Browsing Auction Catalogs .....with A Computer Close By

While new electronic auctions continue to come on line every week in ancient coins, I seem to remain inundated with auction catalogs. Granted, I do have interests that span ancient and world coins so that might contribute to the deluge.

What I often find happening given the pace of my life is that I will put an auction catalog on a table, thinking I will browse it shortly. And, some weeks, or months go by, and I realize the date has passed. My budget smiles in gratitude, the greedy collector within me groans.

More recently there was a confluence of events! Multiple interesting catalogs had arrived, a few coin collectors / friends were staying at my place while a show was in town, and, the chaos at my day job was rather minimal. Can you believe we talked about...wait for it....coins!! Ancient coin in particular. We browsed the two catalogs, plus having ubiquitious laptops had a grand time spotting coins that had been up for previous sales, finding that photography matters (REALLY REALLY matters), seeing a few coins that had been doctored between sales, and more. Possibly most interesting was just running up against rare or interesting coin types. Or, seeing coins types that might not have been truly rare, but, something you don't run into at every coin show.

Auction catalogs are cheap. Hell, I'll give mine away if someone wants a stack. However, they really can be enjoyable to immerse yourself in on a lazy afternoon.

Enjoy!

Paul