Auction heartache

[Roman Collector]

You know me.

So, when this one came up at Savoca Blue (their low-end auction) ...

... I hoped it might go unappreciated and hammer for a price I could afford. After all, it's not slabbed or in high grade. Nonetheless, I put in a bid I'd have a hard time justifying to my wife. But in the end, it's easier to obtain forgiveness than permission. So I bid the equivalent of a round trip plane flight for two to Los Angeles, hoping to get the coin for about 1/2 of my maximum bid.

But no. I got outbid and who knows how high my competitor would have gone if I were in a bidding war with him.

I'm bidding on several other coins at various auctions today, and I think I've won one of them, so I won't be empty-handed, but this was the one I wanted the most. I'm heartbroken.

[David Atherton]

I'm sorry to read this RC. I experienced the same heartbreak twice over the past month trying to win a rare Titus. Happily yesterday I was able to finally win one...so, hang in there my friend!

[shanxi]

It wasn't me !

[Ryro]

That thing was a beauty. Sorry my man. 

1 hour ago, Roman Collector said:

So I bid the equivalent of a round trip plane flight for two to Los Angeles, hoping to get the coin for about 1/2 of my maximum bid.

On the plus side, we're bound to have a great time painting LA red. When's our flight😜

[ambr0zie]

Of course that was a special coin, fully agree. Main strong point is the left facing bust and I would also add the toning (my favorite toning for silver). 

BUT, even if I hate losing a coin I badly want, I prefer the heartache of losing it instead of the headache of paying more than I am comfortable with. 

Who knows, perhaps the winner is a certain collector who will soon ask in a different forum if this... Fostina 'es it rare'. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by ambr0zie

[ominus1]

2 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

it's easier to obtain forgiveness than permission.

...wish i'd thought of that...:P

[kirispupis]

I was bidding at the same Savoca auction, though not on any Roman coins.

I bid on a (for me) massive 14 coins. This time, I did all proxy bids since I couldn't be present for most of the auction. The coins were divided into six Greek coins that I really wanted and 8 Judea and Nabataean that I kind of wanted (OK, I really wanted two of them). 

I thought I put pretty strong bids on the six Greek coins, but I lost every one of them. 😞 

I had a bit more luck on the second half. I won seven of eight, including one - an Aristoboulos and Salome - that I probably shouldn't have picked up. I did get my top two targets there, though, which were my top targets overall for the auction.

My guess is that the low Euro combined with tariffs now on UK auction goods has made German auctions very popular.

[CPK]

Ugh, I hate that feeling of missing out like that! You have my sympathy, @Roman Collector!

I remember noticing that denarius, but I wasn't particularly interested and had no idea of its rarity.

Like @kirispupis, I had a number of bids on some Judaean coins - I ended up winning a couple - but not the ones I really wanted (Lots 472 and 479). Did you score either of those?

It did seem like the bidding was higher than usual on this Blue auction. But I think I got some decent deals. 

[kirispupis]

40 minutes ago, CPK said:

Like @kirispupis, I had a number of bids on some Judaean coins - I ended up winning a couple - but not the ones I really wanted (Lots 472 and 479). Did you score either of those?

I did win 479 (sorry). If it helps, that was one of my top two targets for the auction as I wanted something from John Hyrcanus and felt this was the best one. My other top target was a Nabataean (530) that I also won. Both of those coins are for my Kingdoms After Alexander collection. I didn't bid on 472 as I only wanted one coin from Hyrcanus.

[CPK]

24 minutes ago, kirispupis said:

I did win 479 (sorry). If it helps, that was one of my top two targets for the auction as I wanted something from John Hyrcanus and felt this was the best one. My other top target was a Nabataean (530) that I also won. Both of those coins are for my Kingdoms After Alexander collection. I didn't bid on 472 as I only wanted one coin from Hyrcanus.

Ha! That's funny. It was a nice one, hope I didn't run the price up too much for you! 😉

[robinjojo]

I understand the dilemma very well, maintaining a relatively harmonious marriage and meeting life's necessities while pursuing one's passion.  It is truly a delicate balance.  My wife was not happy with my numismatic forays and I did try to limit them, but in the end I was just deluding myself, such are human frailties.  Today's generally frantic auction scene certainly doesn't help.

