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I really don't get the aggravating philosophy of having a starting bid less than the minimum bid. It IMHO does NOT generate bidding frenzies or increase of actual buying interest.

it is always a loss when records disappear in disasters natural or otherwise just leads to silly old fools like me making speculatory statements LOL

There are several reasons that the auctioneer will start below the lower estimate - There is no reserve. The reserve is lower than the bottom estimate. He thinks the estimate/reserve is too high and he wants to move on quickly. He's going to bounce bids "off the wall" to get interest going. (He's allowed to do this in a limited way up to the reserve by law) He's trying it on as previously suggested but this is rare and self defeating. I could never understand the secrecy about reserves. As a porter I was only allowed to say that it wouldn't be higher than the lower estimate. Don't forget the estimate is usually based on guesswork and a wee bit of research. The reserve is totally down to the customer and the auctioneer can only recommend a figure. A lot of customers usually have an inflated idea of the worth of an object. A lot of estimates are a bit like basing who is going to win a football match by reference to teams from 10 years ago. 🤣

yes I am afraid my experience of prisons is that they are full of people with prior mental health issues. I know many see the mental health angle as a gift to anyone and everybody but I am afraid to say the reason why anyone and everybody says it sadly is that it is a realism rather than a gift. I live in a very deprived area and experience the impact on the lives of young people around me from parents who are themselves victims of their own histories. The North East , like so many has had long term underfunding and removal of almost every piece of funding that might have offered a help line. Budget cuts just see a saving and ignore at their peril the long term impact of community breakdown. It is a shame that people cannot go fund youth services locally with Go Fund Me pages. I am not a great lover of humans but I do think you have to give young people opportunities or else the crime becomes an easy option. Effective treatment of offenders requires a lot more people with a lot more patience in well run community services and true the victims too need support. I have a horrible feeling at the moment that systems play on division as a distraction one group fights another....It feels like the 70's again at the moment which was an ugly bleak miserable time. I have both Durham Prison and Franklin prison down the road so always aware of how miserable life is behind bars. I do feel something for the home owner but it is very easy to go beyond self protection.

There's 14 known on Richard's rarest pennies site, which makes it about level with the 1877 F90, narrow date, but somewhat better state of preservation. link

Maybe the sellers could mention what the actual reserve is, before the auction finishes.