Just attended my first local live auction...
erwindoc
Posts: 5,287 ✭✭✭✭✭
All I can say is wow! The collection came from an inherited estate and the consignors didn't know what they had. I must say that it was an impressive collection, broken up into 170+ lots. It ranged from boxes of rolls of wheat cents all the way to $20 Lib/St. Gaudens and the grades varied from high MS all the way to avg circulated junk. Lots of local paper money as well which I thought was pretty unusual. Common stuff was going for more than prices on ebay and throw in the 10% buyers premium and 9.5% sales tax and prices were very strong to say the least! I was planning on bidding on a few auctions, but the opening bid was more than I was willing to pay as my max bid.
Anyone have similar experience?
2
Comments
Consignors didn't know what they had but things sold very strong and more than you were willing to pay...? Sounds like they did well!
I've come across some coin lots at local auction houses, but they're usually pretty boring. Not without value, just boring.
Last week at an antique mall in Tacoma I found a PCGS MS66 slabbed common date Walker for a great price. That made me happy since I'm always looking and rarely finding ANYTHING coin and decent.
I also attended a local estate sale auction. From dreck to some really nice stuff, coins and paper money. Prices were strong, in some cases stronger than sales at this auction house in 2014-15 (none in 2016).
Just regular collectors looking for a good deal or shoring up their Lincoln/Morgan--and everything in between--collections. Junk silver prices were also fairly strong, as some of the rolls were ok circulateds (good for a G-VG Whitman folder) and not just culls or run-down Barber or Walker/Merc rolls.
Also, in addition to the strong prices, the turnout was high.
As to your final question, yes. I ended up only snagging one lot for the right price (mine, LOL). I didn't have a big attack plan, since lot preview took place only before the auction and the event was about 180 miles from where I live.
I had some strong bids for a few items--a couple for my collection and couple I sought to flip--but, alas, I was unsuccessful.
Cheers!
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
These local auctions are often well rigged by the players from shill bidding to reserves. They might call it an estate sale though often it's just recycled dealer stocks from out of the area to appear fresh. The auction house is going to win every time. Some of the auctions are legit and truly fresh, good luck finding them. And when you do, you can bet every dealer shark from 500 miles away will know about it. Usually the prices are strong as uninformed bidders see coins they have never seen before and assume they must be rare. For the dozen or so auctions like this I've done over the years, they have rarely panned out...and I regretted wasting my time. But there's always a chance of lightning striking. Still waiting to be hit.....
I have attended live auctions (not coins)...and the testosterone fever rules the bidding... I have seen things go for more money than they could be purchased for new a few blocks away.... Ridiculous.... Cheers, RickO
My limited experience with local house and farm auctions that had coins in them was that they were a waste of time. Quite often there were bidders there with more money than brains or information. An British coin that would go for 50 cents from a junk box brought $15. Worn out Indian Cents from the 1890s and 1900s brought $4 or $5 apiece in lots of three or four.
The best item, which actually only went for only a little more than what it was worth, was an Indian $2.50 gold piece in EF-AU. I almost "fainted" when the auctioneer literally pitched it out into the crowd (It was bare with no flip or holder around it.)to the winning bidder who must have been a good friend or a well known customer.
This was my thoughts when I left.
I've been to two live auctions with no real success. First one was out in the country and I thought I'd have a chance at the coin lots but too many auctioneer shills that bid them up to stupid levels.
The only auction that I thought was real was the local sheriff's auction. I picked some paper money up at reasonable prices and flipped for a profit rather easily. The silver I bid on went beyond my max but did not go above retail.
bob:)
I consign to these type of auctions all the time. Usually once or twice a month.
i forgot all about them. i havent been to one in years. maybe its an idea to go take a look again.
Many years ago I went to an auction,mixed lots-coins and other items. A gentleman sat in the crowd with some sort of a price guide.Soon as the bidding started he topped just about 90% of all bidders. To this day I swear he was just "buying" back his own coins as the bids were probably not to his liking. Or was the house shill. It's why I don't bother with auctions anymore.
Huh. Clearly not the experiences I have had, but I'm sure it's different in different parts of the country.
The auction house I have frequently attended does not have the shill bidders, or otherwise I would not have purchased strong, graded materials or even raw pieces in truly collectible grades (a raw half dime that went MS 65 at PCGS) for decent wholesale money--not moon money, but dealer-to-dealer prices.
The bulk of the attendees have been locals, and they occasionally spend some serious money on their Lincolns and Morgans. But nothing really more than retail.
