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choosing an auction house
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9 posts in this topic

I've been asked to help liquidate a collection of US gold coins, mostly 1800s. Probably half are the sort that aren't worth much more than melt, but the rest definitely are--including some CC issues and one treasured C.

Heritage is the obvious name to consider, but I would like to consider at least one alternative in order make some comparisons. Any other numismatic auction places you would highly recommend for a high five- to low six-figure US gold collection?

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3 hours ago, JKK said:

I've been asked to help liquidate a collection of US gold coins, mostly 1800s. Probably half are the sort that aren't worth much more than melt, but the rest definitely are--including some CC issues and one treasured C.

Heritage is the obvious name to consider, but I would like to consider at least one alternative in order make some comparisons. Any other numismatic auction places you would highly recommend for a high five- to low six-figure US gold collection?

Have you considered Great Collections Jonathan?   They're pretty good for selling U.S. coins and I believe that their fees are often lower than Heritage.  It may be worth considering.  Here's their website:

https://www.greatcollections.com/

I hope that this is of some help to you, my friend.

~Tom

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Are the coins slabbed or raw?  That could make a big difference as to your options.  Assuming that these are slabbed I would second the Great Collections suggestion, I have bought and sold with Ian and have had no regrets doing so.  The only other option besides Heritage would be Stacks, I have not sold anything with either of these firms due to the high fees.  One last option is to use the BST here and/or ats, much smaller audience but it costs nothing to try.

Good luck with whatever choice you go with.

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Thank you, Tom. I will check them out.

Coinbuf, they are not yet slabbed--they are someone's inherited collection and I'm helping her figure out what to do--but it may well be the smartest thing to do. I appreciate your seconding the suggestion.

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41 minutes ago, JKK said:

Thank you, Tom. I will check them out.

Coinbuf, they are not yet slabbed--they are someone's inherited collection and I'm helping her figure out what to do--but it may well be the smartest thing to do. I appreciate your seconding the suggestion.

Jonathan...if the person you're working on selling these for hasn't had them slabbed yet, Great Collections could be a really good choice. They offer discounted submission rates at NGC, ANACS and PCGS.  Here's a link to their actual rates:

https://www.greatcollections.com/main-grading

Might be another thing to consider in this situation.

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That's part of the process, Tom, for sure. If one side offers the seller more advantages that way, then I'll have helped the seller to get the best value. I'm under no illusions that any auction company will eat the grading fees--one thing or another, the seller is the one who will pay them--but it's all part of the best overall outcome.

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16 hours ago, JKK said:

I've been asked to help liquidate a collection of US gold coins, mostly 1800s. Probably half are the sort that aren't worth much more than melt, but the rest definitely are--including some CC issues and one treasured C.

Heritage is the obvious name to consider, but I would like to consider at least one alternative in order make some comparisons. Any other numismatic auction places you would highly recommend for a high five- to low six-figure US gold collection?

For generics, auction houses are a waste of time and money.  You will net far more wholesaling them out on your own if necessary.  Consider crossing anything of large numismatic value to PCGS, and to CAC if you can get a sticker, and try selling yourself here and on the PCGS forums.  If that fails, try consigning them to a dealer.  Sometimes you net more from consignments to dealers than you would an auction house.  Doug Winter comes to mind and can move things very quickly especially if the quality and rarity are there.  Only esoteric and truly better end coins are worth considering the auction route in my opinion.  Another approach might be to submit everything to CAC through a collector (no fee for coins that don't sticker) and sell what stickers to CAC unless you are convinced you can do much better in the larger market (maybe for the very high end stuff).  Other wise a CAC bid would likely net you far more than you'll get after auction fees, and you won't have to wait for the auction to settle!

It is impossible to give more detailed advice without a list of what you're dealing with including dates, mint marks, grades, services, and quantity.

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8 hours ago, JKK said:

Thank you, Tom. I will check them out.

Coinbuf, they are not yet slabbed--they are someone's inherited collection and I'm helping her figure out what to do--but it may well be the smartest thing to do. I appreciate your seconding the suggestion.

I didn't realize everything was raw.

Discount and bulk grading are available through HLRC.  Submit it all to PCGS through Harry.  Afterwards you can solicit an offer from him but have no obligation to do so.  At least you'll know what you're dealing with at that point.  The more you submit, the better the rate you can potentially get from HLRC in terms of grading fees.

http://www.hlrc.com/Home/Services

Edited by coinman_23885
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12 hours ago, coinman_23885 said:

I didn't realize everything was raw.

Discount and bulk grading are available through HLRC.  Submit it all to PCGS through Harry.  Afterwards you can solicit an offer from him but have no obligation to do so.  At least you'll know what you're dealing with at that point.  The more you submit, the better the rate you can potentially get from HLRC in terms of grading fees.

http://www.hlrc.com/Home/Services

This is the first I've ever heard of HLRC......probably because I don't collect US material.  In looking over the website, though, it looks like it could be a good option for Jonathan as well. 

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