Colonial Acres Auction

A _lot_ of the Canadian decimal coins opened at 50% Trends. Since when did everyone think that starting bids at 50% of Trends, is too high? I bought nothing from this sale, only because I did not need/want anything. Even with hammer, taxes and shipping, try getting the same kind of deal at a coin show for a piece you really want...

Agree with double eagle on the true view of what is happening in the Canadian market arena. To date I don't see any great "kickstart" that the Landon sale was supposed to spin off. It takes money to buy money and IMO that is south of the border not here. As for Colonial sale and other Cand auctions as of late start bids too high..

Hopefully the next Charlton will relfect the downward trend in values. Usually the 60-70% trend one year would dictate the prices set forth in a coin guide book. If everyone is paying 20 bucks for 1939 Canada Cent MS65 then this should be reflected in the guides and not that people are paying 60% of trend and leave the value at 35 bucks!

The better Canadian coin market simply is NOT in Canada. All the whining and crying over the so called state of the market is not going to change anything. You cannot simply use the statement that stuff is overpriced ,or should be selling for a percentage of trends or catalogue. Blanket opinions like that are never factual.
The reality is , Canadians for the most part DO NOT step up to the plate for expensive coins. Indeed the AVERAGE coin collector in Canada is one of the following. First simply buys stuff from RCM , second is a change or roll hunter, third spends anywhere from ten to fifty bucks a month and fourth the rare bird who actually has spent MORE than a hundred dollars on a single classic numismatic coin.
I have been in the business end of Canadian numismatics for well over 40 years and have sold many heavy hitter Canadian coins and condition rarities as well. My books, inventory records and sales reports all show the same thing. There is a Canadian coin market and it shows me a darn good return. Sad part of all that, the real market for Canadian coins of better Quality happens to be called the United States .
The poor state of the Canadian coin market is greatly overstated in my professional opinion.

Demographics are against the trends of rising prices in CDN coins...fewer collectors, less demand, weaker prices...it's that simple. You go to a coin show, where are the young collectors?

"Where are the young collectors ? ". that is a good question and pretty hard to analyze. My bet is that they are for sure out there based on a couple of things. One the bunch who are on this forum and two those that sit at home in front of their computer or IPad and buy on the NET. Young people today interact in a far different manner than those of us who are veterans or old codgers ,such as myself. For the most part they avoid coin shops, coin clubs, and coin shows. But boy can they shop the net.
The hobby that we all know and love that was once the hobby of Kings ,that became the King of hobbies is now the hobby of the anonymous .
I for one see a great future in our hobby and prefer to ignore all the nay Sayers and the doom and gloom. With the growth of the Internet and the huge increase in online shopping, I see a great future for numismatics. it really comes down to adapt, embrace change or die in any business.
Anyone who has been a coin dealer or currently is one realizes that a coin that was an expensive item ,would sit in a shop for months ,maybe years in the pre Internet era. Today selling that item is far easier . All it takes is some key strokes with a few decent pictures and you have a worldwide audience.

Good discussion, and I tend to agree with Pacific on his points. But to redirect back to the original topic for a moment: I did purchase a few lots at the CA auction to fill some holes in my collection at 50-60% of trend, and I'm happy with my purchases. I agree, the reserves were quite high on a lot of other items and I did avoid bidding on many items as a result. Although it is the consignor, and not the auctioneer, who dictates the reserve pricing; I think the auctioneer could have done a better job of convincing those overzealous consignors to lower their standards/expectations to make those items more attractive to bidders. All that being said, it was their first auction ever, and nobody is going to come out of the gate perfect on their first try.