A "Would you buy it?" thread

[kirispupis]

Thought I'd start another thread with some recent quandaries.

Coin1 - A type you're after is listed at auction with a provenance as a plate coin. However, when you look the plate up, it's clear that this isn't the same coin. Do you still bid?

Coin2 - A type you've been looking for is selling for $100 at a dealer you've dealt with many times before. However, the coin's not overly rare and the market price should be more like $60 or $70. If you wait long enough, you may be able to get it even for $50, but right now this is the only copy available. It's a decent example with a nice color. Your past experience with this seller suggests he doesn't bargain. Do you buy it anyways?

Coin3 - At an upcoming auction there are two coins you're interested in - A and B. You really want B, but you expect it to go high and you guess your odds of procuring it are 50%. You rather like coin A, and you feel very confident you can lock it up for a low price. However, coin A comes before coin B and you'll likely pay more for shipping than what you'll pay for only coin A. Do you still bid on coin A?

Coin4 - A nice example of a coin comes up at a dealer you trust. The price is $75 for a coin that should go for $140, but you already have a similar coin. Yours has the same obverse + reverse, but is a different denomination. Both are rare. Of the two, the one you already have is rarer. Do you still buy the other one?

FWIW, here's where I currently stand on the dilemnas.

Coin1 - I decided not to bid on that coin and also removed everything from my wish list at the auction. In retrospect, it was probably just an honest mistake but that auction house was already on thin ice for suspected shill bidding.

Coin2 - Still deciding...

Coin3 - I bid on coin A and won it, but lost on coin B. I added a coin C to make up for it. Another case is coming up at a different auction, and there I'm planning to not bid on coin A.

Coin4 - Still deciding...

[CPK]

Coin1 - maybe, depends on how much the plate provenance matters to me. If it's just a little icing on the cake, I'd probably buy it.

Coin2 - Ha. Of course the better decision is to wait, but I think I've bought more times than not in a similar situation. 😄

Coin3 - Probably not, if there are absolutely no other coins I'm interested in. At least, I'd try not to. I really hate winning a coin for 35 EUR and then end up paying 100 USD.

Coin4 - I'd buy it. It'd make a nice little rare set, and you could probably sell it for a profit any time you're tired of it.

[John Conduitt]

Coin 1 - yes if the price fits a non-plate coin.
Coin 2 - not if it comes up a few times a year.
Coins 3 - no. It also cuts your budget for B.
Coin 4 - not unless the second coin is in some way better.

So I'd probably buy none of them!

Edited July 11, 2023 by John Conduitt

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

Coin 1 - not a chance

Coin 2 - likely will buy

Coin 3 - Probably would go ahead

Coin 4 - most likely I'd buy. For example I have two examples of the same type. (different dies) Not only common (Gordian III) but also of Sol/AETERNITATI AVG which I like for some reason. So probably no one would say it represents a good "investment"

 

Edited July 12, 2023 by Ancient Coin Hunter

[Kali]

Depends on the coin and how much it is going for. Mostly likely I would pass.

Yes, I have actually done it a few times before and I haven't regretted it.

No, I wouldn't.

Depends, I have done that once or twice & over the time, I end up selling one or the other.

[Hesiod]

Coin 1 - Bid on the coin, not the description. I'd bid as if it was a non-plate, which it is.

Coin 2 - Probably not.

Coin 3 - Probably not.

Coin 4 - Only if it's an upgrade, but I try to not have duplicate types.

 

[Prieure de Sion]

13 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Coin1 - A type you're after is listed at auction with a provenance as a plate coin. However, when you look the plate up, it's clear that this isn't the same coin. Do you still bid?

If the reason for considering a purchase was the Provinience - no - because then the reason for buying has disappeared... (unless I would like the coin so much that I can't keep my hands off it).

 

13 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Coin2 - A type you've been looking for is selling for $100 at a dealer you've dealt with many times before. However, the coin's not overly rare and the market price should be more like $60 or $70. If you wait long enough, you may be able to get it even for $50, but right now this is the only copy available. It's a decent example with a nice color. Your past experience with this seller suggests he doesn't bargain. Do you buy it anyways?

Of course - the trader also has deductions and must also finance his life 🙂 ... if I like the coin and it is a type I am looking for, then I will buy it. Maybe I can wait, but maybe this type won't be available in the coming months and years in the condition and appearance I like...!

 

13 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Coin3 - At an upcoming auction there are two coins you're interested in - A and B. You really want B, but you expect it to go high and you guess your odds of procuring it are 50%. You rather like coin A, and you feel very confident you can lock it up for a low price. However, coin A comes before coin B and you'll likely pay more for shipping than what you'll pay for only coin A. Do you still bid on coin A?

Maybe it's the heat - but at the end of the paragraph I no longer understood whether I now wanted coin A or rather coin B - because I thought too long about understanding your sentence, I missed both coins in the auction...  😂

 

13 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Coin4 - A nice example of a coin comes up at a dealer you trust. The price is $75 for a coin that should go for $140, but you already have a similar coin. Yours has the same obverse + reverse, but is a different denomination. Both are rare. Of the two, the one you already have is rarer. Do you still buy the other one?

If I generally collect all coins of antiquity (or have a very large collection) - there is no money and time to take care of all variants. If my collecting area were large - I would try to get as many different coins as possible. The situation is different if I have specialised. If I collect the emperors of a dynasty (for example Severan) - or if I collect only one emperor (for example Probus) - then variations are of course welcome.

