Tag Archives: Hall’s Auction

Weaver Auction wins “Best on Proxiblog” Award

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Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction, an Easton, MO, firm, won our highest “Best Coin Auction” Award, garnering a “Best Photography” honor as well as Honorable Mentions for consignments and for lot descriptions.

Check out the home page for Weaver Auction and you can see some of our past praise for this remarkable house. A special hallmark of Dave and Cheryl Weaver is exceptional customer service. We have dealt with dozens of auctioneers in the past several years but few as conscientious as the Weavers.

They have held our “top auction house” ranking (see the listing to the right) for months, mainly because the Weavers are never satisfied with success but keep innovating and experimenting for the optimal configuration for superior Proxibid sessions. They took our advice and instituted a low buyer’s fee for gold–as low as 5% for double eagles. Now they are competing directly with Western Auction with a low buyer’s fee of 10%. They ship inexpensively and photograph expertly. They make use of Proxibid multimedia so online bidders can share in the excitement of their onsite sessions. Dave is a numismatic expert; Cheryl, a communications specialist.

We have done several features on this national-caliber house, including this article on buyer’s fees, this one on Internet advertising, and this illuminating “On the Block.”

What we found remarkable in the past year was the Weavers’ ability to take and learn from constructive criticism. For example, once we made a critical reference to titles in lot descriptions, and rather than send a snippy email, they thanked Proxiblog for the advice.

In life as well as in auctioneering, the Weavers have a lot to teach us. They learn from mistakes and are courageous enough to innovate in the spirit of continuous improvement.

Those qualities also exist in our Honorable Mentions in this category.

We applaud:

  • Capitol Coin Auctions, “with over 35 years of experience in collecting, investing, and grading rare coins.” Capitol also won Honorable Mentions in our “Best Consignments” and “Best Descriptions” categories for a total of three honorable mentions.
  • Key Date Coins with a reputation for “always fast and low shipping and handling cost.” Key Date Coins also won our “Most Improved House” Award in addition to Honorable Mentions in “Best Photography” and “Best Descriptions” for a total of four honors.
  • Leonard Auction, “with a reputation for experience, unsurpassed integrity, and superior technology.” Leonard Auction also won Honorable Mentions in our “Best Consignments,” “Best Photography,” and “Best Descriptions” categories for a total of four honorable mentions.
  • Scott Auctions, noted for its experience and generous service to the auctioneering profession. Scott Auctions also won our “Best Shipping Award” for a total of two honors.
  • Silvertowne Auctions, known for grading expertise and national reputation in numismatics. Silvertowne won our “Best Lot Descriptions” Award plus an Honorable Mention in our “Best Shipping” category for a total of three honors.

  • Western Auction, “whose family includes principal auctioneer David Zwonitzer, his father Mel Zwonitzer, Dave’s sons Daniel and Ty and Dave’s wife Kym. Together the family has more than 80 years auctioneering experience.” Western Auction also won our “Best Consignment Award” plus an Honorable Mention in our “Best Photography” category for a total of three honors.

We wish to congratulate all of our other “TOP Award” winners: James Peterson Auctions (tie: “Best Consignments”) and Matthew Bullock Auctioneers (tie: “Best Photography” and “Best Timed Auction”).

We also send kudos to those with Honorable Mentions, including Arneson Auction, Auctions Unlimited, Chaparral Auction, Culpeper Auction, Engstrom Auctions, Gaston and Sheehan Auctioneers, Hall’s Auction, Krause Auctioneering, Meares Auction, Midwest Coins, Poinsett Auction, Rolling M. Auctions, Schultz Auctioneering and Silver Trades.

We also thank Proxibid houses specializing in coins and encourage them to visit these award-winning houses. We know there are some houses that we missed in our rankings, but we did the best job we could with the available data and hope that you will continue visiting our site and interacting with our clientele, now exceeding 8300.

Finally, consider making a donation to our Scholarship Account. (See details on top of the “Rankings” sidebar to the right.) We will continue publishing Proxiblog free of charge and covering Proxibid and the online coin auction industry. Won’t you consider making a voluntary donation to offset tuition expenses for our college students?

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.

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James Peterson and Western Auction tie for “Best Consignments”

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James Peterson Auction, an Edina, MN firm, and Western Auction, Cheyenne, Wyo., had spectacular auctions on a regular basis on Proxibid, earning them the TOP Award in this competitive category.

This was a hotly contested category based not only on one or two consignments but regular ones on Proxibid, with special consideration for newsworthy events, in this case, good and bad.

James Peterson’s house sold a lot that was featured on the front page of the May 30, 2011 Coin World, a unique silver bar that realized $12,210. “It’s a heck of a piece of Americana,” Peterson told Coin World. We agree.

Western Auction showed the fortitude of a top Proxibid house after one of its most valuable consignments was stolen. You can read about that here. Other houses would have raised buyer’s fees or taken shortcuts on future consignments, but auctioneer Dave Zwonitzer showed his Wyoming grit and kept scheduling regular auctions with even better consignments, on occasion, and a low buyer’s fee of 10%.

