February 2008 Torex Auction results
By Michael Walsh - Canadian Coinoisseur | Sunday, 13 April 2008
I am pleased to report very strong prices in my October Torex® Auction, which was conducted on the 27th and 28th of October at the Radisson Admiral in downtown Toronto. Again, the sale was run simultaneously on eBay LiveAuctions, and online bidders contributed significantly to the many record prices.
We had a total of 762 bidders registered for the sale, of these, 489 were on the Internet, 185 were mail bidders and 88 were on the floor. Of the online bidders, 166 were successful, and took 39.1% of the lots sold and 32.4% of the value. Exactly half of the floor bidders were successful, taking 47.8% of the lots and 55.8% of the value and the 66 successful mail bidders took the remaining 13.1% of the lots and 11.8% of the value.
Prices were very strong, with 269 of the lots selling for in excess of catalogue and 571 selling for over 80%. Our overall average selling price for the auction was 79.9% of catalogue, and my consignors will be very pleased with the results.
The cover coin, a 1916C Sovereign in PCGS MS-63 from the Mason and the Belzberg Collections, catalogued at $40,000, sold to a floor bidder for $41,400. A 1921 5 Cents piece in ICCS VF-30 catalogued at $7,500, brought $7,475 and a second example in ICCS VG-8 catalogued at $3,750, sold for $4,170. One of the runaways in the sale was a 1926 Near 6 Nickel in ICCS MS-64, which Trends at $3,500. I opened this lot at $2,800 on strong mail bids, and after a protracted bidding battle between mail, floor, Internet and telephone bidders, it finally went to the telephone bidder for $11,500.
Notable among the Paper Money were a 1912 DC-21c Train Note in AU-Uncirculated, which sold for over catalogue at $4,312.50, a 1935 Two Dollars BC-3 in CCGS Unc-63 that sold for $1,840, a Ten Dollars 1954 Beattie-Coyne, BC-40a Serial Number V/D10000000 in CCGS UNC 62, which brought $2,760 and ten consecutive 1972 BC-48b Five Dollars CR0000001 to CR0000010, Uncirculated that went to a floor bidder for $3,400. An error One Dollar plate impression with no ink on the Front, Serial numbers from 1973, but in the Bird Series format with bar code and no other ink on the Back, sold for $2,185 to a telephone bidder. He called from his cell phone in his car with a flat tire on his way home to bid on the Internet after having viewed lots.
There was a wonderful selection of high-grade and scarce Breton Tokens, and most of these sold at or above catalogue. An 1854 New Brunswick Penny in ICCS Proof-64 sold to an Internet bidder for $3,360 after a 33 bid see-saw between floor and online bidders. A Breton 872, 1382 Date Error Nova Scotia Halfpenny in ICCS G-6; Corrosion brought $1,150 from a floor bidder, a Breton 538, Caleche Bridge Token in ICCS VF-20 went to a mail bidder for $630, and there were two examples of the Breton 524 1839 Side View Halfpenny, the one in ICCS VF-30 bringing $2,760 and the one in ICCS F-15 bringing $1,955.
The error selection in this sale was outstanding, beginning with a selection of Breton Token Brockages. A Breton 883 or 886, Early State Centered Brockage in EF brought $720, a Breton 527 Early State Centered Brockage in EF went for $660 and a Breton 871, NS-1D3, Early State Centered Brockage, VF brought $600, A Victoria Large Cent of the Type for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia , Early State Centered Brockage in VF sold for $660. The errors continued with an 1858 Canadian Large Cent Early State Centered Brockage, Fine with Corrosion, which sold for $510, as did a 1859 Narrow 9, Early State Centered Brockage in EF.
Among the more modern error coins, a 1996 Canadian Cent on a smaller foreign brass planchet brought $570, a 2000 Ingenuity 25 Cents with a First Strike Brockage from a piece Struck on a Smaller Planchet, AU sold for $390 and a 1936 Silver Dollar with its reverse struck over a 15% off-centre earlier strike, EF-AU sold for $575.
