Big Disappointment

Yorkshireman

Last week I had a coin consigned to the Heritage internet auction. To say I am disappointed in the results is a understatement!

The coin in question is a beautifully toned (IMO) 1897 Half Crown. I paid $300 about two years ago (Retail). Heritage posted an estimate of $300-$400, which I had hoped was low but that amount would have been satisfactory.
The coin hammered for $210, so I took a bath. The consignment director talked me out of setting a reserve. Now, I really regret not doing so.

Has anyone here had a similiarly bad experience?
I realize auctions can be a risk for sellers, but I think this is severe.

I am concerned because I have a much nicer coin (an MS64 "Bull Head"1817 Half Crown, also beatifully toned) consigned to Heritage's upcoming CICF April auction. I do not want to get burned again. I fully intend to put a reserve there.
The estimate they posted seems very low based on what similiar coins have sold for. I paid over twice that from a very reputable dealer who is well know on these forums (at least on the U. S. coin side.)

I posted both of these coins on BST last December before consigning while at the FUN show. I did not receive any inquiries.

My ONLY reason for selling is I am trying to focus my collection a bit.

Any thoughts? What went wrong?

These photos really do not do justice to either coin.

lordmarcovan

Sorry to hear it. How were the auction photos?

I have never consigned to an auction firm. Maybe if I had more 4-figure-plus material, but I would prefer to sell myself (here first, then eBay) than take a risk AND have to pay a middleman on top of that.

They look like nice coins. Sorry it was a letdown.

Yorkshireman

No, I did not try Ebay. The auction photo for the 1897 was good. The 1817 photo is great.
Go check it out on HA.com.

I figured the Heritage crowd would bring a good price.

harasha

From personal experience and from my brother's experiences, I am not comfortable with auction houses (I have toned my thoughts down, quite a bit).

SmEagle1795

That's frustrating, but certainly not unheard of. Auctions are always a mixed bag and it's often wise to put a reserve on consigned coins.

For every deal collectors get when buying coins at auction, there is likely a disappointed consignor on the other end.

I've sold some coins for five-figure losses and others for five-figure gains. Over time, if you keep honing your approach, you'll likely make back what you lost, or at least you have freed up capital and paid a relatively low "tuition".

It also never hurts to offer a coin back to the dealer who sold it to you. Some dealers are bad at this, but I know many are really very accommodating (especially if I were to guess what dealer you bought the coin from). They need to pay the bills, but unless you're sure you'll make a profit at auction, sometimes it's worth taking a 5-10% hit selling it back to the dealer you bought it from in the interest of having the money in-hand much faster and not having to deal with the stress of an auction. You also then have the flexibility of trading up, if you find something of interest in their stock.

Zohar

For more common items I would sell on my own managing my gain/loss. For scarcer material select the auction house based on reach and placement in catalog which is critical.

coinkat

I agree with Zohar

edited to add: You can even consign to a dealer that has a following in certain specialized areas... I have done this ranging from satisfying to excellent results.

JCMhouston

Sorry to hear about taking the loss. As you already mentioned reserves be good, timing is also critical. I know for instance I'm not spending any real money, unless something really rare pops up, because there are a bunch of rarities coming up at CICF next month. For those of us with limited resources it sometimes means going a month or two with very limited buying to get ready for a large sale.

Also want to add that in general I think coins graded 64 or lower can be real bargains right now. I think a lot of people buy strictly by the slab grade and they have been told that only 65's or better are worth collecting, they don't seem to care that the 64 might be the best looking coin in the series. The premiums between the grades is getting almost as ridiculous as US coins.

lordmarcovan

Yes, one has to wonder about the timing. You mentioned it being last December before FUN. That could've had something to do with it right there?

Dennis88

Sorry to hear about this. A couple of remarks:

1) more common British in grades up to MS64 is soft right now; gems and true high end coins continue to do well, but the sub-$1000 coins sell slowly. I have a few on my website that are somewhat similar to the coin you sold at HA; it takes time to sell them

2) I don't want to call the HA internet-only world auction that is conducted weekly the industry's best kept secret, but it is not something that attracts thousands upon thousands of bidders each week either. Personally I would never consign anything to a weekly auction at Heritage; while some of the material sells above what I expect it to go for a lot of coins don't. Combine this with overall relatively poor photography and descriptions and you have a place where occasionally deals can be found. That's good for a buyer, not so much for a seller.

3) The coin you have consigned for the CICF auction should do better for a couple of reasons:
a) Somewhat better date
b) It's toned somewhat attractive (I would expect the coin to look better in hand, as in your picture it shows a tad dark)
c) CICF is a better marketed auction, with printed catalogs and the opportunity for potential bidders to view the coins in hand prior to the auction
d) Generally speaking the CICF auction brings strong prices.

BUT, and this is important, markets fluctuate. Just because you bought a coin for x amount a few years ago doesn't mean that you will be able to instantly sell the coin at auction for that same amount plus an eventual profit. It always takes two bidders to realize a good sale price at auction and there can always be a reason why some bidders fail to bid (the cat unplugged the computer, the flight got cancelled, the bidder got stuck in the bathroom during the auction....etc etc etc. You get the idea). If there's only one or no bidders, the coin could be as valuable as a moonstone signed by Neil Armstrong, but it won't go up on price.

As for estimates, they are just that. Estimates. They're pretty much best guesses that for whatever reason still get printed in the world coins & currency catalogs. There are so many coins where an estimate is so useless that I don't even pay attention to them anymore. I've bought coins for 10x the estimate at an HA auction and a few weeks later sold that coin for a profit, I've paid half the estimate for others and have struggled to break even.

Dennis

Yorkshireman

Dennis,
Thanks for the great advice and encouragement.

LochNESS

Some really good points here. A thread worth bookmarking, I think, as many of us plan to liquidate our collections (or at least parts) when the time comes.

Hussulo

Sorry to hear about your experience. I recently had a similar one but it wasn't a coin. I bought a Chinese hand carved vase for £880. I've seen similar ones selling for around £1500. I consigned it to a local Edinburgh auction (the sale was in London) it was given an estimate of £600-800. I thought it was a not low but might attract s bidding battle. I didn't set a reserve and the hammer price was £380. Bath big time!

ajaan

Hus,
OUCH!!!