Coin Auction Houses..any views?

[Colin88]

As a seller does anyone have recent experiences / views on the main houses in the UK?

I am going to sell my entire collection of mainly English Gold/Silver/Copper & Bronze and a small selection but high grade and rare Roman silver.

The majority will be between the £300 - £5,000

Who is best at selling what?.

I was thinking about London Coins (if they ever answer their phones/take it off the hook today) for Copper and Bronze and slabbed Gold / Silver?

Cant really decide between Spink / DNW / St James's / Eden & Eden for the rest of it?.

Any ideas where to place the Roman?

Thanks

Colin

[Gary1000]

As a seller does anyone have recent experiences / views on the main houses in the UK?

I am going to sell my entire collection of mainly English Gold/Silver/Copper & Bronze and a small selection but high grade and rare Roman silver.

The majority will be between the £300 - £5,000

Who is best at selling what?.

I was thinking about London Coins (if they ever answer their phones/take it off the hook today) for Copper and Bronze and slabbed Gold / Silver?

Cant really decide between Spink / DNW / St James's / Eden & Eden for the rest of it?.

Any ideas where to place the Roman?

Thanks

Colin

I just sold a 1953 proof set through Baldwins, they seemed very professional.

[Colin G.]

I have to admit the few bits I have sold have either gone through London Coins or DNW. I know with London Coins I have always found dealings face to face to be the better option but if it is a sizeable collection, one would hope they would be very enthusiastic.

I can't fault my dealings with DNW as both a buyer and a seller, always been very pleased with the service. I have never yet dealt with Baldwins or Spinks because DNW responded to my first enquiry (which was sent to all 3) politely and quickly and therefore as a result I would now approach them first for any future sales.

There are also a few collectors/dealers on here who may be interested if you want to save some fees. Do you have a list compiled and prices in mind

[VickySilver]

Colin, not to poison you but I have sold a couple through Spink a couple of times and they were just over a thousand each. I was under the impression (from them) that they would be in the Coinex sale but instead they bumped them into the November sale.Ultimately I felt this cost me, but also the overhead seemed excessive.

Suffice to say any future sales will not be through them. I must admit that I would likely go to Baldwin as well, not to mention that Steve there is a consumate professional.

[Rob]

Depends on the material. I have used St. James's, Baldwin, Spink, DNW and LC. Lower to mid grade/value items will not suit the first. Baldwins seem to have quite a few unsolds from their general sales, so maybe push the estimates a bit high. They can also drag identical things to those you want to sell out of their basement at the drop of a hat giving unwelcome competition. I've not really had any grief with any of the above, so would only suggest that the items are placed where the best prices are obtained for each category.

[numismatist]

St James is offering 0% Commission on items over £1000.00 and as others

mentioned DNW will reply, I have found Spinks are unlikely to reply and

when prompted after over a month , would not indicate any approximate

values or costs involved .I have found Baldwins were pretty cagey and

avoided even mentioning the two rarest Coins I sent them photos of ,that

were certainly worth £3000.00 and £5000.00 and would not mention costs.

One important thing is the get in writing a " NO sale no Fee" agreement .

Thats the only thing I've ever got in trouble over even though it was

verbally agreed and I had sold items with them several times. I had

to pay a packet to get my items back which took almost a month and then I

had to threaten legal action to get the charges back. That Auction house

no longer has Coin and Medal Auctions.

[numismatist]

and ....DNW has a new Website with nice quality large Photos ,London Coins has great photos,

Spinks photos are lousy in my opinion,and the worst of all the major Auction houses

and all the others have great photos on the " sixbid " site where their Auctions are

hosted , thats were I always look if I want to see the finer detail of a Coin.

[Accumulator]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

I'm not generally a seller, but from a buyer's perspective I think LC really miss out by not having an internet bidding facility. I've bought from most of the other houses, always through live bidding on-line, and notice how many of the lots are bought this way. As a buyer in the room it does allow you to pick up a few bargains though!