Other houses earning Honorable Mention also deserve high praise. Their consignments also were remarkable. They include Capitol Coin Auction, Hall’s Auction, Gaston and Sheehan Auctioneers, Leonard Auction, and Weaver Signature Coin and Currency Auction.

Booyah to all!

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.

Boos & Booyahs: Best & Bad Auctioneer Lot Descriptions

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It’s more important now than ever with the Proxibid redesign to showcase your photos, hone your lot descriptions, and highlight your consignments for top bids on the leading portal! In the latest installment, Proxiblog laments and compliments best and bad auctioneer lot descriptions during the past week. We will name the best, but you will have to search Proxibid for the bad. (Click pictures to expand and view lot descriptions below.)

Booyah Silvertowne Auction! for noting light damage to the reverse of a coin, which the photo doesn’t pick up.

Booyah Leonard Auction! for noting artificial color, one of the commonest coin doctoring gimmicks in numismatics. Other auctioneers seldom mention this because it does take some skill to detect. Click here for a tutorial!

Booyah Key Date Coins! Auctioneer here knows his coins … and knows when to mention a consignor stating the grade a bit overzealously (as the flip documents). Noting a consignor-graded coin is a good practice, especially when the auctioneer questions the seller’s description of a coin. Way to go!

Booyah Western Auction! for yet another accurate description, this time pointing out a rim ding that is not immediately noticeable in the picture. Helps the reputation of the house!

Boo! to this unnamed auction house that doesn’t provide pictures of key date coins in what looks to be a premier set of Lincoln wheat cents. Too bad for the consignor!

Booyah Hall’s Auction Company not only for noting a crack in the holder but taking the time and trouble to show the flaw to bidders. Once again, this builds integrity. Nice work!

Key Date Coins gets a second Booyah! for noting that bank rolls may have been opened. Of course no one can tell what happened to these rolls, but we know sellers who can unwrap and rewrap original bank rolls, taking out the better coins. Always good to inspect these and add a disclaimer, as the auctioneer does here.

Boo! to this new Proxibid auction house that doesn’t provide pictures of reverse of coins. Often that is where the mint mark is, especially on Morgans, whose reverse varieties can bring extra $$$.

Booyah Kaufman Auction! for noting cleaning, one of the most difficult conditions to depict in photography. Here the auction house helps by noting evidence of cleaning on the obverse.

Booyah Weaver Auction! again for noting cleaning, this time in a box of coins that often lure hobbyists because Morgan dollars tend to tone in them. Dave Weaver puts up a red flag, and we thank him.

Leonard Auction gets a second Booyah! for noting that these California fractional gold pieces are replicas. He also shows the reverse. If the reverse has a bear on it, it’s a replica. Bid accordingly (like $5 instead of $300).

Viewers can point us to other candidates for our “Boos & Booyahs!” series. Just leave a comment but follow our rules–all in good fun as a way to inspire accurate lot descriptions on Proxibid.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.

Best Coin Photos on Proxibid

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These six auction houses provide needle-sharp straight-on coin photos on Proxibid, surpassing standards so that numismatists can check for varieties and condition.

Proxiblog spent part of this week analyzing photography on all coin-selling sites on Proxibid. The test was a comparison of breast feathers on an uncirculated Morgan dollar, which requires our Honor Roll standards of clear, expandable obverse and reverse photos. However, an added analysis to test the photography was the clarity and size of the expanded photograph and whether the viewer would be able to discern a variety such as an 1880-CC VAM-4 Reverse of 78 Overdate, required by some set registries.

These six were chosen because of the needle-sharp images and more than 200% expansion of those images allowing fine details to be seen, such as overdates, hairlines, rubs, cleanings, doctoring, artificial coloring and so much more:

    Matthew Bullock Auctioneers. (Click to expand the Bullock photography of the Morgan reverse to the left.)

    Capitol Auction. (Click to expand the Capitol Auction photography of the Morgan reverse to the right.)

  • Chaparral Coin Auction. (Click to expand the Chaparral photography of the Morgan reverse to the left.)
  • Dixon’s Auction. (Click to expand the Dixon photography of the Morgan reverse to the right.)
  • Leonard Auction. (Click to expand the Leonard photography of the Morgan reverse to the left.)
  • Western Auction. (Click to expand the Western Auction photography of the Morgan reverse to the right.)

CONGRATULATIONS to these six auction houses!

Postscript: Several auction houses came close to top photography standards. Others had acceptable photography. Honorable mentions go to Culpeper Auction, Engstrom Auctions, Furlo Auctions, Gold Crown Auction, Hall’s Auction, Jackson’s Auction, James Peterson, Key Date Coins, Linkous Auctioneers, Jewelry Exchange, Kreuger Auctions, Meares Auction, Midwest Coins, Scott Auctions, Silver Trades Auction, and Weaver Coin and Signature Auctions.

Proxiblog is an independent entity with no connection to the auction portal Proxibid. Our intent is to uphold basic numismatic standards as established by the American Numismatic Association and the National Auctioneer Association and to ensure a pleasurable bidding experience not only on Proxibid but also on similar portals such as iCollector and AuctionZip.