Since my wife died in 2009 from a stroke, life has indeed been bitter sweet, giving me ultimate leeway in matters financial, but at the same time much darkness.  The only thing I can suggest is having open, frank conversations that can lead to understanding and mutually agreeable path forward, in other words, compromise.

[Severus Alexander]

So sorry you missed out on that one, RC!! 😭

I had it on watch but it went over my head in the pre-bidding.  Sadly, Savoca isn't the venue it once was... stuff doesn't fly under the radar very often, there are just too many radars scanning!

That said, I did manage to win a couple things, though not cheaply.  I couldn't have imagined paying 60 euros for a barbarous radiate, but I just HAD to have this dinosaur:

 

To add my own sob story, though... I find it even worse to miss out on something due to stupidity vs. being outbid.  There was an extremely rare first issue Rome mint Diocletian follis in Roma a couple years ago that stayed low. (I'm trying to compile the set.)  I was tracking the closing time, flipped over to look at some other tab in my browser, and when I came back, it was busy closing and I didn't have time to enter my bid!  Dumb, dumb, dumb!  That one still comes back to haunt me. 😢

Edited September 26, 2022 by Severus Alexander

[happy_collector]

I understand your heart-broken feeling, RC. It really is a cool and rare coin. Left facing and with one of her earlier portraits. Such a great combination. I overslept and totally forgot about the whole auction.   😅

[seth77]

2 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

So sorry you missed out on that one, RC!! 😭

I had it on watch but it went over my head in the pre-bidding.  Sadly, Savoca isn't the venue it once was... stuff doesn't fly under the radar very often, there are just too many radars scanning!

That said, I did manage to win a couple things, though not cheaply.  I couldn't have imagined paying 60 euros for a barbarous radiate, but I just HAD to have this dinosaur:

 

To add my own sob story, though... I find it even worse to miss out on something due to stupidity vs. being outbid.  There was an extremely rare first issue Rome mint Diocletian follis in Roma a couple years ago that stayed low. (I'm trying to compile the set.)  I was tracking the closing time, flipped over to look at some other tab in my browser, and when I came back, it was busy closing and I didn't have time to enter my bid!  Dumb, dumb, dumb!  That one still comes back to haunt me. 😢

Ah, the Victorinus with the Iguanodon reverse very rare and with lots of historical and prehistorical implications.

[ambr0zie]

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

I had it on watch but it went over my head in the pre-bidding.  Sadly, Savoca isn't the venue it once was... stuff doesn't fly under the radar very often, there are just too many radars scanning!

That said, I did manage to win a couple things, though not cheaply.  I couldn't have imagined paying 60 euros for a barbarous radiate, but I just HAD to have this dinosaur:

I must agree with you. 200%. In the last months I have been noticing an abundance of radars, mine is already in the last rows. I still manage to get a coin or 2 from time to time though. If I compare with how it was 1 year or 1 year and a half ago, the difference is massive. But I am still glad I managed to buy some great stuff from them. Generally, a lot of rare and interesting coins with good prices.

I superficially scanned the last auction a few days ago (I didn't intend to participate and I didn't) but I noticed the T-Rex. I was going to post that pic for a future thread of Numismatic Nonsense or something similar =))

 

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

I find it even worse to miss out on something due to stupidity vs. being outbid.

I agree with you 300%. If I lose a coin because the hammer is higher than what I am comfortable with, I do not regret it. I am a passionate collector and I spend large sums (for my income). But the hobby has a limit. If I want a coin, there are 2 conditions: 1. I like the coin (in all aspects - it fits my collecting areas, it has a pleasant design, the conservation is OK...) 2. it fits my budget. Of course point 2 is subjective and for other people a 500 EUR denarius (plus fees) might be cheap, especially if it's rare, but not for me.

But yep, losing a coin because of stupidity is frustrating. A few months ago I participated in an auction with a single target - a RR denarius. Not rare but very popular. There were 3 of them in the auction, in this order: 1. a good example 2. a decent example but small flan (cannot clarify the subtype) 3. one poorly struck

1.

2.

3.

 

I was, or I thought I was, paying attention and waiting for coin number 1 to be live. For some reason I disabled the sound for the auction (no idea why). When there were 10-15 coins before that lot I decided it's a good idea to check a sports website. Blinked a few times and when returning to the auction's browser tab, coin 1 was sold (cheaply!), coin 2 remained unsold and coin 3 was live. Won it. Also bought coin 2 after I discussed with the house to sell it to me with the opening bid. Coin 1 was lost. So in the end I got 2 examples I don't particularly like and lost one that would have been perfect.

