No, not the importance of the Peter Sellers movie...

As you may recall, recently I was a little excited about a nice purchase from the Dan Holmes Collection of Late Date Large Cents, sold a couple weekends ago by M&G/Goldberg.

It seemed to me that I should have gotten a bill by now, so I checked the website. The results page showed my bid amount as the winning bid, but in the "My Purchases" area, there was nothing. So I called.

Apparently there was some website glitch. Despite the fact that it told me I had won the lot during the live bidding, their records show that the lot was won by a floor bidder who is a prominent EAC dealer.

So there's a good chance I'll see the coin in Baltimore in a couple months, if it doesn't get sold in Sacramento or some non-show transaction before then. I'll tell him the story. But now the buyer's premium will be higher, I fear.

So... As I have written before, it is worthwhile going to the actual auction venue if you want to be sure your bids are properly executed. But how many of us have the free time and travel money to go to all the significant auctions?