First Coin Auction

gamr0n

I have never gone to an auction that has coins before, can anyone offer me any advice on what to do or not to do? I plan on making a folder with pcgs values for all the coins that will be sold at the auction. I am afraid that I will be faced with dealers or experienced collectors I think I am going to go in with a set value that I am willing to spend on each coin, and if it exceeds that value I will not bid at all.

Purple73

sit back and read dude....cause the advice your about to get will knock your socks off.....then you'll throw away that PCGS price list.

Dennis88

Sorry, don't have any advice, but

kranky

First, make sure you review the coins you want at the lot viewing.

Decide ahead of time what you want to pay, and don't forget to factor in the buyer's premium. It doesn't really matter who else is there, it shouldn't affect what your bid is. Remember that many of the people there are evaluating the coins with the thought of whether they can get the coin to upgrade (see roadrunner's thread from the other day about his observations on a recent auction), so you shouldn't be surprised if some coins go for far more than what the grade would indicate. These people make their living on knowing what will upgrade and they bet their own money on being right.

On the other hand, there are collectors who "must have" certain items, so they may be willing to overpay dramatically regardless of upgrade potential.

Auctions move very fast, so follow along carefully in your auction catalog. They don't typically announce what coin is being sold, just the lot number. There won't be any time during the bidding to stop and think about whether to raise your bid so know your limit going in. If you don't you might get carried away by "auction fever" and spend more than you planned.

eyoung429

Experience and an eye for what you like will decree what you are willing to spend, show up early to view the coins in person. You would not want to walk into an auction to purchase that *insert wanted coin here* without having:

(1) previous purchase prices realized from auctions that have occurred within the last couple of weeks to get a feel of what the collector or dealer is paying currently.
(2) a limit to what you are willing to spend on that particular coin, just because it has MS** on the label, it may not have the same colouring or luster that the other coins in your collection will match and you will have to decide prior to bidding if you will be happy with it when you set it next to your set or collection.
(3) go to a couple of auctions to get the feel of the atmosphere...... a lot of auction 'virgins' will go in with big bucks for a coin that they are not happy with once you leave the auction.
(4) Set your max bid in your mind and unless that coin is a one-of-a-kind or TOP POP....don't get caught in a bidding war just to prove you have the cojones to buy it (unless you just have so much money that you won't mind spending more for a coin than if you shopped around).

(5) Enjoy yourself and remember that at one time or another, everyone in that room was in the same position you are in now.

DrWho

be prepared for over-bidding on emotion. live auctions are that way. emotion yields overbids.

be good on raw coin grading. else you'll get stiffed.

always come away with something to make the trip worthwhile. if there is a lot of emotional bidding, bid and win on a smaller cost item, but come away with something.

understand the rules, taxes and buyers premium. don't buy the auctioneer's hype.

live auctions, IMHO, are fun. part of the fun is the emotion, but that.............see above.

mrearlygold

I'm assuming this is a large coins only auction?

First coin auction eh? Be careful! My suggestion would be to choose the top 3 coins you would like to own, research ONLY those, and bid on ONLY those.

You get one, you get one. You don't, you don't.

If you aren't used to bidding at auctions and have a large menue of coins to bid on, you will most likely get bitten by the auction fever and get buried in a bunch of coins that you really didn't want.

Have fun!

Tom

sinin1

big auction or small auction?
are you buying for resale or your collection?
know what it is you are buying


1- know how to grade - I have been to many auctions that were in 2x2's with a grade and price on the holder that were way tio high - if it says XF and is only VF, you need to adjust its value

2- unless you have very deep pockets, know how much you can spend and adjust through the auction - nothing worse than being out of money towards the end and some real bargains go through

3- be cautious of shill or phantom bidders - I went to one place that was calling bids from the back and the winner was a bidding number that was not there - their own reserve I guess

4- try to get there early for the viewing time - if you are there when the doors you have a better chance of seeing things before it starts getting crowded right before the start

5- be careful of lighting - some places with lots of flourescent lights give a misleading indication of condition - hairlines are harder to see and luster seems better than it is

6- if the listing calls a coin a rare one - make sure the date and mintmark are what they say - especially overdates

good luck


PCGS price guide? unless all slabbed by NGC and PCGS I would forget it - a magazine price guide is good enough for small local auctions

gamr0n

Thanks for the advice so far. The auction is an estate auction, there are about 350 coins that will be there, I am only interested in a select few. The coins were not listed in the paper... so I am hoping I will get lucky and get a bargain. I am mainly looking to get coins for starting my own collection. However, if I see something that I think I can resell for a profit I might go for it. If I get stiffed, then I will learn from it I guess.

What sorts of magazines have these price guides?

sinin1

price guides -> coinworld coin prices a couple others some people use greysheets

be very careful with raw gold - I would avoid unless you have alot of experience
maybe half of raw gold is counterfeit

TheRock

Check out the prices realized on Teletrade and Heritage. They are pretty accurate, but get ready for spending some money if you want key dates.