St james certainly seem to break records at the top end and DNW appear to offer a good mid-market service in my (buyer's) view.

As has been said, there are lots of buyers here so you could always post a list of a few choice items and invite bids. Especially pennies

Edited June 4, 2013 by Accumulator

[Paulus]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

I'm not generally a seller, but from a buyer's perspective I think LC really miss out by not having an internet bidding facility. I've bought from most of the other houses, always through live bidding on-line, and notice how many of the lots are bought this way. As a buyer in the room it does allow you to pick up a few bargains though!

St james certainly seem to break records at the top end and DNW appear to offer a good mid-market service in my (buyer's) view.

As has been said, there are lots of buyers here so you could always post a list of a few choice items and invite bids. Especially pennies

And milled silver :)

[Rob]

St James is offering 0% Commission on items over £1000.00 and as others

mentioned DNW will reply, I have found Spinks are unlikely to reply and

when prompted after over a month , would not indicate any approximate

values or costs involved .I have found Baldwins were pretty cagey and

avoided even mentioning the two rarest Coins I sent them photos of ,that

were certainly worth £3000.00 and £5000.00 and would not mention costs.

One important thing is the get in writing a " NO sale no Fee" agreement .

Thats the only thing I've ever got in trouble over even though it was

verbally agreed and I had sold items with them several times. I had

to pay a packet to get my items back which took almost a month and then I

had to threaten legal action to get the charges back. That Auction house

no longer has Coin and Medal Auctions.

I suspect we both had grief from the same place, albeit with me as a buyer when I bought a bulk lot of hammered described as VF-EF, but only one coin had a portrait! So much for the cataloguer's credentials. And another occasion where the error was meticulously described with a 2 line write up, but non-existent!!

Edited June 4, 2013 by Rob

[jaggy]

I called London Coins today and got through first time.

Mind ou, I was paying them money

[Colin88]

Thanks for all your responses.

I have come to the conclusion that Spinks are fairly hopeless on several points and their lack of communication skills is lamentable...it may be odd to say but they clearly have no interest in coins and their IT is a disaster.

Can anyone explain the relationship between St James / Baldwin and how does Steve Fenton fit into all this?

I think I will stick to the original plan of London Coins / DNW / St James's.

Any idea about where to put the Roman?

My experiences of trying to sell the high end pieces on eBay have not been good....does CoinageofEngland/Guy Newson actually sell those coins on eBay?....or am I just unlucky to get all the lunatics and non paying bidders??

Thank you

Colin

[Peckris]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

I'm not generally a seller, but from a buyer's perspective I think LC really miss out by not having an internet bidding facility. I've bought from most of the other houses, always through live bidding on-line, and notice how many of the lots are bought this way. As a buyer in the room it does allow you to pick up a few bargains though!

St james certainly seem to break records at the top end and DNW appear to offer a good mid-market service in my (buyer's) view.

As has been said, there are lots of buyers here so you could always post a list of a few choice items and invite bids. Especially pennies

And milled silver :)

And early milled copper :)

[TomGoodheart]

Any idea about where to put the Roman?

My experiences of trying to sell the high end pieces on eBay have not been good....does CoinageofEngland/Guy Newson actually sell those coins on eBay?....or am I just unlucky to get all the lunatics and non paying bidders??

I've only bought one coin from Guy, a rarity, as are a few of his coins. But that was via his website after he put it to Best Offer on ebay and AFAIK most everything else of his has sat there for a long time. Anything that will sell .. I suspect sells quickly.

I have no experience of CNG as a seller, nor knowledge of their commission, but have observed they have a good range of coins, including ancients.

And of course, any Charles I shillings I'm always on the look out ... but I'm sure you know that.

Edited June 5, 2013 by TomGoodheart

[Colin88]

Colin, not to poison you but I have sold a couple through Spink a couple of times and they were just over a thousand each. I was under the impression (from them) that they would be in the Coinex sale but instead they bumped them into the November sale.Ultimately I felt this cost me, but also the overhead seemed excessive.

