You Are Your Own Keeper

Wow, that's completely unfair and is putting a negative sign on the hobby.

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The auction house gave him his money back and will auction the coin at the next sale. A simple mistake corrected.

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I'm impressed because it probably means that the auction house will eat the loss on that coin (Unless they sell it again as a 28.) They have probably already settled with the consigners for the auction so the refund for the "1928" came out of their pocket. I'm sure they can't go back to the consigner and ask him for the money back, it was the auction houses mistake in the catalog not the consigners.

Bio, at least at the estate auctions around here, the selection of coins at any particular auction will run the gambit. There will be everything from high quality and rare keys to complete junk. I believe the reason is that when someone settles an estate thru a auction house, they sell everything. No one goes thru the inventory to determine if it even has any true value. I have seen ordinary change sold at auction as bag lot. My guess is that the person whose estate is being sold had some pocket change in their desk drawer. When the auction people come in and move everything to the auction sight, contents from the drawer is separated and sold with no concern for what it is. They get a percentage and that is all that matters. I once bought of bag of pocket change containing a little over $5 for $2. Spent it on gas on the way home.
Jim