Previous Auction Prices & the "Moral of the Story"

[Catbert]

I really found this article by Doug Winter to be fascinating......

 

http://www.coinlink.com/News/general-collecting/when-auction-records-don%E2%80%99t-tell-the-whole-story/

 

"the moral of the story is don’t let previous auction prices keep you from making intelligent numismatic decisions."

 

Do you have a similar story to tell?

[MikeKing]

Well, sure, healthy unmolested coins can bring more money than lousy examples, and lousy examples can bring more money than great examples, and some dealers will command a premium price for a premium coin, and the next day tell you your coin is (not so bluntly) or even if not telling you your coin is , offering a price way below recent auction results without any regard for the quality of the coin.

 

It's like when I went to sell my house during Desert Storm, my realtor said to me when I got a low offer...Michael, after all, we're at war!

 

Between my buying and selling that house, she made a helluva lot of money.

[World Colonial]

The moral of the story should be to use auction prices properly. In this instance, it happened to be that the dealer thought that prior prices were too low. Given the current economy, its more likely now that prior prices for many coins will be too high. (I would disagree that this pedigree deserves any premium. I've heard of this collection but so what.)

 

This is especially true for coins that are common, which is most of them, even including many coins that many collectors do not think are common.

 

The problem this article raises is a potential issue for any coin with an infrequent sales history which for what I collect, is most of them. This is true even though no coin I own is anywhere near as expensive as an 1855-D quarter eagle.

 

[EZ_E]

Thanks for the link. I've been reading many fascinating articles found on Doug Winter's website.

 

http://www.coinlink.com/Articles/page/2/

[Scott Gardener-migration]

Thanks for the article. It's a reminder that two coins with the same date, mint mark, grade, and certifying company aren't necessarily equal. (I just re-read a bit through Scott Traver's survival manual earlier today, too, so this issue was still fresh on my mind.)

[thebeav]

It's like when I went to sell my house during Desert Storm, my realtor said to me when I got a low offer...Michael, after all, we're at war!

 

Between my buying and selling that house, she made a helluva lot of money.

 

That's amazing !

 

She may as well have said, "You know Michael, the red cars aren't selling that well this month".

 

Paul