Suffice to say any future sales will not be through them. I must admit that I would likely go to Baldwin as well, not to mention that Steve there is a consumate professional.

Hi VickySilver,

I am slightly confused over the Baldwin / St James's / Steve Fenton relationship...do you know how/where Steve fits into this...I'm still unclear?....I have dealt with Steve in the past and found him to be excellent and hope to use St James's.

Unfortunatley I dont have the same feeling about Baldwins...When I was a younger collector many years ago I always found them to be unapproachable and of the "Us experts, you d**khead" school of dealers and totally uninterested in my then few pounds that I had to spend on my collection....this attitude over the years has probably cost them £hundreds of thousands as I always made a point of never buying from them....a small thing but just my way of revenge !

However, hypochrite that I am I have invested and done well in buying equity in "Noble Investments" of which Baldwins are part.

All the best

Colin

[VickySilver]

Yes, Steve Hill was at Spink and left for Baldwin about 6 (or so) years ago. He is the milled man, and as knowledgeable as any I know of this series (BTW this along with the change of regime was IMO a lot of the reason behind the demise of Spink) and catalogues for both Baldwin and St. James. PM me if you like for more details.

Steve Fenton is the principle behind SJ and is VERY business oriented; Steve is not IMO a part of this. Baldwin is owned by another entity, and is controlled by several others, Ian (sp?) and Noble Investments. Their general approach is what determines toward business. And also IMO, leaves them a bit slow and stodgy.

I'm on the fence just a bit, and appreciates Rob's words though he might come from a different perspective. I tend to go with the feeling that SJ would be the best venue for a "bigger" coin, say 2k pounds or above. I think they have been known to negotiate terms for perhaps as little as 0% comm. to seller. London Coins seems to have a big audience for mid-line coins 150 up to 1 or 2k, but I have known DNW since they were reformulated & think Chris at the top is quite responsive; the only thing is I can not speak from experience as to what can be negotiated on fees. The others I don't think I would fool with.

So if what I gather about your coins is the case (with many of them mid- coins)it was me I would first check out what could be arranged with Chris in terms of seller fees. Don't just take what they have written out. As one final possibility - if you think you have a set that could be presented by Colin Cooke (Neil) in one of those special catalogues. I also do not know his terms but found him quite affable.

I would not post what actual details you work out with whomever mainly because I think it is not the proper thing to do but would respond again to any PMs.

[azda]

Just as a side note, got an email from Spink basically saying their live bid System was shite and will be moving their live bidding to the saleroom until someone can repair the damage to it. (AMEN!!!!!!)

[Colin88]

Yes, Steve Hill was at Spink and left for Baldwin about 6 (or so) years ago. He is the milled man, and as knowledgeable as any I know of this series (BTW this along with the change of regime was IMO a lot of the reason behind the demise of Spink) and catalogues for both Baldwin and St. James. PM me if you like for more details.

Steve Fenton is the principle behind SJ and is VERY business oriented; Steve is not IMO a part of this. Baldwin is owned by another entity, and is controlled by several others, Ian (sp?) and Noble Investments. Their general approach is what determines toward business. And also IMO, leaves them a bit slow and stodgy.

I'm on the fence just a bit, and appreciates Rob's words though he might come from a different perspective. I tend to go with the feeling that SJ would be the best venue for a "bigger" coin, say 2k pounds or above. I think they have been known to negotiate terms for perhaps as little as 0% comm. to seller. London Coins seems to have a big audience for mid-line coins 150 up to 1 or 2k, but I have known DNW since they were reformulated & think Chris at the top is quite responsive; the only thing is I can not speak from experience as to what can be negotiated on fees. The others I don't think I would fool with.

