbid afterwards but before the floor bidding even began. So, I lost this twice-in-a-lifetime coin, for now anyway.
Losing this coin in this way had a ripple effect on the success of my other bids. Because this coin would be so expensive to own, I had to shade my bids on the remaining 7 coins that I bid on. This resulted in my losing 5 of them that, in several cases, I otherwise
might have won. Nevertheless, I did win 2: lots #4180 (an antique gold toned PCGS65 1885-o) and #4187 (a rainbow toned NGC66 1887).
The next day Heritage offered a few gem toned dollars in its regular signature sale. I agonized over bidding on the great 1882 PCGS66, which I considered a very special coin. But, in part because its best toning was on the reverse, I decided to pass. This coin bought about $5400. However, I was successful on 2 very pretty lots that I felt I received at very favorable prices. One was #6796, a PCGS66 1880-s which had the most beautiful blue toning on the obverse compared to any coin in a Pittsburgh auction. Another was an ICG67 1881-s with gorgeous rainbow toning. I rated this coin as having both higher technical quality and better eye appeal than lot #4165, one of the rainbow Toned Dollar Collection pieces graded PCGS66, and which sold for $2990. I got mine for a little less.
So, in the end, I was happy with the results. I was sorry to miss the first meeting of the Toned Coin Collectors Society on August 19. However, that day was my anniversary, and attending a coin show would not have been considered sufficiently romantic by my wife. So, instead I drove to Pittsburgh the weekend before and viewed all the Heritage lots in one day -- a long day indeed. But, it was well worth it.
That Goldberg sale was a little unusual, because most of the pieces from the Toned Dollar Collection sold to the book at very strong prices. There was very little bidding from the floor. The most likely explanation is that the consignor placed very strong reserves, which were met for many of the coins by a single bidder: presumably JFS.
Thus, if my hypothesis is correct, the resulting prices from the Goldberg sale do not represent competitive market prices in the sense they can be used to judge the prevailing value of other similar coins that might have been placed on the market at that time. Moreover, for the same reason, that is, the diverse manner in which the same coins were sold in the two different auctions, an otherwise valuable comparison of prices realized has, in this case, very limited value.
Nonetheless, the data sets are there for the asking, so here they are and use it at your own risk. The 18 coins "realized" (with the juice) $34,528 at the Goldberg sale, compared to $23, 668 in the Heritage sale, resulting in a 30% decline. Upon reoffering, fourteen of the coins generated lower prices, 2 produced the same prices, and 2 had higher prices. The same coin, a common date PCGS65, that was rainbow toned -- perhaps from being at the end of a roll or maybe from a bag, it was difficult to tell, received the highest price in each sale: close to $5000.
I've always thought the Toned Dollar Collection had a fascinating cachet, especially since I knew more about its history them most other collectors. I acquired one coin from this collection directly in the Goldberg sale (lot 582 as I recall), and subsequently acquired another from Laura after, I believe, she purchased it out of last year's ANA sale (lot 616 in the Goldberg sale).
In the Heritage sale, I bid on 8 of these pieces. I always considered the prices realized on these pieces in the Goldberg sale as out of line, but until the JFS offering, couldn't quite figure out the circumstances. Anyway, my bids in the JFS offering tended to reflect my own valuations, but knowing what the prices realized were in the Goldberg sale was helpful as well. I probably would not have come as close as I did to winning the best coin if I didn't know what it previously brought in auction. My guess is the high bidder knew this information as well.
As an aside, I was the high internet bidder on this top piece when internet bidding closed. However, when I looked the next day, I was no longer listed as the bidder holding the highest current bid. I suppose I was outbid by a mail or phone bid, or an absentee bid submitted by someone who was there in person but could not attend the sale. I found this situation a little strange and coincidental, i.e., that I could be outbid in this way, in part because my maximum bid was nowhere near my listed high bid when the internet bidding closed, yet I was just outbid afterwards but before the floor bidding even began. So, I lost this twice-in-a-lifetime coin, for now anyway.
Losing this coin in this way had a ripple effect on the success of my other bids. Because this coin would be so expensive to own, I had to shade my bids on the remaining 7 coins that I bid on. This resulted in my losing 5 of them that, in several cases, I otherwise
might have won. Nevertheless, I did win 2: lots #4180 (an antique gold toned PCGS65 1885-o) and #4187 (a rainbow toned NGC66 1887).
The next day Heritage offered a few gem toned dollars in its regular signature sale. I agonized over bidding on the great 1882 PCGS66, which I considered a very special coin. But, in part because its best toning was on the reverse, I decided to pass. This coin bought about $5400. However, I was successful on 2 very pretty lots that I felt I received at very favorable prices. One was #6796, a PCGS66 1880-s which had the most beautiful blue toning on the obverse compared to any coin in a Pittsburgh auction. Another was an ICG67 1881-s with gorgeous rainbow toning. I rated this coin as having both higher technical quality and better eye appeal than lot #4165, one of the rainbow Toned Dollar Collection pieces graded PCGS66, and which sold for $2990. I got mine for a little less.
So, in the end, I was happy with the results. I was sorry to miss the first meeting of the Toned Coin Collectors Society on August 19. However, that day was my anniversary, and attending a coin show would not have been considered sufficiently romantic by my wife. So, instead I drove to Pittsburgh the weekend before and viewed all the Heritage lots in one day -- a long day indeed. But, it was well worth it.
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<< <i>The next day Heritage offered a few gem toned dollars in its regular signature sale. I agonized over bidding on the great 1882 PCGS66, which I considered a very special coin. But, in part because its best toning was on the reverse, I decided to pass. This coin bought about $5400. >>
Aren't you talking about the NGC MS66, or was there also a PCGS 66? I watched live, and the NGC coin went wild, the bids went by so fast I couldn't follow them.
DRUNNER
TCCS
Scott
Toned Coins for sale @ tonedcointrader.com
The date 1882-p is very scarce in gem condition with attractive toning. I've found 2 of them in 7 years of searching, both MS65's. So, when one comes alomg with color like this, in MS66 to boot, you can begin to understand why the final price reflected a toning premium of perhaps $4000.
It's somewhat interesting to note that when the internet bidding closed, I think the high bid was $2300. So, the floor bidding on this piece must have been fierce indeed.
There were a lot of nice coins in that auction. I won the only one I bid on, the pair of 85-CCs with obverse crescents.
I have exactly one example of an 1880-p, 1883-p, 1884-p, 1889-p, and the 1896-p. Each one is very pretty, but I have rarely seen any others. I have many examples of the 1885-p and 1886-p, a few of the 1887-p, and two dated 1888-p. I can't recall ever seeing nicely toned p-mint pieces, other than a few 1896-p dated ones, after 1889.
The fact is, once you get past the most common 10 or so dates in general, finding pretty pieces becomes very difficult. Yet, several forum members are on a quest to get every date in an attractively toned state. They must have a lot more patience among other things than I do. My goals are much more modest, such as simply adding a few more gem toned examples of the tougher dates to my collection.