How did the Richard Stuart Collection get disbursed?

jgenn

I introduced myself to @MrEureka at the Baltimore show and had a brief chat about the Richard Stuart Collection after seeing the beautiful Guatemala columnario he had on display. These coins of Latin America have a special NGC label and have been coming to auction, a few at a time. Andy mentioned that the collection was first made available to some select individuals rather than going directly to auction. By the way, worldnumismatics.com currently has a nice obituary of Richard Stuart on their landing page.

I'm curious about how these private deals take place and would appreciate some insider insight. How often do significant collections get disbursed this way? Is the trend for collections to go directly to public auction changing with the popularity of on-line bidding? Did the Stuart collection heirs realize the best value or was that not a concern?

As a small-time "retail" collector, I find myself on the outside looking in. It's my fault for not establishing strong relationships with the top dealers in my areas of interest. Coming into coin collecting relatively recently, I fell under the illusion that on-line auctions were an adequate way to do-it-on-my-own. Of course, now I realize that collecting coins has a depth that takes a good deal of experience to appreciate. Kind of like a fine wine.

~jack

MrEureka

I can't say I know all the details, but I can share the following. Yes, a large portion of the collection was sold privately to collectors. However, some portions of the collection were never offered to collectors and instead went straight to auction.

Boosibri

My Richard Stuart coin, courtesy of the above forum member. Note PCGS seemed to disregard my note to keep the provenance.

7Jaguars

I got a couple at the Stack's auction at NYINC.

jgenn

Dan Sedwick has some Richard Stuart provenance coins in his upcoming auction.

jt88

I bought some from ha, some raw but I think one of them is fake. The weight is off. I did not bother to ask ha since is only 200 or 300.

MrEureka

@jt88 said:
I bought some from ha, some raw but I think one of them is fake. The weight is off. I did not bother to ask ha since is only 200 or 300.

If it's fake, Heritage would want to know.

Abuelo

Many are on eBay, but no idea on how the entire collection was sold on who handled that. Many rarities I wish I had the chance to see. So hard to find dealers with CAR coins...

7Jaguars

These are still being disbursed to my understanding. Andy knows more details...

Abuelo

For sure eBay is full of them. It would have been an incredible sale if handled by a large auction house. Bits and pieces here and there I think very likely decreased the monetary return for the heirs.

MrEureka

It should be obvious, but many collectors and dealers take great pleasure in finding the best possible home for their coins. So if you want to be offered more coins, let the right people know what you're collecting, share your knowledge and enthusiasm, and show off enough of your purchases to prove you're a serious buyer.

7Jaguars

Hmmm, that is a pretty blatant hint. Thing is, many of us are a bit private with just a touch of bravado displayed now and then. Doesn't mean we are not serious however.....Well, I hope to land a few bits come the sale you spoke of Andy.

MrEureka

@7Jaguars said:
Hmmm, that is a pretty blatant hint. Thing is, many of us are a bit private with just a touch of bravado displayed now and then. Doesn't mean we are not serious however.....Well, I hope to land a few bits come the sale you spoke of Andy.

Blatant hint? I thought it was clear advice. Interesting...