PCGS The Standart for the Rare Coin Industry

-Read the terms: Read the terms of sale carefully, for once you bid you are legally bound to abide by the rules. If you have any questions about how to bid, or at what level to bid, ask the auction firm. It is also a good idea to ask others, perhaps collectors or investors who have done business there before. If some coins are sold "as is" (certified coins are sometimes sold on this basis, as are bullion-type coins and large lots of bulk coins), be aware of this. If you attend the sale personally and are a floor bidder, then you probably will not be able to return a coin after the sale if you later disagree with the grading or some other aspect, although most (but not all) auction houses will permit the return of a fake coin.

Most auction houses are careful to note in the terms of sale that consignors can bid on their own coins; the auction house may have an ownership interest in certain lots; and that certain coins may have reserves, a situation common in the art and antiques business as well. Because of these and other factors, an opening bid of, say, $10,000 for a coin might not necessarily represent a bid received from an intending buyer, but may be a reserve or starting price. The auction house must represent the interest of the seller as well as the buyer To use a facetious example, although I am sure the buyer would be delighted, an auction house offering a $100 bill for sale would not sell it for just $75 because no higher bid had been received. I reiterate: read the terms of sale - they vary from sale to sale and from auction house to auction house.

-Become familiar with the auctioneer's descriptions: When bidding in an auction sale you will use the catalogue descriptions, possibly modified by in-person viewing if you attend the sale. However, many bidders participate by mail and do not have the chance to see the coins in advance (unless they take advantage of the opportunity to view by mail, a service offered by some auction houses). By making inquiries and possibly even by some "test bidding" (start modestly in one sale, and if you are pleased, bid on more items or bid more aggressively in the next sale) determine if the coins offered actually match the catalogue descriptions.

In some instances, I have seen great rarities in slabs, catalogued simply in a manner like this (a fictitious example): "1893-CC MS-63 (PCGS)," without any mention of its surface characteristics. Is it toned or is it brilliant? A catalogue illustration may help, but many lots are not photographed. In such an instance, it may pay you to telephone the auctioneer and request a more detailed description. Once you become familiar with the auctioneer's cataloguing methods and build a confidence level, you can bid by mail with assurance that what you hope to get is what you will get.