American Numismatic Rarities (the company)

[kranky]

I'm surprised by how quickly the ex-Bowers and Merena folks got a new company established -- they'll be conducting an auction at Baltimore in July.

 

Notwithstanding the many years of experience each of them have, it's still impressive to me that they got all the legal stuff, a location, consignments, etc. wrapped up so fast. I don't think they are doing any retail sales right now (I wonder how much it would take to stock a B&M-type retail operation; it's probably a lot).

 

It got me to thinking that in most businesses it's practically impossible to jump in from scratch and be seen as a market leader unless your name is Microsoft.

 

What do you think - is the coin business so dependent on name recognition (which implies reputation) that it's one of the few where people in a brand-new business don't really have to "work their way up" from the bottom?

[shylock]

I'm hoping they eventually expand their very new website to include on-line bidding, etc... They really did put this company together fast and it will be interesting to watch it grow. I'm sure their combined years of experience streamlined the process and inspired the utmost confidence in their first consignors. I look at them as an established company operating under a new name.

 

Larry Steve's impressive Indian cent variety collection will be part of that first auction in July. I know he had negotiated with at least one other major auction house over the past year. The fact he chose ANR speaks well for them.

[chrisfuccione]

It's great to see them back in business. My question is how long do you think B&M will stay in business now? CHRIS

[truthteller]

In the numismatic hobby, the industry is very small, and you can start up a new company easily if your reputation is good. Many dealers will give you 30-60 days on payment and let you take coins on consignment. Of course, if you have a rotten reputation, say adios.

 

TRUTH