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Auction estimates vs. hammer price

worldcoinguyworldcoinguy Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭✭
in World & Ancient Coins Forum
Does anybody have a sense of how close the Kuenker hammer prices are to the auction estimates? I realize this question is wide open and subject to coin type, year, and country.......but I will throw it out for general thoughts or past expereinces. I am specifically interested in thoughts on German talers.

Thanks,
Brent

Comments

  • satootokosatootoko Posts: 2,720 ✭
    The only way I know of to make that kind of determination is to get the catalogs and prices realized for that auctioneer's most recent auctions, and make a comparison spreadsheet.
    Roy


    image
  • secondrepublicsecondrepublic Posts: 2,619 ✭✭✭
    Kuenker usually has extremely low auction estimates on Polish material from the 1920s and 30s. In some cases, the estimate is less than one-fifth of what the material ends up hammering for. Polish material is hot, but they keep doing this, auction after auction.
    "Men who had never shown any ability to make or increase fortunes for themselves abounded in brilliant plans for creating and increasing wealth for the country at large." Fiat Money Inflation in France, Andrew Dickson White (1912)
  • wildjagwildjag Posts: 1,335 ✭✭✭
    When I was talking to Karl Stephens in Chicago, even he was talking about how he was surprised prices were so strong in the last Kuenker auction.

    I bid over the estimate and in some cases 3 times the estimate on several coins I wanted in the last auction and ended up horribally overbid on every auction except for one image

    This is the only coin I won last time around, KM-184, well worth every penny as in hand this coin has light original champagne toning and I paid XF money for an UNC low mintage coin image

    image
  • GDJMSPGDJMSP Posts: 799 ✭
    I'm not speaking re: any particular auction house, but it is pretty much a standard that the estimates will be lower than the hammer price. They tend to do it on purpose to get more people to bid. If accurate estimates are posted many collectors will figure a given coin is out of their range and won't bother bidding. And THAT tends to bring lower prices. Which is NOT what the house wants.
    knowledge ........ share it
  • JZraritiesJZrarities Posts: 2,583 ✭✭✭
    If you are really concerned, get a catalog with prices realized and put them into a spreadsheet and you can do some of your own analysis.

    It would be VERY INTERESTING to do this for different auction houses. You might get suprised.
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