Over the next few weeks, Coin World, Numismatics News and other hobby publications will undoubtedly be printing stories and recaps about part one of the auction of the John J. Pittman collection. After you wade through the hype of how successful the auction was, how many millions of dollars were bid, and how the sale represents (once again!) the rebirth of the stalled U.S. coin market, take a look at the prices paid for some of the coins auctioned. You might be very surprised!

  If you compare the prices paid for many of the coins, even without the 10% buyer’s fee added on, to their values as listed in either Coin World’s "Trends" or the Coin Dealer Newsletter ("Gray Sheet"), you will notice that many of the coins were sold for 10%, 20%, 30%, or even more over their listed value. Why?

  The same phenomenon was seen in the recent Louis Eliasberg auctions -- coin after coin went for far more than they were previously thought to be worth. Again I ask -- Why?

  Were Eliasberg’s and Pittman’s coins really that special? Were they all so outstanding and rare that similar pieces could not be found through any other means? In some cases, the coins in question were, in fact, unique or finest known pieces, and they found their true worth in the open market. For many pieces, however, the coins in these collections were attainable elsewhere, and could be had for a much lower price! Thus, one may conclude that the Eliasberg and Pittman names are perceived to be valuable, sought-after additions to a coin and are worth strong premiums.

  But does a famous pedigree ensure that a coin will always command a premium over its less "cultured" counterparts? I don’t know. Time will certainly tell whether the premiums paid were shrewd investments or emotional follies, but I tend to think that the majority of these pedigreed coins will lose quite a bit of their "surplus" value over time, especially if they are common or relatively common pieces.

  On the flip side, one thing that I’ve learned as I’ve followed the major auctions over the past few years -- collectors seem very willing to pay large premiums for coins that are especially rare, well preserved, and/or a part of numismatic lore. Thus, the premiums paid for some of the more outstanding coins in the Eliasberg and Pittman auctions are likely to be more than covered when the coins are eventually resold.

  One high-priced Pittman piece that I wonder about, however, is a gold Norse-American commemorative medal produced by the U.S. Mint in 1925. One hundred gold medals were struck for the celebration 72 years ago, but only 47 were sold -- the remaining 53 were consigned to the Mint’s melting pot. In contrast, thousands of the silver Norse-American medals were sold and can be found with a bit of hunting at most larger coin shows.

  Without question the Norse-American gold medal is a very rare piece, but how much is such a medal worth? While it’s hard for me to say with a high degree of confidence, I can offer anecdotal evidence that puts it far below the price paid by one "lucky" Pittman bidder. Within the last year, a collector friend of mine attended a coin show and spotted a set of gold and silver Norse medals in a dealer’s case. Upon inquiring about their selling price, my friend was quoted a price between $3,000 and $4,000 -- a number we both thought was probably about a $1,000 too high. In the Pittman auction, the gold medal alone went for $10,000 plus a $1,000 buyers fee! This represents a price multiple of roughly three -- and a multiple that took it way out of my league! You’d have to press me pretty hard to get me to agree that the Pittman name can represent as much as 70% of a coin or medal’s value.

Some day in the future, I might wish I would have had the financial resources to buy Pittman’s gold Norse medal in 1997 -- it being such a bargain and all. For now, however, I’ll continue to build my collection with specimens without such a noble past.

So, "How much is a pedigree worth?" I’ll let you and your check book decide!

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