 

13 hours ago, kirispupis said:

Coin3 - I bid on coin A and won it, but lost on coin B. I added a coin C to make up for it. Another case is coming up at a different auction, and there I'm planning to not bid on coin A.

Gods of Rome! Now he also brings a coin C into play to drive us all completely mad! 🤪

 

[Limes]

Interesting, and recognizable dilemmas. You could post the answers in a spread sheet, to see percentages relating to member preferences. (And so that I can see if I'm abnormal, as usual, which makes it normal for me.)

A. Yes. And I hope that other interested parties do their research too, and decide not to bid. 

B. No. If I'm sure I can get a coin in similar condition on the short-/middle run for 50% less, I'll wait. 

C. No. I'll try to get my favorite coin and use all my funds to try to secure it.

D. No. But this is due to my collecting preferences. I don't go for the same design but in a different denomination. I can image others, like our Faustina, or Flavian, fanatics, will go for it. 

[kapphnwn]

My Answers

1. Very unlikely, especially if that is the only additional selling feature of the coin. 

2. I may. but that might depend on how key the coin is to me. What I have done in the past is; should I find a coin I like but I think is too expensive .... I put it on my "rot list" and let it sit there for a few months. Then I will call and see if the dealer is interested in making some concessions. 

3. Most likely not. It would depend on the reasons I like B more than A. Also I tend to monitor auctions when ever possible. If it becomes clear that B is going beyond my limit, then I may look at A

4. Most likely not. In the past I have purchased sestertii with the same reverses as denarii currently in my collection. I generally sell the denarii. 

[Ed Snible]

Don’t buy any of these coins!

Coin #1 will auction for a high price because most of the other bidders will not take the time to look it up.  Perhaps you could write to the auction house and suggest they change their listing but by this time it is probably too late for Coin #1 to escape the notice of other bidders.

Coin #2 isn’t rare and is only worth $60.  Why are you even thinking about paying $100 for it?  Maybe bid higher on 3.B.

The price of coin 3.A must be quite low, because you are concerned about shipping fees.  You only like it, don’t love it.  Wait until you have a chance to get something you love, even if shipping might be free depending on winning something else.  Save your money but maybe bid higher on 3.B.

Coin #4 has interested you because you think you can get it at wholesale.  You already have a similar, better, coin.  If you are a dealer you could buy it and re-sell it.  You are not planning to re-sell it.  Why lock-up $75 for the rest of your life for a coin that you are only looking at because of its price?  Maybe bid higher on 3.B.

[Salomons Cat]

*edit*
I agree 100% with what Ed Snible wrote.

Just one personal thing about Coin #2:
If we can profit from our knowledge and research to estimate prices that's a good thing. On the other hand, checking all the online shops and auctions regularly costs a lot of time. So, if you're 100% happy with the coin and you would prefer to invest your time in another way, then I would think about buying it.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Salomons Cat

[kirispupis]

5 hours ago, Ed Snible said:

Don’t buy any of these coins!

Coin #1 will auction for a high price because most of the other bidders will not take the time to look it up.  Perhaps you could write to the auction house and suggest they change their listing but by this time it is probably too late for Coin #1 to escape the notice of other bidders.

Coin #2 isn’t rare and is only worth $60.  Why are you even thinking about paying $100 for it?  Maybe bid higher on 3.B.

The price of coin 3.A must be quite low, because you are concerned about shipping fees.  You only like it, don’t love it.  Wait until you have a chance to get something you love, even if shipping might be free depending on winning something else.  Save your money but maybe bid higher on 3.B.

Coin #4 has interested you because you think you can get it at wholesale.  You already have a similar, better, coin.  If you are a dealer you could buy it and re-sell it.  You are not planning to re-sell it.  Why lock-up $75 for the rest of your life for a coin that you are only looking at because of its price?  Maybe bid higher on 3.B.

Thanks Ed!

In the case of coin #1, it already sold. Had I bid on it knowing that it's not a plate coin, I would have likely won it (it went for 40 Euros when I was willing to go to 160). However, I don't feel bad. I'm still forming an opinion of this auction house and I wound up needing the money for the Leu auction held on the same day.

For Coin #2, for now I'm waiting. Did I mention the Leu auction? That will take care of my coin budget for a bit. If there's a down time in the future and another example still hasn't shown up, I may bite. It's been at the dealer for over a year now so I'm not worried about it being grabbed up.

As I mentioned, I wound up buying Coin #3. I was blown away on the coin I really wanted. I bid 600 (this was before the Leu auction) and it went for 1500, so the budget I used for Coin #3 wouldn't have helped. 😞 It's actually a very rare coin and a great example of it that I won because not many people care about this particular coinage. The coin I lost comes up multiple times a year while the one I procured is rarer, so in the end I'll probably be happy.

In terms of coin #4, I should have also mentioned that - even though they're the same type - the example for sale has a better reverse while mine has a better obverse. The reverse is more important for this coin because it contains the city name, which is barely discernable on mine. However, mine is a very rare denomination - the only example I've managed to find - and I suspect for that reason it was once part of BCD's collection (the one for sale was not). If I were to procure it, I wouldn't sell either. For now, did I mention the Leu auction? That has me in no hurry to decide.