Newfoundland coins showed a renewed interest in this sale, and there were many record prices established, particularly among the 20 Cents pieces. An 1881 in PCGS MS-62 brought $3,120. A few lots later, I opened the 1896 Large 96 20 Cents in ICCS AU-58 at $1,600 and after a pitched bidding battle on the floor, it sold for $5,750, nearly triple its catalogue value. The next lot, an ICCS EF-45 example of the same piece, also sold well over catalogue at $690 and a 1900 20 Cents in ICCS MS-62 also went well over catalogue at $3737.50.
Canadian red copper remained hot, with results such as 1913 Large Cent in PCGS MS-65 Red, which Trends $1,300, selling for $3,220, a 1918 Large Cent in ICCS MS-65 Red bringing $1,320, 165% of Trends and a 1947 Maple Leaf, Blunt 7 in ICCS MS-65, which Trends at $550, going for $780. Uncertified lots also sold well, with a Lot of three 1934 Cents, Red Uncirculated to Choice Red Uncirculated bringing $300 from a floor bidder, nearly triple catalogue, Another interesting example was a 1926 Cent in ICCS MS-63 Lustrous Brown went for $240 to the same bidder who had bought the piece as Brown Uncirculated for $78 as Lot 544 in my February Torex Auction, then returned it, saying it was not Uncirculated.
The prices of certified Elizabeth Gems continued their march upward. A 1962 10 Cents piece in ICCS MS-66 brought $275, two-and-a-half times catalogue, a 1959 50 Cents piece in ICCS MS-65 sold for $690, well over double catalogue and a 1956 50 Cents piece in ICCS MS-65 went for $632.50.
Certified Proof-Likes, particularly with strong cameos, also continued to increase in value. A 1955 Shoulder Fold Cent in PCGS PL-67 Red brought $216, a 1955 25 Cents piece ICCS PL-67 Ultra Heavy Cameo sold for $805, one in ICCS PL-66 Ultra Heavy Cameo went for $345 and a 1963 25 Cents piece in ICCS PL-65 Ultra Heavy Cameo achieved $172.50.
Silver Dollars remained very hot; It seems that there are many more collectors of the series now than there were two or three years ago, when dollars brought substantially less. A 1935 in ICCS MS-65 sold for $430, well over catalogue, a 1947 Maple Leaf Doubled HP PCGS MS-64 brought $3,360, 68% above catalogue, a 1950 in ICCS MS-66 went for $690, more than 50% above catalogue, a 1952 Short Waterlines in ICCS MS-64 sold for $575, nearly triple catalogue, and a 1967 in PCGS MS-65 went over catalogue for $1,092.50.
Among the Proof-Likes, a 1956 in ICCS PL-67 Ultra Heavy Cameo saw heavy bidding before it sold for $5,700, a 1958 in PCGS PL-67 brought $460 as did a 1959 in PCGS PL-67, a 1961 in PCGS PL-67 went for $430 and a 1963 in PCGS PL-67 sold for $490.
Even the recent issued did well, with 1990 and 1991 Silver Dollars, both ICCS PF-68 Ultra Heavy Cameo brought $460 for the pair, and a pair of Twoonies 1999 and 2001, both in ICCS PF-68 Ultra Heavy Cameo sold for $373.75.
This was a wonderful auction to catalogue and conduct, with such a nice mix of pieces from such a broad range of categories and grades, there seemed to be something for nearly everyone, and the results showed this. My sixty-five consignors should be well pleased with the results, many have already made commitments to my next auction and I have nearly half a million in consignments for the June Torex.
Torex catalogue announcement - Published on October 4, 2006
My October Torex® Auction features a well balanced selection of lots, and will be conducted in two sessions on Friday and Saturday the 27th and 28th of October at the Radisson Admiral in downtown Toronto . The 1,859 lots of Coins, Tokens and Paper Money in the sale run the gamut from bulk and group lots through nice collectible pieces to finest known examples. A total of sixty-five consignors contributed to the auction and have provided me with a wonderful mix of numismatic material in diverse categories and a broad range of grades. The sale seems to have something for nearly everyone.
