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When reading a printed or electronic auction catalog --

19 posts in this topic

Ahhh...quality as opposed to quantity....?

 

Yes. It is very obvious when a cataloger is struggling to find something nice to say about a piece, and all of the adjectives in the world will not save an awful coin.

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I much prefer them to be accurate although I understand that the auction house has two sides to please. The best is when you have a private contact in the auction house that will give you accurate information about a specific lot that interests me.

 

I've had one house that tried to pull a fast one me with regards to that, I don't want anything to do with them again.

 

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I like more verbose but I want it to be honest & impartial.

 

I like a complete description and I don't mind reading about the historical aspect, either.

 

Neither attributes nor flaws need to be embellished upon too heavily but they should, at least, be mentioned.

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I want more verbose as I can usually read in between the lines so to speak

 

sort of like giving someone enough rope ( words) and they will hang themselves

 

with enough verbage I can usually again read in between the lines

 

but

 

if I want a true, honest & impartial description of a coin I need to see in in hand sight seen MYSELF this is why I rarely if ever bid in auctions

 

sometimes auction companies if given enough time before the auction with proper references will overnight the coin to you depending on value and/or you can view it at a show before the auction

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I see what I generally expect in auction descriptions, promotion and not the information other posters here are primarily looking for.

 

Also as expected, the length of the description is frequently (if not usually) directly proportional to the estimate or current market value and I don't see that it provides much useful information that anyone posting here wants. Over the years, I have seen descriptions which in the past were or would have been practically non-existent are now verbose.

 

Of the longer ones, some I think are excellent but disproportionately I find them almost totally hyperbole.

 

The quality of the images vary but given the detail descriptions on the quality which contributors on this forum actually want and the price points at which the coins are bought, I don't believe I have seen even one which contains sufficient information. This is also totally expected because it isn't economical to do it.

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I'd like catalogs to print good photos....a good picture is worth a 1000 words. The text can offer some variety info or other historical info and maybe point out some flaws. But still...I think these days it is important for the auction companies to offer good photos.

 

jom

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I like interesting colour names, like russet and vermilion and crimson and stuff like that. Reminds me of the Crayola days of my youth. But as a former photo lab guy, I know all catalog photos are just blended cyan, magenta, and yellow (and some black too, I guess). At any rate, all CMYK printing, even the good stuff, has a finite and limited gamut, and some coin colours aren't within it, so sometimes no photo can adequately represent the coin. That's why it can pay to examine a coin in hand when possible. This is why people at major shows spend time in lot viewing rooms.

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That's what I liked about James' descriptions when he worked for Scotsman. He didn't pull any punches.

 

Chris

Chris, I still write the catalogs :) !

 

Now you tell me! :sorry:

 

Chris :hi:

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If the information is intended to accurately describe the coin, give background information/history etc then I prefer verbose. If it is merely done to hype the coin then I prefer tacturn.

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