Curious auction pricing
desslok
Posts: 310 ✭✭✭
On Heritage, identical coins except for the grade.
Lot #35172: 1955 Indonesia Specimen 50 Sen coin graded PCGS SP 65, estimated at $300-$400 with a start of $150.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/indonesia/indonesia-republic-aluminum-specimen-50-sen-1955-sp65-pcgs-/a/3063-35172.s
Lot #35173: 1955 Indonesia Specimen 50 Sen coin graded PCGS SP 62, estimated at $500-$600 with a start of $250.
https://coins.ha.com/itm/indonesia/indonesia-republic-specimen-50-sen-1955-sp62-pcgs-/a/3063-35173.s
The SP-62 is estimated and started at a higher price than the SP-65. We're not talking about different venues, or auctions taking place years apart; these are two consecutive lots in the same auction. Kinda strange, don't you think?
I actually e-mailed Heritage just out of curiosity, and they replied that it was due to a higher reserve by the consignor of the 62. Still, I would think that if an auction house places an estimate, it should make sense.
Comments
It makes as much sense as the owners of the pieces want more or less money. Not uncommon, the market will correct them...
I've encountered this first hand while doing some cataloging. As they responded, it is a case of one coin (the nicer of the two) having a lower reserve (or no reserve at all from the consignor), and the lesser graded of the two having a fairly 'pushy' reserve for the grade. The dilemma is either to raise the estimate of the higher graded piece so that it makes sense in comparison to the lesser graded piece (and possibly putting it in an area where bidders may not support it and it go unsold), or reject the lesser graded due to too high (in comparison to the higher graded) of a reserve. Scenarios like the one you pointed out are the compromise---though admittedly, they do always look odd when encountering next to one another.
Jeremy Bostwick
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One is aluminum and the other is copper-nickel.
Gobrecht's Engraved Mature Head Large Cent Model
https://www.instagram.com/rexrarities/?hl=en
Thanks for the heads-up !!!
This could be true, but it's not mentioned on the slab label or in the auction description.
The images of the coins do seem to be very different in color, but as we all know, coins can look different in photos. PCGS gave these the same PCGS catalog number (393844) and the same KM number on the label (KM-Pn2). One auction says aluminum while the other does not specify the metallic composition. The difference in type was not cited as a reason of the price difference by the Heritage representative that responded to my e-mail .
I know that in case of other countries, specimen coins have been known to be struck in different metals. I wonder if PCGS botched this submission slightly by not making a differentiation between the different types, if they are indeed struck in different metals.
Krause states there are only two known.
I suppose that was before the liquidation of the King's Norton Mint archive. I don't know how many are known, but PCGS certified 15 of them:
https://pcgs.com/pop/valueview.aspx?s=393844
I see this happens in HA all the time. You never can trust HA estimate. You need to do your home work otherwise HA will kill you live.
I also got outbid by 1C all the time on HA. I never bother with it. HA wants to push up the price I just let them do it. If the price I think is OK then I will bid more if not then I will not bid even 1C more.