Letting go hurts

[Coinmaster]

Do you know the feeling: you spot not just a nice, but a great coin. You set a maximum price that you're able or willing to pay, hoping for the best. You wake up in the morning with the coin auction first thing on your mind, only to watch as the coin finally slips away before your eyes because someone else outbids you by a wide margin. I truly hope someone from this great forum is the new happy owner of the coin below (Trajan, RIC 147). Enjoy!

Feel free to post your own stories of missed, painful coins! 😉

[kirispupis]

I believe this is a common type, right? You should have other opportunities.

However, I do know what you're feeling. In my collection area, there have been a few well-heeled collectors who have picked it up lately. I've been bidding aggressively, but when it comes to rare pieces there are collectors who don't really care about the money. I just have to accept my wounds and move on.

You may have better luck bidding live if you can. These days, I bid live at auction with three exceptions:

• I'm out of town or have an event at the time. If this is an auction house I trust to not shill bid, I'll just put in my best beforehand. Otherwise, I'll be forced to pass.
• If this is an auction that I highly suspect performs "predictive shill bidding" (they know what your max is and bid you up to it at the last second), then I'll put in a "fair" bid very early. I've drilled myself to expect to lose, but if I win then I know I'm not paying an exorbitant price.
• If this is a "premier" auction like Triton, I'll put my max bids in the previous night. I've never won at one of these auctions, but IMHO it's not worth the stress of patiently waiting to lose the coin. I'd rather just move on with my life.

[shanxi]

Being outbid at a high price is a double-edged sword. On the one hand the coin is gone, but on the other hand you have saved a lot of money.

It's worse to bid too low because you think you're going to find another maybe better example. But you don't.

For example, there was a SAECVLI FELICI denarius of Faustina II with the twins and unusual (for a denarius) stars above them.  I was outbid at a low price and never saw this type again. Now I know it was probably an aureus reverse die used for denarii. I can't even show you a picture because there doesn't seem to be an example online.  I'm still annoyed after years.

Edited September 6, 2024 by shanxi

[Ancient Coin Hunter]

This has happened with the Antoninus Pius Zodiac coins, to pick a topic that is currently germane and being discussed on the boards. 

No luck either with early reasonable bids nor last minute sniping. 

[ambr0zie]

A good condition demands a premium, but this type is not rare and you will soon find another example (even if you are aiming for high quality). 

Usually I am not very mad when losing a coin. In the end, why? I mumble a few non-gentleman words, in the worst case scenario, and that's it. 

The situation you described does not annoy me at all. If a coin price exceeds the sum I am willing to pay, I forget about it. 

What annoys me, from bad to worse:

- seeing a coin I want in an auction I missed completely - and seeing I could have easily afforded it

- losing a good coin in an auction because there is a more important target later and I am trying to save funds - in the end I lose both 

- losing a coin because I am distracted during the auction. It happened a few times. 

The healthiest attitude is simply forget about any missed particular coin (but remember the type and search for it). In auctions you can never say "ah, this went for 100 euros, I would have gladly paid 120 for it". You never know how much were others willing to pay. I have a lot of coins from auctions were I was very prepared to pay much more than I did. 

 

Edited September 6, 2024 by ambr0zie

[-monolith-]

2 hours ago, Coinmaster said:

Do you know the feeling: you spot not just a nice, but a great coin. You set a maximum price that you're able or willing to pay, hoping for the best. You wake up in the morning with the coin auction first thing on your mind, only to watch as the coin finally slips away before your eyes because someone else outbids you by a wide margin. I truly hope someone from this great forum is the new happy owner of the coin below (Trajan, RIC 147). Enjoy!

Feel free to post your own stories of missed, painful coins! 😉

You feel much worse when you loose a coin over just a couple euros / pounds. etc. 

[-monolith-]

It's a pretty common type, with a lot of various conditions available. 

[kirispupis]

There are also some that you can buy right away:

https://mrbcoins.com/cgi-bin/lotinfo.pl?id=60347

[JayAg47]

Missing out on a coin at auction is one thing, but it’s another when a coin you want is available in inventory yet you can’t purchase it because the seller doesn’t ship to your country. This is often the case with dealers in India and some European countries. Even after reaching out to these sellers, they explicitly state that they cannot accommodate international shipping, despite there being no legal issues.

 

 

[Croatian Coin Collector]

I have never been hurt or sad about missing out on a coin, but I was annoyed when after being comfortably in the lead a few hours before the end of the auction, somebody outbid me a minute before the end of the auction and I lost out on this coin: https://auctions.cngcoins.com/lots/view/4-DN92A3/india-kushan-empire-kanishka-iii-circa-ad-267-270-av-dinar-23mm-792-g-12h-main-mint-in-taxila-near-ef 

[Nerosmyfavorite68]

I'm hoping that you'll acquire an even better one.