The First Session, at 5:30 pm on Friday the 27th begins with just over one hundred lots of Paper Money, including a near Uncirculated 1912 Train Note, some Choice Uncirculated 1935s, three major printing errors, a Radar Test note and 10,000,000 note. This is followed by nearly one hundred lots of Tokens, including two Side View examples and many Uncirculated pieces. Over forty of the Token lots are ICCS certified pieces, including a LC-10B3 in ICCS VF-30, a UC-1 in ICCS PF-65, a PC-4 in ICCS MS-64 and a LC-60D1 in ICCS AU-50, and among the uncertified pieces are many other high grade and Uncirculated examples. Included in the three dozen lots of Error Coins are a dozen Brockages, of both Tokens and Decimal, and mostly from the 19th century.
I received a nice selection of metal printing plates and hand-carved wooden printing blocks that had been used to print the illustrations in the Breton and Leroux catalogues a century and more ago. These have been grouped into over thirty lots, and are followed by a nice group of Medals.
Over one hundred twenty lots of World Crowns and Minors follow, including many high-grade certified 18th and 19th century examples, such as a French 2 Francs of 1832 A in NGC MS-65, a 1765 Nurnberg 30 Kreuzer in NGC MS-66 and a 1798 20 Grana of Naples & Sicily in PCGS MS-65.
Among the twenty-eight lots of Gold Coins is the MS-63 example of the 1916C Sovereign from the Mason and Belzberg Collections. Some of the other gold selections are a 1912 Five Dollars in MS-65, an MS-63 example of the 1881 Newfoundland Two Dollars and a 1777 Saxony Ducat in MS-63.
The First Session continues with over two hundred eighty lots of Canadian Large and Small Cents including many certified Red Gems. Then follow over one hundred twenty lots of Five Cents Silver, including two ICCS certified examples of the 1921. The Friday evening session concludes with eighty lots of Nickels, among which are an ICCS MS-64 example of the 1926 Near 6 and a PCGS AU-55 Far 6, as well as many ICCS George VI and Elizabeth Gems.
The Second Session begins at 5:30 Saturday evening with eighty Bulk Lots, which include some ninety rolls of mintstate George VI and early Elizabeth cents. Then comes over one hundred fifty lots of Maritime Decimal Coins, which include highest graded and near finest known examples. Again, I have received an outstanding selection of Newfoundland coins, including what is likely the finest known example of the 1896 Large 96 Twenty Cents. This is a newly certified ICCS AU-58 from an old collection, and from the same collection is a 1900 Twenty Cents in ICCS MS-62. Also among the Newfoundland lots are many mid-grade pieces and dozens of pieces certified ICCS MS-63, through MS-66.
The session continues with nearly one hundred fifty lots of Canadian Ten Cents pieces ranging from nice certified examples in lower grades to several near finest known examples. Over one hundred sixty lots of Twenty Cents and Twenty-Five Cents pieces again run the gamut from small group lots to highest certified examples and there are many ICCS certified Elizabeth Gems.
The one hundred fifty lots of Fifty Cents pieces which follow include six Mintstate Victorian examples, the most spectacular of which is an 1872H in ICCS MS-64 with a Superb Eye Appeal certificate. There is also a nearly complete date run of ICCS MS-65 Elizabeth Fifty Cents pieces, and if past auctions are any indication, there will be some heavy competition for these.
The October Torex® Auction concludes with over two hundred lots of Silver Dollars, including Specimen examples of the 1935, 1939, 1949 1950, 1951, 1953 and 1964. There are some outstanding PL-66, PL-67 and PL-68 pieces, including two 1956 pieces in ICCS PL-67 Ultra Heavy Cameo.
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