Yes, it's slightly old news...

Last Sunday's sale of the Holmes early date large cent collection was followed Monday by the sale of the Naftzger late dates. I wish I had been able to attend, as I did the Naftzger middle dates in February. Nevertheless, there was opportunity to place absentee bids and bid live on-line. Despite reports of problems with live bidding in February, I had none on Monday, and saw that other internet bidders were being recognized. Indeed, the underbidder on the lot I won was an internet bidder.

The sale included 706 lots of metal (a few lots were things like fakes and what I'd call mint scrap) plus some books. The pre-sale low estimates on the 706 lots totaled just south of $700,000, or less than $1000 per lot. The final tally, including buyers premium, was over $2.7 million, $3850 per lot (average), ($1840 median). Three lots sold for more than $50,000, the top price of $92000 going for an 1852 N-24 in PCGS PR65RB. 168 lots sold for less than $1000.

My late date set is complete, with all in MS65 or higher except for the 1841 and 1844. Those dates would be my targets. At this point in my collecting, I won't upgrade to less than 65 in the 1840s. The Naftzger collection included several potential upgrades for the 1841 (mine is MS62), and one for 1844 (mine is MS64). My current numismatic allowance is about $2000, but I could afford to spend as much as $5000 and wait for awhile to spend again! I had no assets easily convertible to cash to tap as I did in February.

My observation in February was that people are willing to pay for color, so I thought the low estimate of $2000 on a 66RB was unrealistic, and it sold for $13,800. That would be followed by two 65RB coins, also with $2000-up estimates, and my last chance would be a 65BN estimated at $1000-up. I was a bit discouraged when the first 65RB went for $8625 because I thought the other one was even better. The second 65BN sold over my limit, at $6038. That left the 65BN, which I was able to get at just over my allowance.

If sticking to my pre-sale plan, I would have bid one more time if necessary, so I think I got a good deal. However, the underbidder was not one of the dealers in the room, so they may not think so. Nevertheless, I'm pleased because I'll soon have a nice coin to replace in the set. 1841 in nice mint state has been tough to find for a few years now, although several proofs seem to be available each year.

Being that I planned to spend up to $5000, I still had my sights set on the last 1844 in the sale, a pretty 65BN. With its estimate of $1000-up, I was hopeful that results would be similar. But 1844 is another date that's tough to find this nice, and this particular coin has a bit of original color and is CC#1 for its variety. My planned limit came and went, and the lot eventually sold for $9200!

We may never see a collection like this again. Ted Naftzger's middle and late date collection was regarded as the finest ever assembled. If you haven't seen the coins, I encourage you to visit the Goldbergs' web site and check them out. Their protography is excellent, and the lot descriptions by Bob Grellman are much better than usual major auction house descriptions. The middle dates are in their archive section (sale 51), and the late dates (sale 54) is still available from their home page.