The only one which immediately comes to mind was an AR Denarius of Carausius, available sometime between 2011-14 on vcoins.  It was around $600.  I couldn't afford it at the time, so I could only watch it be sold, although it remained out there for a decent while.

[ominus1]

you should expect that and not to win...that way 'IF" you win it you be happy not sad  we shouldn't mourn for things we never had.....ain't too many folks here that ain't had that happen 'bout EVERY freakin' day!!....but after a few years you kinda get used it...so far i've lost out on 4 this weekend...and got a couple more on board....c'est la vive Friend  🙂

[Roman Collector]

I recently lost this one a few days before payday. It went for the buy it now price, which I had been planning to pay. 

[ominus1]

10 hours ago, Roman Collector said:

I recently lost this one a few days before payday. It went for the buy it now price, which I had been planning to pay. 

...well the consolation prize is you get to keep your money....(for the nest one of course:P)

[ominus1]

Now and again I get the feeling
Well if I don't win, I'm a gonna break even

lyric from tom pettys 'baby you wreck me'   🙂 @Roman Collector

[Curtisimo]

I would also rather get blown out on a coin I really want than to be the underbidder.

I don’t have photos but a year or two ago I put in what was far and away the largest bid I’d ever put down on a coin. So much so that I debated with myself if I was being irresponsible. I lost the coin by over $30,000! I was not upset by that loss at all, that winner earned it.

[rasiel]

Seriously, when's my next shot at one of these?

Rasiel

[TIF]

I get where you're coming from, @Coinmaster.  Even though others have pointed out that the coin is not uncommon, that particular coin is extremely appealing. 

As others have said, when I have to drop out of bidding I cross my fingers that the hammer is miles higher so that I won't have regrets.  Also, even if you lose as the immediate underbidder, you never know how high the winner was willing to go.  I tell myself the latter every time I drop out but it's hard to let go of the feeling that just one more bid might have taken it.

Here's an example I regret not pursuing to a higher bid c. 2015, even though the hammer was rather shocking.  I was bidding HARD on many coins in that auction and chased some of them far beyond planned (and won), so I couldn't justify going further.  CNG sold several of these countermarked Gortynas around that time but this one was just so spectacular, with the large countermarks that somehow didn't obliterate the underlying devices, and the toning...  sigh.

 

CRETE, Gortyna. Circa 221 BC. AR Drachm (19mm, 4.98 g, 11h). Laureate head of Zeus right; c/m: bull butting right in incuse circle / Europa on bull right; c/m: laureate head of Apollo right. Svoronos, Numismatique 116; Price, Gortyn, Class B, 46, pl. XI, 2 (same dies); SNG Copenhagen –. VF, toned.From the collection of the MoneyMuseum, Zurich. Ex Numismatica Ars Classica K (30 March 2000), lot 1295.


Here's another I still regret... I underbid on this coin TWICE.  First time was in a Pecunem auction, c 2013, still very new to ancients, and didn't realize that it would take a lot more than estimate to win this freaky coin.  I never forgot the coin and when it appeared in a Kunker auction six years later, once again I was the freakin' underbidder.  ARRRRRRGH!  In general I'm not a huge fan of Celtic imitations but this one was just so far out there, abstracted to the point of absurdity. Alien from the Planet of the Ant Men.  That Herakles is hilarious!  By far the most alien-looking Thassos-imitatives I've seen... a go big or go home situation.  Guess I went home 🤣.  Twice.  😢

 


 

Edited September 8, 2024 by TIF

[Coinmaster]

25 minutes ago, TIF said:

Here's another I still regret...

Wow, both coins are indeed unworldly exceptional! In Dutch there is a saying: 'A shared sorrow is a half sorrow'. I feel with you, but chin up and keep on smiling! 😉 New round, new opportunities. 👍🏻

Edited September 8, 2024 by Coinmaster

[Coinmaster]

PS:

[TIF]

11 minutes ago, Coinmaster said:

Wow, both coins are indeed unworldly exceptional! In Dutch there is a saying: 'A shared sorrow is a half sorrow'. I feel with you, but chin up and keep on smiling! 😉 New round, new opportunities. 👍🏻

I just had a great idea for that Thasos coin.  Have you seen that company that turns children's drawings into plush toys?  Imaging that Thasos-imitative Herakles as a stuffed toy!  OMG yes, I think I may have to order one 🤣  (just the "Herakles", not the entire reverse).

https://idooodle.com/products/turn-drawings-into-plushies

Edited September 8, 2024 by TIF

[Valentinian]

14 hours ago, rasiel said:

Seriously, when's my next shot at one of these?

Are you saying that you won that rare Valens coin?