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Buying in big name auction events (Pogue)?

In regards to purchasing in hyped up big name auction events such as Pogue, Gardner, Garrett etc:

If you are a collector who must sell this coin (say 2 years later), should you be prepared to take a big hit?

Is it worth buying in these large events, knowing you may pay the peak price for a coin vs. any other auction?

Based on the previous big name sales, how long does one have to hold onto one of these peak price purchases in order to see some sort of appreciation?



Collector of Original Early Gold with beginnings in Proof Morgan collecting.

Comments

  • keyman64keyman64 Posts: 15,536 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If you are to sell within a couple of years, I would suggest you not make the purchase...unless the joy will make up for any possible loss.
    "If it's not fun, it's not worth it." - KeyMan64
    Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners. :smile:
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hard to answer as it all depends on if you bought the right or wrong coin.
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • Wabbit2313Wabbit2313 Posts: 7,268 ✭✭✭✭✭

    You generally are getting one of a kinds in the high profile auctions, so take that for what it is worth down the road. They are not making these coin any more.
  • amwldcoinamwldcoin Posts: 11,269 ✭✭✭✭✭
    The simple answer is how bad do you want the coin? If it is merely for an investment standpoint then absolutely not!
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If it's going to be a short time hold item you need to attend the auction in person and gauge your bidder competition.

    Once top dealers back off which may be bidding for a client or inventory you really need to have done your homework if you continue to bid.
    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Some of the coins from Pogue are going to be turned over one or more times right after the sale for a profit. That happens at every big auction: Norweb, Pittman, Stack, Eliasberg, Newman, etc. Just buy the right coins.

    I recall sitting through numerous big auctions over the past 30 years and seeing the big boyz consistently pull out "bargains" and mark then up. In some cases they were just a single bid increment above my high bid. I recall in one instance I got out bid for an original super gem toner (raw) 1904 US proof set. I bid something like $20K and a dealer took me out at $21K. They flipped that set for over $26K, including selling me the half for $5500! I recall many commenting how Stewart Blay bought a number of killer coins out of Eliasberg. I doubt he was looking at a loss on those the day after the sale. But just because Stewart and others can do it, doesn't mean everyone can.
    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • TopographicOceansTopographicOceans Posts: 6,535 ✭✭✭✭
    My guess is 95% will not see any appreciation in your lifetime.

    They are selling for what they are selling for because of what they are.
    They are being hyped now so anyone who wants one will bid now. In a few years from now people who missed the auction now would be few and far between.

  • valente151valente151 Posts: 1,070 ✭✭✭
    There is a coin coming up in a big name sale that I have sought for a longgggg time. I'm going for it not because of the name of the sale, but because of the opportunity. And if that opportunity costs me when I eventually sell my collection, any money lost will simply be the price I pay for the thrill of finally acquiring that coin. Every coin I buy, I buy because owning the coin will give me enjoyment. I can easily blow $100 on a night out, it wouldn't make sense for me to spend that kind of money for fun and then scoff at the idea of losing money while enjoying owning a coin.
  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,797 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Auctions drive me crazy. I just got done paying stupid money for a "dark side" coin in a no name auction. Buying coins in these name auctions is like sticking you head into a lion's mouth. Lots of risk, limited up side most of the time.
    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • lkeigwinlkeigwin Posts: 16,893 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>In regards to purchasing in hyped up big name auction events such as Pogue, Gardner, Garrett etc:

    If you are a collector who must sell this coin (say 2 years later), should you be prepared to take a big hit? >>

    I figure if you can't afford to lose it all you should not be bidding.
    Lance.
  • rheddenrhedden Posts: 6,632 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If there is a rare, must-have item in the sale, you must buy it, or else you risk not ever seeing it again in your lifetime. It probably won't show up on a dealer's website next week at a 10% mark-up. It will go into your arch-nemesis' collection and make you sick every time you see it in their Registry set for years to come.

    If you just want something from the sale as a souvenir, wait for the secondary market. Many Newman-Green coins can be purchased for around half of their original auction prices, for example, and that sale was not too long ago. I picked up a drop-dead gorgeous Newman-Green proof Barber half for less than 50% of the auction price, and I got it less than a year after it sold. Nobody even bid against me, and it's just a wonderful coin. If I had won it in the Newman-Green auction, I'd be so buried that I wouldn't be posting this message out of shame.

  • Wabbit2313Wabbit2313 Posts: 7,268 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i> I'd be so buried that I wouldn't be posting this message out of shame. >>




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