Jump to content

The Weight Of This Gold Had Us Stumped, We Were Sure A 2+ Oz'er


Recommended Posts

I have no experience in that but might be worth looking into Sedwicks?  Usually they are more coins though but could lead you to other auction houses for high end collectors.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites


16 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

From your experience is there a better auction site you like and or used with no issues.  Also just as important, was there any you though was a waist of time/effort.

This will be the 1st time we have sold through such assistance, but was told on high end gold art, this usually brings the top dollar?

Gerry,

I haven't sold any of my high dollar gold specimens as yet. Keeping them in a safe deposit box for now until I decide which avenue to take to sell them. My most valuable gold specimens I have , I had them appraised at Collectors Edge in Golden, Colorado to determine there value. What I found when having them appraised was some of the specimens I thought were more valuable (because of the size, weight and character) were not as valuable. The value is determined by it's desirability in the market, the area where it comes from and the rarity of the type of gold specimens. The appraised value in my opinion is what a collector might expect to pay for a specimen in the best scenario. The dealers of course will not pay you what the specimen is appraised at and the auction houses have fees. Another avenue I have not pursued is the gem and mineral shows where you can meet multiple number of dealers and possibly receive different valuations and interest.

I've had discussions with Heritage Auctions and they auction many types of minerals and other collectables. Here is link where past gold specimens have sold and some collectors are currently taking offers. You can create an account (it's free) to see what specimens have sold for. Heritage Auction

Another auction is Holabird Auction. They sell all types of collectables. Here is a link where a 5.03 oz specimens was sold for $6000 that had a estimated value between $7000 to $9000. Holaibird Auction

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Glenn in CO said:

...Watch out for those seller fees if you go the auction route.

Very wise advice.  Make sure to wear some kind of eye protection since when you read/hear what their rake is you're in danger of your eyes popping out of your head.

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/1/2021 at 2:28 PM, GB_Amateur said:

Very wise advice.  Make sure to wear some kind of eye protection since when you read/hear what their rake is you're in danger of your eyes popping out of your head.

Can you shed some light from past experiences?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

Can you shed some light from past experiences?

Not for selling natural gold items.  I was involved with auctioning my parents' estate.  One of the 'name' companies was going to cherry pick items, then move them to their auction house and still take 25% of the sale price as their commission.  (We eventually hired a local group who came to our site, auctioned everything, and raked 15%.)

But there might well be lower rakes for high priced items such as yours, so you really should investigate (and read the fine print).  Another kind of auction charges a buyer's premium and no seller's premium.  However, the saavy buyers just bid less than they otherwise would have knowing they are going to get socked with a surcharge.  And some auction companies (I think the one I mentioned above) charge both buyer and seller premiums! 

"Seller beware."

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/3/2021 at 9:49 AM, GB_Amateur said:

Not for selling natural gold items.  I was involved with auctioning my parents' estate.  One of the 'name' companies was going to cherry pick items, then move them to their auction house and still take 25% of the sale price as their commission.  (We eventually hired a local group who came to our site, auctioned everything, and raked 15%.)

But there might well be lower rakes for high priced items such as yours, so you really should investigate (and read the fine print).  Another kind of auction charges a buyer's premium and no seller's premium.  However, the saavy buyers just bid less than they otherwise would have knowing they are going to get socked with a surcharge.  And some auction companies (I think the one I mentioned above) charge both buyer and seller premiums! 

"Seller beware."

I think a 15% is reasonable.  Yes I will make sure he reads the fine print.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

I will make sure he reads the fine print.

I don't mean to belabor the obvious, but unless the buyers are naive, the rake is the sum of both buyer's premium and seller's premium.  For example, if an auction house charges both a 15% buyer's premium and a 15% seller's premium that is effectively the same as a 30% buyer's only premium or a 30% seller's only premium.

Auction houses are more likely to negotiate on the premium if they really think the bidding will be competitive and also that the piece will bring a high price.  IMO if your brother's offer of $20k is an indication of its value (maybe a lower limit), that piece might be of sufficient interest that they will negotiate.

One other (maybe obvious) point:  you absolutely want this auctioned by an auction house or site that has regular buyers of these rare gold pieces.  In the extreme if there is only one buyer in the audience then s/he has all the leverage.  (Again, I apologize if I'm stating the obvious.)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If I had a 20k CASH offer on that piece, I'd take it all day long. 👍

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...