purchasing a previously auctioned coin?

[Ter]

Hi friends,

I've done a bit of coin collecting in the past but am pretty much a newbie. I have a family member who is mad, simply mad for certain coins that have been auctioned off in the past months and years. I'd like to get him the coins as a gift, but here's the thing: he doesn't want a certain kind of coin or issue, he wants THAT specific coin that was previously auctioned to an anonymous buyer (several different ones actually). Forgive my ignorance on all of this, but what I am wondering is, would it be appropriate for me to approach an auction house and offer a very good price if they were willing to contact the anonymous buyer to see if he/she was willing to sell? Of course I wouldn't want them to divulge the name of the buyer, just to see if they would be interested in contacting the buyer on my behalf?

Is this a thing? I don't know what the ethics are with auction houses and I don't want to offend anybody. But other than my above idea I'm really at a loss of what to do. Any advice you will have would be much appreciated!

Ter

[Aziz]

Personally i would send an email to the auction house and see if they are willing to connect me with the owner, it’s likely you will get a refusal however in my previous hobby i know there are some did that and they got successful hits, it’s all about if the auction house is busy or free to give you this opportunity and if it possible in their internal policy, in the end try your luck you have nothing to lose 

Edited December 13, 2024 by Aziz

[ela126]

I think Heritage actually openly had something like this. I think buyers can opt to be contacted for certain coins, but you have to offer something like 35% more than the hammer (considering there is a 20% BP on top so it’s not so crazy).

so, maybe it’s a thing at other AH’s. But be prepared to overpay.

 

[savitale]

Heritage does have the Make Offer To Owner program as mentioned above. In general, for other auction houses I would say this is not something they would want to do routinely. Unless you are talking about trophy coins, i.e. six-figure coins, where brokering a deal may be financially worthwhile.

[Phil Davis]

I don't see any downside to asking. The auction house may well decline or ignore your request, but I can't see them being angry or offended. You should offer them a slice of the agreed on price for brokering the deal, maybe 10%. 

[JayAg47]

Aside from the ethics of contacting the auction house and current owners, it’s just feel like an unhealthy way to collect coins or anything for that matter. 

Edited December 13, 2024 by JayAg47

[ominus1]

..well its been my experience that many coins come back to auction ....i wanted this one so bad i could taste it but i didnt have the money in Feduary...then POOF!..in April or May it came back and i snagged it that time and it won't be back till my death most likely...

[AncientJoe]

I'd start with the auction house - I've successfully bought coins after reaching out. I would also echo what @ominus1 said that coins do come back around shockingly often so it may just require a bit of waiting.

It also might be worth posting them here: my group of collector friends tell each other everything we buy so it may only require a few degrees of separation for your family members' interest to find the current owner.

[Sulla80]

It can't hurt to ask - worst case they give you a polite "No".  As @ominus1 points out there are quite a few coins that show up again at a different auction.  There are often sales between auction houses before a coin reaches a "real buyer" - so maybe you get lucky.   Here's a fun illustration.

https://www.sullacoins.com/post/who-s-bidding - this coin had 6 owners and sold 5 times in 31 months.  I'm still pondering this, but it does seem like there is some price floor and illusion of value that comes from auction houses swinging coins between themselves 🙂although if buyers fees and shipping are involved, someone must be losing money somewhere along the way.

 

Edited December 13, 2024 by Sulla80

[rvk]

4 hours ago, ela126 said:

I think Heritage actually openly had something like this. I think buyers can opt to be contacted for certain coins, but you have to offer something like 35% more than the hammer (considering there is a 20% BP on top so it’s not so crazy).

so, maybe it’s a thing at other AH’s. But be prepared to overpay.

 

It is supposed to be 1.5x purchase price (https://coins.ha.com/c/my/collection/) minimum by default "Minimum Offer 50% over Purchase Amount (change)" but I received a few offers way below that on recent auction wins.

[wuntbedruv]

18 hours ago, Ter said:

Hi friends,

I've done a bit of coin collecting in the past but am pretty much a newbie. I have a family member who is mad, simply mad for certain coins that have been auctioned off in the past months and years. I'd like to get him the coins as a gift, but here's the thing: he doesn't want a certain kind of coin or issue, he wants THAT specific coin that was previously auctioned to an anonymous buyer (several different ones actually). Forgive my ignorance on all of this, but what I am wondering is, would it be appropriate for me to approach an auction house and offer a very good price if they were willing to contact the anonymous buyer to see if he/she was willing to sell? Of course I wouldn't want them to divulge the name of the buyer, just to see if they would be interested in contacting the buyer on my behalf?

Is this a thing? I don't know what the ethics are with auction houses and I don't want to offend anybody. But other than my above idea I'm really at a loss of what to do. Any advice you will have would be much appreciated!

Ter

My advice would be that you tell your family member that while he can try, he's very likely going to be disappointed. There is always another coin. Your family member may not accept that rationale, but there is. Always. Another coin. Sometimes even better than the one which sold before!

I'd focus on the present and move forward rather than chasing everything that's sold in the past. Therein lies madness. Plus things frequently crop up again, always when you least expect it.

[ela126]

8 hours ago, rvk said:

It is supposed to be 1.5x purchase price (https://coins.ha.com/c/my/collection/) minimum by default "Minimum Offer 50% over Purchase Amount (change)" but I received a few offers way below that on recent auction wins.

50% makes sense. i only paid attention to it when i was an American collector buying from them and always thought "boy, thats a lot of money for a coin you could buy in the next auction".

Unless the coin is unbelievably special, i can't see a need to pay that high. The only coin i'd stretch for like that would be a Justinian 1 - Salona - Decanummi. I'd overpay for that, otherwise, no thanks.

[Ter]

Thanks for the wonderful advice!

[Salomons Cat]

Hello @Ter,
Welcome to the forum. I completely understand this problem, as I’ve experienced it myself several times. There have been occasions when I failed to win a coin in an auction, and I still feel as though I need exactly these coins and no others. Once, I even thought I had won a coin during a live auction, only to be completely shocked after the auction when I realized I had apparently been outbid without noticing. To this day, I suspect there may have been an issue with the auction house’s app. 
As suggested here, I reached out to auction houses twice, but unfortunately, this wasn’t successful. 

I'm considering @JayAg47's input that this approach to collecting might not be healthy. Maybe it’s not the coins I truly need, but rather some spiritual guidance to help me learn how to let go 🤔

Edited December 14, 2024 by Salomons Cat