So if what I gather about your coins is the case (with many of them mid- coins)it was me I would first check out what could be arranged with Chris in terms of seller fees. Don't just take what they have written out. As one final possibility - if you think you have a set that could be presented by Colin Cooke (Neil) in one of those special catalogues. I also do not know his terms but found him quite affable.

I would not post what actual details you work out with whomever mainly because I think it is not the proper thing to do but would respond again to any PMs.

Good stuff.....many thanks for that...I would always negoiate with them anyway...for me, what finished off Spinks (coins), was Paul Dawson 'leaving'....he held together the coin department and the inter-personal dealing side of it as well as the catalogue.

Much as I would like to offer coins of interest to the form members, I have been particulary hacked-off by my experiences of selling high end coins on eBay and the way that people have tried to mess me about (I'm sure eBay wasnt always like this) its made me not want to deal with people on an individual basis....I am just going to sell the whole lot anonymously and at 'arms length' via the traditional auction process.

I have sold to Colin Cooke in the recent past.

Many thanks

Colin

[Colin88]

Just as a side note, got an email from Spink basically saying their live bid System was shite and will be moving their live bidding to the saleroom until someone can repair the damage to it. (AMEN!!!!!!)

IMO they really should get rid of their IT people and start again with ones who know how to do it....oh, and they should also consider TESTING anything IT they do to ensure that it ACTUALLY WORKS....before making it live ( a bit of a revolutionary concept at Spink methinks)

[Nicholas]

All the mentioned UK auction houses will access good buyers if you have quality/rare coins and will show much interest very quickly . For middle level material, its better to offer a level of loyalty as a customer and 'shopping around' will inevitably mean exorbitant selling commissions. Sometimes it's best to lean towards one favourite auction house and stick to them.- I think you'll find they'll get to know you, lower their selling commissions and even help you find specific coins. Over the years I have purchased from all these auction houses, but when selling a longer term relationship is much better and I usually stick to the same house.

[jaggy]

Just as a side note, got an email from Spink basically saying their live bid System was shite and will be moving their live bidding to the saleroom until someone can repair the damage to it. (AMEN!!!!!!)

They should headhunt the guy from, Heritage. Their live bid system works very well.

[Colin88]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

Thats a great business strategy by London Coins I must say...."We have a lot of business on the go so lets leave the phone off the hook so that we dont get any more..."....God forbid that any new clients get through to us whilst we're busy doing admin...

[Coinery]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

Thats a great business strategy by London Coins I must say...."We have a lot of business on the go so lets leave the phone off the hook so that we dont get any more..."....God forbid that any new clients get through to us whilst we're busy doing admin...

You could always get them slabbed by CGS and sell them that way!

[Paulus]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

Thats a great business strategy by London Coins I must say...."We have a lot of business on the go so lets leave the phone off the hook so that we dont get any more..."....God forbid that any new clients get through to us whilst we're busy doing admin...

You could always get them slabbed by CGS and sell them that way!

If you wanted to wait an extra 3 months! But yes that might add value to some, in my limited personal experience ...

I have been taking an interest in realised prices for slabbed coins on eBay recently, there seems to be an enormous range, for reasons I can only speculate! I have bought the odd cheap one that seems an obvious bargain, (4 so far), the best bargain (IMO) being an MS63 1901 3d for £11 delivered!

I wonder who produces the London Coins auction catalogues, it is impossible to believe that they all emerge from the premises I visited in New Ash Green, Kent, recently! (Same premises as CGS for those who didn't know!)

[Gary1000]

I would suggest your inability to get an answer from London Coins today (if it was today) would be due to the backlog created by their auction at the weekend. I would forgive them that one.

Thats a great business strategy by London Coins I must say...."We have a lot of business on the go so lets leave the phone off the hook so that we dont get any more..."....God forbid that any new clients get through to us whilst we're busy doing admin...

You could always get them slabbed by CGS and sell them that way!

I noticed Jill lockett selling a slabbed Halfpenny recently on ebay and it went for less than the slabbing cost.