went to an auction

olmanjon · April 21, 2007 10:53AM

Saw an auction listed inthe paper-an estate of so and so, and saw several coins being offered. Got there to see the coins. in individual bags with dates on the bags. Just common morgan dollars. These coins all sold at $25 a piece plus sales tax and 10% buyers fees. I can buy these same coins from my friendly coin dealer"Smitty" for under $15. Whats wrong with these people???

Veep · April 21, 2007 10:54AM

More money than sense.

coindeuce · April 21, 2007 10:59AM

It's called country auction fever. There are usually a few auction doctors in the house that give the afflicted a proper dose of medicine that allows their nasal passages to dilate so that they can comfortably pay.

BTW - stick with Smitty - I think you're referring to the CU forum Smitty's.

StrikeOutXXX · April 21, 2007 11:03AM

I run into that with the local antique auctions. I think the biggest problem is the Redbook. The '08 doesn't have a Morgan in AU for under $30, and that's what 95% of estate/antique coin shoppers are using to base their bidding on. Most that can't grade take the middle of the redbook columns for condition and prices which is usually AU. I don't have much luck at these types of auctions on the lower priced things usually.

I just saw BU Peace for $13 and BU Morgans for $17 at the coin show I went to, greysheet or reality bids at auctions like this sometimes get blown out of the water. It's good too for times the Redbook is out of touch with reality as well though.

You have to remember, much of the time, these are the people who think their few coins in their sock drawer are going to finance their retirement.

Longacre · April 21, 2007 11:04AM

People don't know the true values of coins at these auctions. They think all old coins are very valuable.

RichieURich · April 21, 2007 11:05AM

Same thing happens at the State's unclaimed property auction. They sell Morgans, 2 to a package, usually circulated, mostly common dates, and get $50 or $60 for every lot. Then the one lot that has an 1889-CC goes for $500 and the people at the auction ask "What idiot bought that lot?" If they only knew.

skier07 · April 21, 2007 12:23PM

I deal with the public quite a bit and most people know I have an interest in coins. Most average lay people think their common date worn
Morgan is worth hundreds of dollars. When I tell them they're lucky if they can get $20 for one they are stunned.

Bruce

plansim · April 21, 2007 1:14PM

I went to one of these country auctions where prices on some items went for 5 to 10x too much. One example was a FR2 1820 Cent that went for $45. All these crazy prices seemed to be pretty much from one bidder. Almost nothing went for a sane price.

I talked to the auctioneer afterwards and he said that the bidder was the caretaker for some bedridden old fellow, who just gave her a bunch of money every time there was a coin auction and said "buy these items". I think there was probably a shill bidder who would take her up if she started bidding on something.

Country coin auctions can occasionally produce bargains, but it seems a lot of the bidders think Red Book prices are what they should be paying. There also seems to be no attention paid to which TPG service slabbed items are in. I learned about "NTC" grading at one of these auctions. How about an NTC "MS64" common date Morgan going for $75? I looked closely at that one (that is why it sticks in my memory) and it would've be lucky to get an AU53 from NGC.

A fool and his money ....

Shortgapbob · April 21, 2007 1:37PM

Sometimes you can cherrypick at auctions. People will pay a lot of money for widgets, but are often unfamiliar with varieties. I have picked up a few nice VAMs at auctions for cheap prices

roadrunner · April 21, 2007 10:06PM

Many of these "auctions" are filled with various coin dealer stocks. What a great way to remove unwanted or stale inventory.

roadrunner

tincup · April 21, 2007 11:09PM

I agree these types of auctions are really mixed bags on how the prices go. The local auction company near me has coins on a regular basis. USUALLY the prices are waaaay tooooo high. One of the last ones I went to had 4 or 5 type coins such as a couple of large cent, a flying eagle cent, two cent pieces, etc. The problem is, every one of these coins were bottom of the barrel condition--- lots of physical damage, cleaned, corroded, etc. Well, guess what.... a couple of bidders, as usual, think these were worth a fortune. Each one sold for in the $40 - $60 range. And the winning bidder clenched the coins tightly in his hand when he received them, like they were precious and he was going to be mugged. Little did he know he had already been 'mugged'.....! Each of those coins were what.... maybe 3 or 4 dollars each??

I've noticed these auctions seem to have a 'social security' factor involved. When they take place when the monthly payment has just been received, prices tend to go way high.... many of the auction attendees seem to do this as a pastime, and when they have the money, money or price seems to be no concern. Prices go high and I can seldom seem to make any buys of any sort. A couple of regular attendees actually told me this.... and they have have a house full of auction buys. It's their hobby/pastime.

BUT.... these same attendees seldom know real value. When a valuable coin does show up.... you have a chance. I picked up a 1917-D walking liberty half dollar in original AU condition for $20. And how about 1/4 ounce slabbed gold american eagle for....... $100!! But those bargains don't show up very often. You have to be there at the right time.

Shamika · April 22, 2007 12:35AM

<< <i> Saw an auction listed inthe paper-an estate of so and so, and saw several coins being offered. Got there to see the coins. in individual bags with dates on the bags. Just common morgan dollars. These coins all sold at $25 a piece plus sales tax and 10% buyers fees. I can buy these same coins from my friendly coin dealer"Smitty" for under $15. Whats wrong with these people??? >>

Trust me, there are people in other industries saying the same thing about all of us regarding some other item or another. Real estate, cars, boats, clothing, guns, golf clubs, hotels, etc. Just because we know a little about the true value of coins does not mean we don't pay dumbass prices for other items.

Michigan · April 22, 2007 12:44AM

<< <i>

<< <i> Saw an auction listed inthe paper-an estate of so and so, and saw several coins being offered. Got there to see the coins. in individual bags with dates on the bags. Just common morgan dollars. These coins all sold at $25 a piece plus sales tax and 10% buyers fees. I can buy these same coins from my friendly coin dealer"Smitty" for under $15. Whats wrong with these people??? >>

Trust me, there are people in other industries saying the same thing about all of us regarding some other item or another. Real estate, cars, boats, clothing, guns, golf clubs, hotels, etc. Just because we know a little about the true value of coins does not mean we don't pay dumbass prices for other items. >>

I paid $25 for a Coca-cola metal serving tray from the 1950s at an auction, I'm pretty sure it is original judging by the amount of wear
it has, I checked it after the fact in a Coke memorabilia guidebook. Just one of those spur of the moment bids on something I knew
nothing about.

BlackBeard · April 22, 2007 2:12AM

[qI paid $25 for a Coca-cola metal serving tray from the 1950s at an auction, I'm pretty sure it is original judging by the amount of wear
it has, I checked it after the fact in a Coke memorabilia guidebook. Just one of those spur of the moment bids on something I knew
nothing about. >>

Those are often reproduced and those that sell the repros are known to "age" them to make them appear original. I have had a couple originals and know someone who is a knowledgable collector of Coke items. You have to be real careful of those, the fakes are very convincing. There is sometimes a line of text under the rolled edge to identify it as a repro, but this is often intentionally rusted off.

went to an auction

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