Extremely frustrating.

[Al Kowsky]

[TheTrachyEnjoyer]

7 hours ago, Al Kowsky said:

[CPK]

17 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

So sorry you missed out on that one, RC!! 😭

I had it on watch but it went over my head in the pre-bidding.  Sadly, Savoca isn't the venue it once was... stuff doesn't fly under the radar very often, there are just too many radars scanning!

That said, I did manage to win a couple things, though not cheaply.  I couldn't have imagined paying 60 euros for a barbarous radiate, but I just HAD to have this dinosaur:

 

To add my own sob story, though... I find it even worse to miss out on something due to stupidity vs. being outbid.  There was an extremely rare first issue Rome mint Diocletian follis in Roma a couple years ago that stayed low. (I'm trying to compile the set.)  I was tracking the closing time, flipped over to look at some other tab in my browser, and when I came back, it was busy closing and I didn't have time to enter my bid!  Dumb, dumb, dumb!  That one still comes back to haunt me. 😢

Ah, I had that coin on my watch list! I didn't end up bidding on it though.

It sure looks like a dinosaur! I am totally unfamiliar with that type. What is it supposed to be?

[Severus Alexander]

3 hours ago, CPK said:

Ah, I had that coin on my watch list! I didn't end up bidding on it though.

It sure looks like a dinosaur! I am totally unfamiliar with that type. What is it supposed to be?

I believe the engraver was aiming at a Consecratio eagle. But I’m very glad he missed by a mile! 😆

Thanks for the comments, folks!  I’m writing from the hospital (emergency trip due to my treatment side effects) and it’s lovely to keep in touch with my coin buddies at such times! 🤗

Edited September 27, 2022 by Severus Alexander

[Gavin Richardson]

Regarding coins and marital harmony: my wife and I keep a joint checking account. But about 15 years ago, we adopted a policy of having a fixed monthly amount direct deposited into an additional separate bank account each. The amount is quite modest – – about $100 a month. We don’t have a lot of disposable income, so that’s about right for us. The idea is that we can spend that personal account money however we see fit, no questions asked. So if I want a $500 coin, I can save up for five months and she can’t say a mumbling word about it. If she wants to buy a $500 purse, then the same rule applies. That approach has taken some stress and guilt out of the hobby for me.

[Roman Collector]

1 hour ago, Severus Alexander said:

I believe the engraver was aiming at a Consecratio eagle. But I’m very glad he missed by a mile! 😆

Thanks for the comments, folks!  I’m writing from the hospital (emergency trip due to my treatment side effects) and it’s lovely to keep in touch with my coin buddies at such times! 🤗

Goodness! Get well soon!

[seth77]

6 hours ago, Gavin Richardson said:

Regarding coins and marital harmony: my wife and I keep a joint checking account. But about 15 years ago, we adopted a policy of having a fixed monthly amount direct deposited into an additional separate bank account each. The amount is quite modest – – about $100 a month. We don’t have a lot of disposable income, so that’s about right for us. The idea is that we can spend that personal account money however we see fit, no questions asked. So if I want a $500 coin, I can save up for five months and she can’t say a mumbling word about it. If she wants to buy a $500 purse, then the same rule applies. That approach has taken some stress and guilt out of the hobby for me.

Gotta try this.

[thejewk]

7 hours ago, Severus Alexander said:

I believe the engraver was aiming at a Consecratio eagle. But I’m very glad he missed by a mile! 😆

Thanks for the comments, folks!  I’m writing from the hospital (emergency trip due to my treatment side effects) and it’s lovely to keep in touch with my coin buddies at such times! 🤗

I hope for a quick improvement SA.

[KenDorney]

I bid on the same coin. Its a lovely example but I was quite surprised to see it go that high.  These days I just shake my head in wonder...where is the common sense these days?

[jfp7375]

I've also been having terrible luck at auction recently

Starting to wonder if I'm just a cheap bastard, but even the coins I am pretty determined to get, I can't seem to win unless I bid 20%+ over what I think the true value is. And who knows if other bidders would continue to top me even if I did go for it