I've attended nearly every show in the area, and I recognize almost all the dealers. One local dealer, who specializes in bullion, attended along with me back in 2015. He bought gold at melt. Solid stuff, wish I had had a bigger checkbook. No running up the bids or collusion to keep things low.
Your experiences elsewhere may poo-poo my impressions and the my results, but to each their own.
And for hat matter, while some here also criticize estate sales, the ones here are fairly and efficiently run. Some truly great prizes--the "lightning strikes," if you will--have happened. I know, because I've purchased them. They are graded and CACed (in a few cases).
Doing what the forum encourages, buying the coin not the holder, reading before you buy, studying, etc. have all played out well. Does it happen every week? No, certainly not. But the effort hasn't been without reward.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
Now that I'm retired I go to these auctions a few times a week and I am simply amazed at the prices, 2016 AGE in cardboard 2x2 selling for $2000 an oz. it doesn't matter the size. They had the 24K Standing Liberty Quarter and Walking Liberty Half Dollar, the starting bid was more than the mint is selling them for. Silver bullion bars sell for more than they can be bought from SilverTowne, before the juice is added. When I leave I wonder if all the other folks at the auctions or nuts or I'm way behind the times on prices.
I used to sell Morgan sliders to an auctioneer.
He'd buy about 20 a week and put them in his own auction.
He'd at least double his money on "local" rubes.
Maybe I've found a unicorn. Nothing of the sort happening here. Common date Morgans bid to no more than what you might see for retail in any B&M. Culls going for little more than melt. Gold (classic, commems, bullion) going for a touch over melt (no different than at a show) or for close to numismatic value if a good date.
Not moon money. These folks may have deep pockets but they are hardly "rubes."
I HAVE seen that type of auction setting, and avoid those lots like the plague. Again, education is the rule.
Oh, and no juice at this auction.
I will say how funny it is that this forum persistently laments the impending demise of the hobby/business and then proceeds to attack any collector less informed or unwilling to buy materials through traditional channels (the right auction, dealers, B&M, etc.) as deficient in some manner.
Nearly every attendee at the auction on Sunday had at least a Redbook or numismatic magazine. A couple folks had CDNs, as I did, and at least two people (myself included) had an iPad or laptop, as the venue had wifi. I was looking at PCGS auction results as well as eBay sold auctions for pricing, as well as the other resources and my own knowledge gleaned from research I conducted prior to the auction.
Caveat emptor applies in all situations. If someone gets caught up in a bidding war, or buys culls for double retail, that's their problem and their choice. Astute attendees will ignore those lots.
Perhaps the need to rip and flip pushes some who comment here out of the equation. That's ok too. If the need is to turn a four figure profit from an auction, let's say, then this country auction isn't your game.
But for a collector like me and clearly other collectors in this area, these auctions deal in decent collector-quality coins at reasonable prices. It's unlikely most of these folks will head to Denver in August for the ANA. They could care less what the bourse floor thinks of them.
And I'll continue to scout for great opportunities and pay no juice.
To each their own!
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.
And as for distinguishing real estate sales from the hyped dealer junk dumps touted as estates, it takes only a couple minutes to figure out if a person has recently deceased.
For instance, at an estate sale in 2015, many amazing coins were featured, including GSA Morgans in their original packaging and labels. The label address matched the address of the sale, and since the name was there it was easy to find that the gentleman who passed had done so just 2 months prior.
Not rocket science nor something that required a great deal of investigative prowess. The GSAs had the feeling that they had been opened as little as twice--once by the owner and then by the estate sale company. They were fresh and crisp even though they were over 40 years old. Also, few fingerprints--no repackaging or mixups or anything nefarious.
Oh yes, one of them was an 1878 CC that I had graded as MS 65 by our hosts. Another unicorn! He also had a nearly complete set of Walkers in Whitman folders, including a gem of a circulated 1921-D that went G4 at PCGS. No cleaned coins or other crap in these folders. Clearly the collector knew his coins or had a solid dealer as he accumulated his holdings.
And just to clarify, I've been to many estate sales for lots of different things, as I don't just collect coins. There is a lot of trash but there are many hidden diamonds in the rough. This is MUCH different than the "estate sale" ruse used on eBay. Although even in that instance, I know some estate sale junkies who run profitable eBay stores selling materials from the same estate sales I attend.
Finally, thanks to @erwindoc for the thread.
Gonna get me a $50 Octagonal someday. Some. Day.