Auctions and Mail Bid Sales

The author, prominent in the field of rare coin auctions for many years, gives ideas, insights, and personal experiences concerning the field.

Public Auctions

A very important way to buy and sell is through public auctions. By this route a coin auction house, such as our own Auctions by Bowers and Merena, Inc., acquires coins on consignment from private collectors, dealers, government agencies, estates, museums, banks, and other sources, and presents them for sale in a catalogue. Bids are received by mail and in person, and the pieces are sold to the highest bidders (or, in limited instances, to the reserve). Participating in an auction or mail bid sale can be a lot of fun - like going fishing or treasure hunting - and there is no doubt that most major collections have been formed, at least in part, by acquiring coins in this manner.

How an Auction is Conducted

I shall describe how a typical Bowers and Merena public auction is conducted, as it may be of interest for the reader to go behind the scenes. Held in New York City and other metropolitan areas, these events have created worldwide attention. Public auction sales are conducted in the same manner as mail bid sales (to be described later), except that the final determination is made in an auction conducted by licensed auctioneers on our staff, with floor bidders attending in person.

From the standpoint of the auction company, conducting a sale is a detailed, complex procedure involving many people over a long period of time - as part of a program beginning long before the sale is announced or the catalogue printed. A year or more before the auction occurs, planning begins for the event. Consignments are gathered, a process which takes many months, and much care, as we endeavor to have each sale contain a wide variety of material appealing to a large cross-section of buyers. Consignments continue to arrive up to two or three months before the sale date.