Missed it by that much

This was only my second time bidding in a Heritage online auction. The live auction was held this weekend at the FUN show in Florida. I was bidding on a key date for my Washington quarter set, a 1936 D NGC AU53. I had the winning bid at 220 when the online auction closed. Rarely am I willing to pay what I would consider full retail price for a coin. I realize there are nicely toned, condition rarity or CAC coins that go for more than retail, but I am normally not a bidder in that market. With the 17.5 % buyer's premium plus shipping the cost to me at a 220 bid was about 265. The Numismedia and PCGS price guides have this AU53 at 275, although the previous Heritage auction history showed 2 sold at 299 and one for 345. The final winning bid was 240, or 282 with the BP.

I guess I could look at this as a lesson learned regarding which pricing is more reliable, at least for this coin. I really would have liked to have had this coin in my collection as it seems to be hard to find in the AU levels and too expensive for me at the MS levels. Looking back the coin itself was not a great example for the grade for me to be willing to pay top dollar, but obviously somebody disagreed. It has been said many times at this site, patience is a requirement of this hobby, so I guess I will keep waiting for whenever the chance comes around again and hopefully apply the lessons learned.

Best of luck in your coins searches and thanks for reading! Dave

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